Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Locating and filing grandmother's will

check with the superior court in the county in which your grandmother died to see if a will has been lodged with the court as required by the probate code. if it has not, retain a qualified attorney and file a petition for probate of your grandmother's estate.

Re: Locating and filing grandmother's will

Did you aunt have any friends or other family members who could tell you the name of the attorney so you can try to obtain a copy of the will?

The will names an executor, who is the person in charge of administering your grandmother's estate. I assume this is your aunt. If she is unwilling to take on this role, you could petition the Court to appoint yourself as the personal adminsitrator of your grandmother's estate.

Re: Locating and filing grandmother's will

You should contact an attorney for assistance. Otherwise you should consider citing your aunt to appear and produce a copy of the will. You should also consider checking with the local probate court to see if the will has already been lodged and/or probate open. If nothing else works, file a petition to open probate. Ask the court to appoint you as administer of the estate. These methods, however, work best when used within a specific strategy.