SECTION 3-201 Uniform Probate Code. VENUE FOR FIRST AND SUBSEQUENT ESTATE PROCEEDINGS; LOCATION OF PROPERTY.

VENUE FOR PROBATE AND ADMINISTRATION; PRIORITY TO ADMINISTER; DEMAND FOR NOTICE
SECTION 3-201 Uniform Probate Code. VENUE FOR FIRST AND SUBSEQUENT ESTATE PROCEEDINGS; LOCATION OF PROPERTY.
(a) Venue for the first informal or formal testacy or appointment proceedings after a decedent’s death is:
(1) in the [county] where the decedent had his domicile at the time of his death; or (2) if the decedent was not domiciled in this state, in any [county] where property

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of the decedent was located at the time of his death.
(b) Venue for all subsequent proceedings within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court is
in the place where the initial proceeding occurred, unless the initial proceeding has been transferred as provided in Section 1-303 or subsection (c).
(c) If the first proceeding was informal, on application of an interested person and after notice to the proponent in the first proceeding, the court, upon finding that venue is elsewhere, may transfer the proceeding and the file to the other court.
(d) For the purpose of aiding determinations concerning location of assets which may be relevant in cases involving non-domiciliaries, a debt, other than one evidenced by investment or commercial paper or other instrument in favor of a non-domiciliary is located where the debtor resides or, if the debtor is a person other than an individual, at the place where it has its principal office. Commercial paper, investment paper and other instruments are located where the instrument is. An interest in property held in trust is located where the trustee may be sued.
Comment
Sections 1-303 and 3-201 cover the subject of venue for estate proceedings. Sections 3- 202, 3-301, 3-303 and 3-309 also may be relevant.
The provisions for transfer of venue appear in Section 1-303.
The interplay of these several sections may be illustrated best by examples.
Example 1. A formal probate or appointment proceeding is initiated in A County. Interested persons who believe that venue is in B County rather than A County must raise their question about venue in A County, because Section 1-303 gives the court in which the proceeding is first commenced authority to resolve disputes over venue. If the court in A County erroneously determines that it has venue, the remedy is by appeal.
Example 2. An informal probate or appointment application is filed and granted without notice in A County. If interested persons wish to challenge the Registrar’s determination of venue, they may not simply file a formal proceeding in the county of their choice and thus force the proponent in the prior proceeding to debate the question of venue in their county. Section 3- 201(b) locates the venue of any subsequent proceeding where the first proceeding occurred. The

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function of subsection (b) is obvious when one thinks of subsequent proceedings as those which relate to claims, or accounts, or to efforts to control a personal representative. It is less obvious when it seems to locate the forum for squabbles over venue at the place accepting the first informal application. Still, the applicant seeking an informal order must be careful about the statements he makes in his application because he may be charged with perjury under Section 1- 310 if he is deliberately inaccurate. Moreover, the Registrar must be satisfied that the allegations in the application support a finding of venue. Section 3-201(c) provides a remedy for one who is upset about the venue-locating impact of a prior order in an informal proceeding and who does not wish to engage in full litigation about venue in the forum chosen by the other interested person unless he is forced to do so. Using it, he may succeed in getting the A County Court to transfer the proceedings to the county of his choice. He would be well advised to initiate formal proceedings if he gets the chance, for if he relies on informal proceedings, he, too, may be “bumped” if the judge in B County agrees with some movant that venue was not in B County.
Example 3. If the decedent’s domicile was not in the state, venue is proper under Sections 3-201 and 1-303 in any county where he had assets.
One contemplating starting administration because of the presence of local assets should have several other sections of the Code in mind. First, by use of the recognition provisions in Article IV, it may be possible to avoid administration in any state other than that in which the decedent was domiciled. Second, Section 3-203 may apply to give priority for local appointment to the representative appointed at domicile. Third, under Section 3-309, informal appointment proceedings in this state will be dismissed if it is known that a personal representative has been previously appointed at domicile.