Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: How do I find out if my uncle had a will?

That is a very difficult and challenging thing to do. California's a big state as he lived in a populated area the best thing I could do would be to tell you contact the local bar associations. For instance if he lived in Oakland you wouldn't locate the associations in San Francisco, Alameda County, and possibly Contra Costa County. Asked to put in and in their monthly bulletin and hope that his attorney belongs to the local bar association, gets the bulletin and reads it. Attorneys are not required to belong to local bar associations. That is voluntary. There are legal newspapers in given areas also. To put in and in the legal newspaper and hope that the attorney sees the ad during the period that it is run. That could be very expensive but the same time if the estate is large enough it may be worth it. Now to the real issue which you haven't covered in your question, you should find a good probate attorney in the area in which her father lived. That attorney can file a probate on behalf of the individual with for instance you as the administrator. That will force the wife into court. You can say that you don't know who will and petitioner court to require her to produce a will. If she knows of one and you can prove that you get older in contempt. If the 73 and she's 33 and they were recently married most of his property is his separate property and she does not have an absolute right to all of that. As his wife she is a right to some of the assets and a will depend on how long he was married to begin with as to what she has an interest in as community property and the rest will just filter is way out. Contacting the local probate attorney will help. Again you don't know any so I would do one of two things. Call the local bar association in asked for a probate specialist in their lawyer referral services. Alternatively, get a copy of the Yellow Pages in the area and look up probate attorney's.i have been practicing law in this speciality for over 30 years in the san francisco bay area and if you wish to consult with me you can contact me at 925-945-6000.

Re: How do I find out if my uncle had a will?

Hire a Probate Attorney where your Uncle Lived. File a Petition with the Court. Go from there.

If I can be of more help in the Probate area, please do not hesitate to contact me at my office.