Legal Question in Family Law in California

Are you actually sure they are truly legally separated? It is highly unusual, since that requires going through 99.9% of the same process as a divorce, and should have included dealing with all that. In any case, however, if he has no will his estate will be distributed under the intestate succession law of Michigan, not California. So you first need to make sure you know whether they truly went through a whole divorce proceeding but elected only to be legally separated, and then ask your question of the Michigan panel here on Law Guru.

I agree with Mr. McCormick. The general rule is that personal property is probated in the State where the decedent was living when he died, which in this case appears to be Michigan. So you will need to make sure there was an actual legal separation, which involves a court proceeding, and not just a physical separation. Then repost in the category for Michigan attorneys to answer.