Estate of Eng

This appeal from an order appointing an administrator turns upon the right of a Chinese national, residing in Canton, China, to inherit from a California decedent. The decedent, a resident of Los Angeles County, California, but whose nationality is unspecified in the record, died intestate December 5, 1962, leaving both real and personal property. She was a widow and childless. Some of her estate had been the community property of the decedent and her predeceased spouse. She was survived by her mother and her mother-in-law, who would share in the community property under Probate Code, section 228 The brother of decedent's deceased husband filed a petition for letters of administration, alleging that he was an heir at law. The public administrator also petitioned for letters. The two petitions were heard together and evidence was *Page 162 taken, after which the probate court found that the mother and the mother-in-law of the decedent were the heirs at law, and both were citizens and residents of the Republic of China. The court concluded that the brother-in-law was not entitled to share in the estate, and that the public administrator therefore had priority under Probate Code,…