Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: after the fact

If they were not mentioned, they could have some rights. Assuming the estate went through probate, they were entitled to notice of the proceedings. Failure to provide notice, and failure to include them in the petition for probate could cause problems. It might become important as to who died first.

Re: after the fact

A child or other person who would ordinarily be an heir but who is not mentioned in a will is called a "pretermitted" heir. "Pretermitted" means overlooked or left out. Probate Code sections 21620, 21621 and 21622 provide the basic law in California as to when a pretermitted child can petition a Court to amend the will to include him or her, and the burden of proof to succeed with such a petition.

The general principle is to allow the court to modify the provisions of a will only where it is sufficiently clear that the pretermission was due to accident or oversight, rather that intentional.

This is why testators often leave $1 to persons they wish to disinherit -- the nominal bequest overcomes any will contest based upon a theory of "overlooked heir."

I would guess you'll have an uphill battle to contest the will, but my advice would be to ask an attorney (or several attorneys) who specialize in the area of probate administration for a free initial consultation to review the wording of the particular will in question here to give you an idea of whether you have a winnable case.