Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Hi, I am trying to help my mom. Her father died and had a will - he lived in California. We live in Oregon. My mom has not seen a full copy of it regardless of her attempts from her brother-in-law who is handling the trust. Is this a public document or is there a way to get a copy through another venue?
Thank you,
Christine
3 Answers from Attorneys
It is a public document if it was submitted into probate. If there is no probate opened, your mom can open one and obtain an order that it be submitted to the court.
How you get access to the document will depend on whether you are dealing with a will or a trus. In either case, however, if your mother is a beneficiary she is entitled to a copy. If it is a will, you should check the court records in the county where your father lived. If the will is being probated, as is necessary in most cases, you should be able to obtain a copy from the Court files. If your father had a trust, there are statutory requirements regarding the providing of notice and a copy of the Trust to beneficiaries. There are other ways to go at this type of a situation, but this is where I would start.
Good luck.
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Find out if probate was opened in the county in which he lived. If yes, there should be a copy of the will. If there was a trust, you may be able to obtain that through the probate process also. You should obtain an attorney. If you dont, and you put in some legwork and find out that your mom should have received money under the will but brother is not complying, send me an email.
Best,
Daniel Bakondi, Esq.
415-450-0424
The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC
870 Market Street, Suite 1161
San Francisco CA 94102
http://www.danielbakondi.com
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