- 3 -3
(collectively referred to hereinafter as the sisters). Mrs.
Suvich died in 1970 in Rome, Italy. At the time of her death,
she owned real property (the property) located in Rome and
Trieste, Italy, including an apartment building located in
Trieste. Italian law controlled the distribution of Mrs.
Suvich's estate. Mrs. Marcus believed that Italian law called
for a property interest resembling a life estate to first pass to
her stepfather, Fulvio Suvich, with the property ultimately
passing to the three daughters of Mrs. Suvich in equal shares.3
Fulvio Suvich died in Rome, Italy, in 1980. Gabriella was a
resident of Switzerland, Claudia was a resident of Italy, and
Mrs. Marcus was a U.S. resident as of August 16, 1980. After her
stepfather's death, disputes arose between Mrs. Marcus and her
sisters about whether to sell the property. At least one of the
sisters did not want to sell the property because of a poor real
estate market and Italian tax considerations. Although Mrs.
Marcus believed she was entitled to one-third of the property,
disputes arose between the sisters as to "who should get what and
how much" and "how much should be given to the one and how much
3 Although respondent argued on brief that Mrs. Marcus inherited
one-third of the property in 1970 upon her mother's death,
respondent admitted in her answer that Mrs. Marcus inherited
through her stepfather's estate. We do not find the question of
which parent Mrs. Marcus inherited through to be pivotal in
deciding this case.
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