Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Contesting a will

Your father can give his possesions anywhere he likes. You may have grounds to contest his will if you find he is the victim of fraud or undue influence.

Re: Contesting a will

California lets a person leave his separate property and half of his community property to anyone he chooses, so contesting a will would be difficult--you'd have to show he was unduly influenced, incompetent, or operating under some kind of delusion when he made the will. Basically, did he not really mean what he said in the will, or did he not know what he was putting in the will?

If he does not make a will, you have the right to inherit 1/3 of his separate property--his spouse inherits the rest of his separate property and all of his community property.

As for timelines for contesting the will, you can normally do so up to the time it's admitted to probate, and after that up to four months from the time it's admitted. In this case, though, you haven't provided any facts that would make for a successful will contest--you could be successful if you're not named at all in the will (even for disinheritance purposes), and could argue he would've included you had he remembered you.