Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

OK, first off, $100,000 is a small estate as far as the law and Probate Court is concerned. Second, by even asking this question, as a person assisting another person, you are asking us to assist you in practicing law without a license. Third, how to contact brothers in Iran is not a legal question. We have no idea how to find a dead man's brothers in Iran. Lastly, (finally) a question we can answer: if the man died in California and he has no living brothers, wife or offspring, then you have to look at who is still living. Brother's or sister's are a second choice after parents. Brothers or sisters children are the next likely category, but without knowing the family tree and who is alive there is no way to conclusively answer who is entitled to the estate.

As Mr. McCormick said this is not a large estate by probate standards. In fact, if less than $150k then a full probate is not required. Did the person own real estate or just money in the bank? In terms of finding the family a lot of times heir finders are brought in who will find the family... for a cut of course. They are amazingly efficient at finding people!