Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

If there was a will leaving anything to you, the executor would be required to notify you as part of the probate, but it doesn't hurt to check with the court to see if a probate has been opened, find out who the executor is, and contact them. If she died intestate (without a will) you would almost certainly get nothing from her estate and therefore would receive no notices.

If your step-mother adopted you, the you would be considered as being a "child of her body" and the same as a child that she gave birth to. But you do not give us enough information to know what the legal situation is. Some court will allow you to go on line to find what is filed with the court for probate, but many require you to know a hearing date or case number. Since she died in may, you should assume that either there is no executor or that you are not included as a beneficiary. You should also find out, if your father died without a Will, if any part of your father's estate was his private property as opposed to community property and if so, was not transformed into community property by the assets being commingled with your step mother.