Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: California Wills

If there is a will, the estate should be probated. You should appear in probate as an interested party and be skeptical. The "Will" may be a forgery or improperly executed, or invalid due to other factors.

If it is invalid, the estate will be distributed in probate by intestacy, and you will receive a significant inheritance from it. If the will is valid and leaves everything to your step mother, you may well wind up cut out entirely.

A probate is a lawsuit. Real money is involved. You should have legal representation.

For yourself, and to avoid these types of problems you may want to educate yourself about the basics.

I suggest you read my book on the subject, "Create Your Legacy & Save the American Middle Class, How You Can Protect Your Loved Ones in the Event of Death or Disability (Without Paying a Legal Fees}"

You can order the book on-line at Amazon.com, but, it is better to order at www.IWant2CreateMyLegacy.com. If you order there, you will get a free special report entitled "The Seven (7) Most Common Mistakes Made by the Middle Class in Planning For the Inevitability of Death and the Likelihood of Disability, and How to Avoid Them." This report alone could save you and your family hundreds of times the cost of the book.

The book is, to my knowledge, the only one written for regular people in the middle class, and it contains in an appendix the Legacy Living Trust Package, which to my knowledge is the only complete fill-in the blanks trust package written in simple English (no Legalese) that will be valid in every State in the US.

Re: California Wills

if there is a will (but not a revocable trust), it is likely that probate will be necessary. in that case you should receive notice of the probate proceeding.

in the case of a will, it is required to be lodged with the court, even if probate is not needed. you can check with the superior court to determine whether or not this has been done.

or you can file a petition for probate at which time the will would be required to be produced. if you suspect that your interests will not be protected, you should retain an attorney for further advice (and to take any necessary action).