Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Assuming your mother and father were married at the time she passed, and she did not make a will that provided otherwise, your father would probably be the legal heir of your grandfather. The more difficult issue is what became of the brokerage account. Best guess the funds were paid to the state controller's office, where you can search under your grandfather's name under "Unclaimed Property." Your father could then file a claim with the state. Best of luck.

Stone is wrong. I'm assuming from the phrasing of the question that the owner of the asset was your maternal grandfather. The first issue is whether the wills omitting her sibling(s) are valid. There is no way to determine that without a full review of the documents themselves and the facts and circumstances of their preparation and execution. Holographic wills are valid if authentic an do not contain illegal provisions, but they're damned hard to authenticate 15 years after the fact. IF you can establish that your mother was the sole heir, and as Mr. Stone says, your parents were married and mom had now will, then the assets would have been your mother's separate property. In California, spouses get all the community property, but separate property is another story. If there is no will, it goes 1/3 to the surviving spouse and 2/3 to the next heir(s) under the intestate provisions of the Probate Code. In this case it sounds like that 2/3 would go to you and your siblings in equal shares. Stone is right, however, that the state my have the assets by now. Good luck.