Malenko

John Horman 1 died on December 25, 1961, in Orange County and left an estate in excess of $450,000. The public administrator was appointed administrator of the estate in January 1962. Three years later, in January 1965, the State of California filed a petition for decree determining interest in estate which stated: that the decedent left no surviving spouse, kindred nor heirs; that various persons claimed an interest in the estate, but their rights had not been judicially determined; that the state was entitled to distribution of the estate as escheated property. While it is apparent that the state initiated the heirship proceedings, a separate heirship petition, statements of claim, and statements of interest were filed by various persons who maintained that they were the heirs of the decedent. Consequently, the burden rested with the purported heirs to establish their relationship to the decedent, and in the interest of brevity, they will be referred to herein as “claimants” or “appellants,” and the State of California will be designated by name or as “ respondent. ’ ’

Appellants are citizens of the U.S.S.R. and reside in various parts of the Soviet Union. In their petition and…