Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
deceased personal property
My fiance died in december. we lived together in my home for almost 5 years(he never paid rent). he has a 9 year old daughter from a previous relationship (they were never married). somehow the mother of his daughter has been granted administrator of his estate. Which scares me, b/c she has always been bitter that he left her. She is requesting all of his personal belongings. i packed up (very nicely) all of his daughters things and personal things they made together or that would be cherished by her; and gave them to her mother. Now the ex is requesting his clothing, shoes etc...what should i do? who holds the burden to prove he had anything in my home at all. this sounds mean, but his life was with me and his ex only wants to hurt me more. she has not allowed any of his family or mine to see the daughter and is only interested in how much money she can get...in addition the final petition date is june 6th, is there any way to protest her being the administrator, or a way that i as his fiance can be notified of any sale of his property. he has vintage cars taht i would buy from the estate, so they wouldn't be lost at auction or some private sale she would do. thank you in advance for your time and help. ''Fianc�'s have no rights''
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: deceased personal property
While you are correct that California law does not generally favor unmarried individuals, as you describe it there seems to be a number of factors that would weigh in your favor. I would immediately find a probate attorney to assist you, for there is most likely a few things that can be done on your behalf. You really need someone local, in your county. Specifically probate law. If you cannot manage to locate an appropriate attorney in your county, give us a call next week and we will try to assist you in doing so.
Re: deceased personal property
Mr. Burton is very correct in stating that you need to contact immediately an experienced probate attorney. Under California law, a child born out of wedlock is still considered the heir of her biological father. Her mother normally would be appointed by the Court as her guardian ad litum and also probably the administrator of the estate. Are you sure there is no Will? You should go down to the Court house and look through the probate file, making copies of significant papers in the file. Your attorney will need to see these papers and later will get a copy of the entire file. If you paid anything as to the cars or clothing you might be able to try to claim some partial interest in those items. Did he promise you anything such as taking care of you, giving you some material items, etc. When were you to marry? Good luck.
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