Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
My sons dad recently passed away without a will. He had been married for 4 yrs @ the time and lived in OK. My son is 44yrs old and lives in CA. His father had purchased a new Harley prior to his marriage and had told his wife and others that the bike was to go to my son along with a gun collection etc. His wife called and said that she had let the bike "go back" because she couldn't afford pymts. and had given the guns away. Thr bike would have nearly if not fully been paid off by now and have too much equity/value to consider a repo. There is also a home and acreage plus tractors etc. that his dad had at time of his death.The wife had called and said she would mail my son a box with a few of his dads things if he wanted. My son is his only child. My son is unemployed at this time and has a wife and four small children. He cannot afford council and really does not know what to do or what rights he may have or even if the wife is being honest with him or not. Any and all advice in this matter will be appreciated. Thank you.
3 Answers from Attorneys
When someone dies, a probate should be opened to deal with the estate, you can check with county officials to see if this was done. She should have a record of who the guns were given to, I believe, by law. OK law may apply. Can you prove his father's intentions regarding the bike and guns? If so, the wife may have breached her duties - arguably, it may have been your son's decision of whether or not to take over payments. You might try court in OK? I cant advise re OK law.
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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All of the handling of the estate of a deceased person is based on his residence at time of death. You need to re-post this under OK.
Mr. McCormick is part right, and part wrong. Real property (meaning land) is probated in the state where the real property is, regardless of where the owner died. Personal property is probated in the state where the decedent died. It is possible for two probates to be opened.
If the decedent died in Oklahoma, personal property issues (like motorcycles, bank accounts) would have to be probated in Oklahoma, and you would need to repost your specific question in OK's category. If the land was in OK, that rule would also apply.
If the real property was in California, then California's laws of intestate succession would apply, although it would be nice to know how title was held, and whether it was in a trust, prior to giving you a specific answer.
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