The Mississippi Court of Appeals recently found that Section 91-7-33 Miss. Code Ann. does not bar the initial proving of a lost foreign will in Mississippi where the will disposes of property in Mississippi. See In the Matter of the Estate of Artis High, Deceased: Arbella High Watt v. Gracie Cobb, Joe High and David High No. 2008-CA-00799-COA.

The Court of Appeals reversed a Chancery Court decision which held that where the testator was domiciled in another state, and the will was a lost will, the will could not be probated in Mississippi until it was first probated in the state of domicile.

The Court of Appeals emphasized that part of Section 91-7-33 which provides that the original “may be proven,” and aptly pointed out that the statute does not include mandatory language such as the word “must.”