Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Our mother died six years ago and dad was unable to go to court to have the Will passed on to him because his dementia took a turn for the worse after mom's death. The judge told our brother that had power of attorney for him that the court requires dad to be the one to state to the court that mom passed away. Dad just passed away a couple weeks ago and there are seven adult siblings. We would love the Will to be passed on to all of us as instructed on the Will . It states that all assets including the home to be divided equally. We would all love for the title of the house to be put in all our names and we would like to keep it. We would pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance, up keep and utilities on it and use it as our central meeting place for festivities. We are a close family and we are all on the same page. What can you advice to make this happen?


Asked on 12/30/11, 6:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

I am somewhat skeptical that seven adult siblings are, or will remain, so closely in agreement on ownership, control and use of inherited property. In my experience, someone will break ranks sooner or later. The heirs should employ at least one lawyer with a specialization in the administration of estates. This is not a rare specialty and running the will through a proper probate proceeding and getting title, etc. properly recorded is step one. Keeping things on an even keel will not always be easy. There'll be taxes to pay, decisions about renting or selling the property, who is entitled to possession, who will manage it, and so on. Good luck to the seven of you, and I hope all continues to go smoothly, but it is quite important to use one or more attorneys and not try to handle the probate yourselves, either as a group or any one of you alone.

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Answered on 12/30/11, 7:15 pm


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