Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
brother(1) opens a family trust, sister(1) dies with out a will, no spouse, no children. her estate is added to family trust by brother(1) Two other siblings die, brother(2) is not in question. brother(3)has no spouse, one blood adult child and one adult step child, both living. brother(1) has been handling brother(3) affairs since 1996, and says he is the executor for both sister(1) and brother(3) sister(1)estate is valued at $740,000 brother(3)estate is valued at $618,000 brother(1) says brother(3) amended his will, it was done on legalforms.com and brother(1)added it to the family trust. filed in Nevada first then in ca. Brother (1) lives in Nevada brother (3) and sister(1) lived in ca. brother(3) blood child(1) lives in hi. and step child(2) lives in co. brother(1) says brother(3) left everything to him in his amended will. brother(1)has since changed the family trust to his trust (his full name) trust and brother(1) says he is not giving anything to brother(3) blood child(1) or step child(2) child(1)is on disability, homeless and does not understand what rights are or what the laws are. and I am child(2) Of course there are a lot of unknown facts, (1. Joint tenancy assets.
2. Trust assets.
3. IRAs, 401K accounts, and similar pension accounts.
4. Life insurance.
5. Death benefits.
6. Registered vehicles.
7. Pay from service with the armed forces.
8. Salary from any source not paid before date of death up to $15,000.
9. Pay on death (POD) accounts.
10. Accounts with a named beneficiary My question is if there is a lawyer who after reading this will take this case on contingency. sister(1)and brother(3) estates combined is $1,358,000.00 brother(1) lives in a $355,000 home, paid for.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You are advised to seek the assistance of a litigation probate lawyer to represent you, for beneficiary representation, as you appear to be a step child (2) and may not be enetitled to anything. A good lawyer will charge an hourly rate, rather than gamble with a contingency fee contract.
I agree with Mr. Waid. You need to discuss this complicated matter with a litigation probate attorney. I am not sure where you fit in line with all of this, but it does sound as if something suspicious is happening here. You may be able to find an attorney who will provide a free consultation.
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