Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
is stepmother hiding something?
my father passed away last year. never received a copy of his will and/or trust - assumed he left everything to my stepmother. A year later, she has deceased. she drew up a new will two weeks before her suicide (with a new lawyer), leaving the entire estate to her natural son. I just want to make sure that my dad's wishes were carried out. I don't know what, if anything, his will/trust? said to do in the event of her death. I also don't know the name of their original lawyer. the county where he lived has no knowledge of his will so it either didn't go thru probate or he had a trust.
my question is, if he had a will, is there something in the legal system that would prevent my stepmother from not filing it upon his death? If he had a trust - when her will goes through probate (end of this month) can I be assured that they will have knowledge of any prior trusts and that his wishes will be carried out?
Basically, can I be assured that any foul play would be caught by the legal system - don't really want this to get ugly and don't really want to contact stepbrother - he's been through enough.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: is stepmother hiding something?
You may need to start a probate for your father to determine if he left everything to his wife. A lot will depend on how he held title to any property.
Re: is stepmother hiding something?
While, this almost sounds like a soap opera. You say the country in which he was which says to me that he was not the United States. We'll have to know the laws of the country, I would have to know where he died and if she died in the same jurisdiction. It doesn't matter in some ways with the law is because if it is not followed you have to then go beyond the law to make the determination as to what if any your rights are as a natural daughter to the assets of your father. It all comes down to what was the form of title held by your father in his assets at the time of his death. Any comingled them with your stepmother in any way. After his death block with the assets and what happened to the title to those assets, was it changed. And now since she has died did she do something in the interim which was not allowed by law which would preclude you from assets to which would otherwise have a right. If you wish to contact me I would be more than happy to talk with you because there are so many questions I have which are unanswered. Of course if you found copies of the documents, whether or not they were filed that would help immensely but assuming you cannot find those copies, do you know what he owned, where it wise, how much it had in value and how was the asset' s title held
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
