Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
I am an only child In 2007 My mother passed away in the hospital. She was there for 2 months. My Mom (a widow) had for some years been living with her sister (my Aunt also a widow) who also has only one child (my cousin). Anyway my Aunt cleaned my mom out of all her jewelry, photo's, 8 mm home movies artifacts, diaries, registered firearms, strong box containing silver certificates, silver dollars, stamps and savings bonds and lord knows what else. Losing my Mom was already hard on me and when I went to my Aunts to pack up Moms things, I found my Aunt had packed EVERYTHING up (labeled, boxed & taped up) very nice and put it all in her garage and frankly that took me by surprise. After examining the labels and not seeing reference to the list of things listed above I asked my Aunt about them. My Aunt failed to give me a definitive answer only saying she packed up everything Mom owned and whatever I can't find SHE didn't know what to tell me (unquote). I noticed my Aunt had installed dead bolts on 2 of the bedrooms which seemed odd, when I asked her she said to secure her valuables whenever she wasn't home. My gut told me my Aunt who was full of anxiety that she was withholding information, but I just hoped for the best. When everything mentioned above was not in any of the boxes I later unpacked, I knew my Aunt had taken it all. I can't do anything about it since I wasn't going to make trouble for my Aunt who I also love, I figure I will get it all one day anyway and if her taking it all makes her happy then whatever.My Aunt is nearly 80 yrs old now and has health problems. She suffers from excess weight, diabetes and extreme anxiety and lives alone in her cluttered 4 bedroom house. As the years went on she grew more & more distant to me and never has the time or inclination to allow me to visit her or talk to me more than 5 minutes when I am lucky to catch her (on her B-day & Mothers day - Xmas) My Question is...When the day comes and my Aunt passes away my cousin will inherent her Mothers paid for California house & all it contains. As I've got older I find myself at times feeling at odds and worried thoughts go through my mind that I won't ever unite with what is rightfully mine especially when her will says all that she leave behind was mine. I have an only child too (a son 30yrs) no grand kids yet but I want those photo's and 8mm movies and coin & certificates collections worth money for my own child and his babies he will have one day. About a yr ago I contact my cousin after not having spoken since 2002. She was distant and acted phony like a stranger would who is uncomfortable, I felt that gut feeling again tell me to keep quiet less I tip her off what's bugging me and cause her to worry. The day my Aunt dies I can't see myself contacting my cousin then and asking for stuff. Yet if I don't ask for Moms stuff THEN my cousin might loose, throw it out or keep what I am looking to retain for herself. That cousin is a single Mother with one child (a teen aged son) living in Sacramento, who is inclined to hold the grudge she has against me till the day I die. You see before I met my husband and started my own family I was a 19 year old with my own apt, car job etc. My cousin had dropped out of HS & was a troubled under aged teen. She and I were very close. She came to live with me and we had some great times. I took care of her needs and tried to get her to get her GED. When I fell in love and got married I made her go back home and said it was for her own good she go back home and finish school and she never forgave me. She became further despondent in 1986 when her brother committed suicide by gunshot to the head and soon after her father died while driving on the freeway from a heart attack (thankfully no accident occurred as his car was located off to the side of the road) The weird thing is that my aunt and cousin failed to tell the rest of us about these tragedies for years. How weird is that? So I don't put it passed my cousin to withhold the news if my Aunt dies, especially since I am all that's left anyway pretty much. I am ashamed to say I often check the death index and obituary when I don't have luck reaching my Aunt. Please give me some idea what i can do to secure my Mom's worldly possessions somehow. I really appreciate your help. Thank You.
1 Answer from Attorneys
I'm sorry for your loss.
You can file a Petition for Probate for your mother's estate, but unless the items you mentioned are worth a lot, it probably would not be a good idea financially. Maybe try gently to talk to your aunt and explain that you are legally entitled (assuming your mom had no Will) to the missing items and that you would rather settle things privately than take it to court?
This is not legal advice and we do not have an attorney-client relationship.
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