Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: my grandfathers will

I suppose there are two possibilities. First, if the will was ever subject of a petition for probate, there should be a file on this probate proceeding in the court where the estate should have been handled, and the will would be in the court file.

The other possibility is that someone other than the court may have a copy and be willing to give it to you. The possibilities include your uncle (apparently unlikely to cooperate) or the law firm that prepared the will.

If there was a significant amount of property you thought you were going to inherit, and no one has come to you with credible facts about that, or worse yet, you've been told what may be lies, you should run, not walk, to a lawyer that handles administration of estates, being sure the one you talk to has no conflicts of interest with other heirs.

Haste may be necessary because of two factors: (1) statutes of limitations, and (2) the ever-increasing difficulty of locating and recovering "lost" assets with the passage of time.

Another thing to keep in mind is that executors have to be bonded unless the requirement of a bond is waived in the will. The bonding company, if any, may know the contents of the will and may be liable for any breach of fiduciary duty by the executor.