Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Is your house titled in your mother's name? Was it community property with your stepfather or your mother's separate property? More facts are needed before an answer can be given.

I agree with Ms. Rouse. If the will was not signed, it is not a valid will. But other questions arise that a competent probate lawyer would ask, such as how title to the property was held (community property with right of survivorship, joint tenancy, tenants in common, etc.), whether it was held in a trust, and whether it would be considered community property.

Under the laws of intestate succession (which apply in the absence of a will or probate avoidance mechanism) the surviving spouse inherits the deceased spouse's community property.