Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Unless the property and possession were subject to a trust, a probate will be needed to transfer the property. If your father did not have a will, an administrator will be appointed in the probate which will need to be filed in the county where your father resided and where the property presumably is located.

Until the property has been titled to you in a probate proceeding or out of a trust, it does NOT belong to you or your sister. It belongs to the estate of your deceased father. In which case you or someone must open a probate case and be appointed executor of his will (if he had one) or administrator of his estate if he did not. It is likely the property can be sold directly out of probate under the control of the executor/administrator and under supervision of the court. Then the cash would be distributed among the heirs. If the property has actually already properly transferred out of the estate to you and your sister, then your only options are to cooperate in selling it, or file a partition action to have it sold by the sheriff. Search "partition" on the LawGuru site to see why partition is a very last resort.