Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I would recommend hiring an estate attorney immediately to protect your rights.

You and your brother definitely need to consult with an estate attorney who feels comfortable engaging in probate litigation. About all anyone can do here is give you some general advice.

The power of attorney made out to the girlfriend should have terminated with your father's passing. As such, your father's girlfriend should not be able to take any action based on that document. The POA also does not act as a will and say who should receive the business or any other asset after your father's passing.

Without seeing whether your father had estate planning documents (such as a will or a trust), it is not possible to advise you as to what you might inherit. It may be that you need to force commence a probate of your father's estate to force the disclosure of any will that your father made. The situation is somewhat critical, in that there is an ongoing business without a head, and the business needs to be protected.

I strongly encourage you and your brother to consult with counsel immediately to map out a course of action, and to ensure the orderly transfer of your father's assets, the payment of your father's debts, and the resolution of any claims that your father's girlfriend might have. Time is not your ally in this situation.

Remember, girlfriends have little standing and unless in the will doesnt have much of a claim, as mentioned by my colleagues, get a probate attorney

You have received good answers. Mr. Perry is correct that the POA expired when your father died. POA's are only effective to allow the holder of the power to do that which the grantor of the power could legally do. So if the grantor becomes mentally incapacitated or otherwise loses the legal power to act on their own behalf, the power terminates. Dying being the ultimate incapacity to take legal actions, all POA's expire on death. (There are "durable" powers of attorney that survive certain forms of incapacity, but even those expire on death). Anyone can open a probate of a person's estate, and ask to be named executor. You do not have to have the will to do that. In fact that is the common method of forcing the holder of a will to give it up, since once the probate is opened the court and law will require them to deposit the will with the court. With an unwilling will holder, however, that can sometimes require a number of court proceedings. So it's not a place for amateurs. Unfortunately LawGuru.com has decided to strip the zip codes from postings, meaning I have no idea where you are located. So I can't point you to any local resources or make any referrals. If you are in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, however, I would be happy to assist you. I have offices in San Francisco, and Walnut Creek, and facilities throughout the Bay Area and in Sacramento.