Globalization can create some confusion with jurisdiction, when U.S. citizens who own property in another country pass away.
A recent case out of Alabama illustrates the problem of jurisdiction when American citizens with holdings in foreign countries pass away as discussed by the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "Case Summary on Estate Property in Foreign Jurisdiction."
In this case, a woman from the U.S. had been living in London and passed away there. Her nephew filed to administer her estate in Alabama, where the woman appears to have been legally domiciled in the U.S. and where personal property belonging to the estate was located.
A will was also separately submitted to probate in London.
As part of the process for handling these two cases, the Alabama administrator hired solicitors in the U.K. in order to represent him in the U.K. probate case. The parties were able to settle all of the disputes, other than how the administrator should pay the British attorneys.
The administrator asked an Alabama court to order all of the beneficiaries living in Alabama to put any money they received from the London case into escrow until that could be resolved. That request was granted, but one of the beneficiaries filed for a writ of mandamus with the Alabama Supreme Court to block it. They did and stated that the Alabama courts had no jurisdiction over the property in the London case.
Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Dec. 9, 2016) "Case Summary on Estate Property in Foreign Jurisdiction."