mobilia sequuntur personam

Meaning

Phrase

• Common law doctrine holding that personal property held by a person is governed by the same law that governs that person, so that if a person who is legally domiciled in one jurisdiction dies with property in a second jurisdiction, that property is legally treated as though it were in the first jurisdiction.

Origin

• Latin mōbilia + sequuntur + persōnam = “chattels follow the person”.