Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

I am in a family dispute over the legal ownership of jewelry left by my deceased Grandfather.

Long before my grandfather passes he expressed his wishes regarding my deceased grandmothers anniversary/wedding ring to several family members. His wishes were that the ring go to his oldest daughter (my mother) who is to pass it to her oldest daughter (me) then to the next and so on. He personally told 3 generations of these family members (my mom, me and my daughter) what he wanted. He died 5 years ago, and for nearly 4 years my youngest sister has been wearing the ring and was told by my mother not to tell me...so whenever she was in my presence she would take it off. Several family members have been aware of this "big secret" for many years. My sister even had the ring re-sized to fit her and put it on her home owners insurance policy. Recently, I found out about it, went to my sisters house and asked her for it...she gave it to me. She told me that she was borrowing it and was going to give it to me when our mother died. Now the two of them (my mom and sister) are denying that my grandfather made any wish regarding the ring and have threatened to call the cops if I don't give it back. I have at least 3 or more persons who are more than willing to make attestations to confirm my grandfathers wishes. I know that my mother would be considered the owner, however she clearly has no intention of following grandfathers wishes. What are my options?


Asked on 12/01/09, 2:07 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

Legally, none of you have been acting correctly. If he left a Will, the ring and all of his possessions pass based upon what the Will states. If he had no Will, then the Probate Code sets up a ranked list of possible heirs, which should be all of his children. Assuming your mother has siblings, she gets merely an equal interest in the ring. Either the ring is sold and the proceeds go in to the estate, or the administrator of the estate figures out how to fairly and evenly divide up the estate assets. What your grandfather said has no legally binding effect; ethically the heirs should consider it in determining what they ask for to be part of their estate distribution. All of you probably need to go to an attorney to figure out what should be done as I assume all the assets have been distributed without regard to the law and could be taken away in the future by anyone demanding the probate laws be followed.

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Answered on 12/06/09, 1:43 pm


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