Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Finding my mother's assets
My mother died recently. She was
living with her boyfriend for 30
years. They were not married. They
owned businesses together and had
accounts together. He has made it
clear that all monies they had
together are his now. Is this true?
As her child do I not have the right
to know what her assets were? How
do I take action?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Finding my mother's assets
Unless they were married or she left him something in a will, he gets 0. But he won't deal seriously with you until you get a lawyer.
Re: Finding my mother's assets
I don't know if its true. If she had a living trust and it directed that all of the assets in the trust were to go to her husband, it might be true. But, it would only affect assets in the name of the trust. If she had a will, she might have left everything she had to him, but a will does nothing unless it is proved to be valid in probate and a personal representative of the estate is appointed to distribute according to the will. If she owned assets jointly with the rights of survivorship with her husband, those will pass to him without a probate. All of that being said, you can and should protect your rights by filing a probate of your mother's estate seeking letters of administration be issued in your name as the personal representative of the estate. You should hire a probate lawyer for that purpose. The legal fees will be dependent upon the size of your mom's estate and be paid from your mom's estate.
Yes you have rights. But, no one will protect those rights if you don't.
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