Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

You are in a difficult situation and I encourage you to consult with an attorney who practices in the county where your father lived. (I assume he has died; otherwise you could talk to him about whether he has a will.) Although I am licensed in California, I do not do probate work in California so I have no financial incentive to encourage you to see a California attorney.

There are two possibilities with respect to the safety deposit box. Both your father and his wife could have access to it. If that is the case the wife could clean it out. If only your father had access to it, then an attorney could get a court order to have the box opened to take an inventory and determine if there is a will.

If there is no will, you and your sibling(s) would still a right to share in your father's estate, but the difficulty may be getting an accounting of his personal property, and determining what is community property. There are a lot of issues here that don't allow a simple answer.