Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

If your father died intestate (no will) and with no spouse, his estate should be divided equally between his children (assuming they are all living.) But some assets may have beneficiary designations (POD) or be held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship,and therefore would not be a part of his estate.

By "she" do you mean your sister? I recommend you talk to her first before retaining an attorney.

It is intestate succession when there is no will so the estate would be split by children in equal shares in the absence of a surviving spouse. If she has been unethical in the past, you will have to assume you need an attorney but if you can work it out first, so much the better. If you are first to apply to be Administrator, the fees are an expense of the estate. If you are not appointed, the fees are your own to bear. Hope this helps.

The advice above is good. Go to your father's place and if you can get in video tape with verbal details all of his possessions of value or that you are interested in. To change title in real property [house, land] you need to file for probate or if the assets have a gross value of $100,000 or more. In probate the estate can try to get back what your sister took from your mother's estate that should have gone to your father.

You need to see a probate attorney who handles litigation, taking all the paperwork you have showing title to the property and a summary of what happened when.The attorney can then write a sharp letter to your sister to try to keep her from taking any of your father's assets. That should take about 2 hours. A large number of attorneys can do that [I charge $100 per hour] and you can always replace that attorney with another to do the probate work. Finding out information about your sister illegally taking money from your mother's estate will help convince the judge that she is not trusted to be the administrator in your father's case.