Estate of O'Dwyer, In re, 91-151
Decision Date | 13 March 1992 |
Docket Number | No. 91-151,91-151 |
Citation | 605 A.2d 216,135 N.H. 323 |
Parties | In re ESTATE OF Thomas C. O'DWYER. |
Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Law Offices of Thomas Morgan, Salem (John F. Troy on the brief, and Thomas Morgan orally), for Estate of Thomas C. O'Dwyer.
Frank Hekimian, Salem, for Delia O'Dwyer, filed no brief.
Tyler P. Harwell, Berlin, by brief as amicus curiae.
The Rockingham County Probate Court (Maher, J.), on an interlocutory transfer without ruling, see Sup.Ct.R. 9, presents us with the question of whether the probate court has jurisdiction to decide what constitutes a probate asset under RSA 547:3 and part II, article 80 of the New Hampshire Constitution. Although the question is couched in general terms, we respond in reference to the specific asset under consideration. For the reasons that follow, we answer the question in the negative.
The issue involved in the underlying probate court action is the effect of the divorce of the decedent, Thomas O'Dwyer, on the joint tenancy under which he owned the marital domicile with his ex-wife, Delia O'Dwyer. If the joint tenancy survived the divorce, then the decedent's former wife is the absolute owner of the property, whereas if the divorce decree severed the joint tenancy, some interest in the real estate passed to his estate on his death.
The probate court is not a court of general jurisdiction. Its powers are limited to those conferred upon it by statute. In re Estate of Gay, 97 N.H. 102, 104, 81 A.2d 841, 842 (1951), overruled on other grounds by In re Byrne Estate, 98 N.H. 300, 302, 100 A.2d 157, 159 (1953).
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In re Muller
...probate court context. In the absence of an explicit legislative grant of probate court jurisdiction over real property disputes, we held in O'Dwyer that the superior court was the proper forum for such a dispute, and the probate court lacked such jurisdiction. See In re Estate of O'Dwyer, ......
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Patterson v. Patterson
...conferred upon it by statute." In re Cigna Healthcare, Inc., 146 N.H. 683, 777 A.2d 884, 888 (2001)(quoting In re Estate of O'Dwyer, 135 N.H. 323, 605 A.2d 216, 217 (1992)). By statute, the superior court and probate court have concurrent subject matter jurisdiction over powers of attorney.......
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Rogers v. Rogers
...this language as plainly and unambiguously limiting the exclusive jurisdiction of the probate court. See, e.g., In re Estate of O'Dwyer, 135 N.H. 323, 324, 605 A.2d 216 (1992) (superseded by statute as stated in In re Muller, 164 N.H. 512, 519, 62 A.3d 770 (2013) ); Hayes v. Hayes, 48 N.H. ......
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In re Cigna Healthcare, Inc.
...court is not a court of general jurisdiction. Its powers are limited to those conferred upon it by statute." In re Estate of O'Dwyer , 135 N.H. 323, 324, 605 A.2d 216 (1992). We must therefore interpret the statute conferring jurisdiction upon the probate court to determine whether that jur......