Litigants facing disputes involving the assets of a decedent should carefully consider the forum they choose to initiate an action or proceeding. They should not allow assumptions to dictate their initial decisions in this regard. Common missteps based on faulty assumptions range from believing the Surrogate's Court is more limited in its subject matter jurisdiction than it is, to believing that the Surrogate's Court's jurisdiction is virtually limitless so long as a decedent is somehow involved. Similarly, litigants sometimes make faulty assumptions when deciding to bring an action in federal court versus New York state courts where parties reside in different states. This column is intended to illustrate a few examples of jurisdictional issues that involve disputes over a decedent's assets or affairs to demonstrate why a choice of forum is not always as obvious or simple as one might assume.