Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: locating a will or trust

Most people keep the original will or trust in their possession or in a safe deposit box. The best place to look would be around her house. If she owns her house, and if you don't find anything there, you might check the county public records to see how title to the house is held. If your mother created a trust, she would likely have transferred the house to the trust. You may or may not need to probate her estate depending on the value of her estate, whether or not she created a trust, etc. If her assets do not exceed $100,000 and there is no real estate, you should not need the court's intervention at all. I am not sure if you have brothers or sisters, if she is survived by a husband, etc. The answers to these questions will determine who is entitled to her assets. If you have additional questions, feel free to call me at (714) 921-3216. Be sure to mention that you are calling in response to this message and I would be glad to give you 20 to 30 minutes over the phone.

Re: locating a will or trust

There isn't a time limit on filing probate, but there are some other deadlines that may be important, like the one-year statute of limitations for claims against the estate and the three-year limit for filing a property tax reassessment exclusion. You may also need access to bank accounts to pay any recurring debts that, if unpaid, would result in repossession or foreclosure.

As for locating the will or trust, start by contacting any attorney she may have used, if you have a name. Otherwise, look through the house/safe deposit box(es) for the documents--people usually keep them with other important papers at home. If there was a trust, her assets have likely been put into the trust and title will show it, e.g. "Mary Jones, Trustee of the Mary Jones Living Trust dated 1/5/2000." Good luck with the search--even if you find nothing, you would still need to go through the probate (or summary probate) procedures to change title to the assets.