Probate Exception to Federal Diversity Jurisdiction: Matters Related to Probate, The

Although a strict reading of the federal diversity statute seems to permit a federal district court to hear any matter so long as the statutory requirements are met, 2 federal courts have consistently refused to hear cases in certain areas.'A widely stated generalization is that federal courts may not hear "probate matters." 4 But an examination of the cases indicates that the limitation is not as straightforward as it might appear, for federal courts frequently become involved in cases which touch upon probate matters.Hamilton v. Nielsen' involved the estate of a testator who died in 1972.His will named coexecutors for the estate, which was valued at approximately $2.5 million.6 The coexecutors were directed to pay the residue of the estate into a trust to be administered by a bank for the benefit of the testator's children.In 1977, the plaintiff, one of Hamilton's children, filed a diversity suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, charging the coexecutors with a breach of their duty to manage the 5. 678 F.2d 709 (7th Cir.1982).6. Id at 710.