Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

You have to get a copy of the will or trust. You may want to start by checking with the courthouse where the parents died, to find out if a probate was opened, or if there was any trust litigation. Property may have been distributed to your ex husband and his relatives, and you are going to have to gather some information.

If there was an inheritance by will, there would have to be a probate case filed in the county in which they resided when they died. A copy of their wills would be in the file. If they planned ahead, and avoided probate, then there would be no probate. You could try searching the grantor/grantee index in the county recorder's office to see if they ever deeded anything into a trust to avoid probate. I'm assuming your ex wouldn't tell you/them?