Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

You will have to see if there is a separate Probate court in LA County. Then search the archives, possibly in microfiche or computerized.

Although he died in the County of Los Angeles, his case may or may not have been probated in LA. It depends on other issues.

There is no separate Probate Court in LA County. What you need to do is go to the courthouse nearest you in Los Angeles County, and use the computer terminal in the clerk's office to search the registry of actions, to determine whether a probate case was ever opened. The online index will give you a case number, and tell you where the probate was heard.

If you call that court clerk for that courthouse, you can find out whether the case is archived or not. If it is archived, you have to go downtown to an elevator across the street from the Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 Hill Street (near the metro station.) They have an archived basement and cards you fill out to order the file, or they will send you to microfiche.

A quicker way is to determine whether he owned property, and whether it has been transferred. If real property that he owned was transferred, the county recorder's office will most likely have a recorded "court action conveyance" which will have the courthouse address, and case number, saving you a lot of time.

Call or e-mail me if you have any questions.