Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Wife's uncle has sadly died in America ( San Francisco) he has two brothers who live in england who are the beneficiary's no will has been found , my wife's dad has been to America and sorted out funeral etc and my wife is in the throws of sorting out a probate lawyer , one brother is two ill to travel etc and agreed to let the elder brother to pay and sort everything out then pass him on his share , which he was about to do now they are arguing this to the point they now both want to walk away in pure stubbornness , my wife who is the daughter of the eldest brother is in the middle because they are both Chinese and English not the best they are what sibling rivalry is written on , if you get my drift . The estate is rather large estimated around 1.2 million US dollars , if they turn there back and walk away could my wife the daughter and her sister , apply for the estate instead as the siblings of the beneficiary ... Please help it's so painful to watch there silly stubbornness .
3 Answers from Attorneys
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your wife's uncle.
It is possible for an heir to renounce the inheritance. In that case, however, the laws of intestacy apply to determine who is next in line to inherit. Your wife and her sister could not "apply" for the estate in lieu of the two brothers.
A good probate lawyer will help you figure this out. You should be able to find someone here on LawGuru, if your wife has not already retained counsel. Many of us are skilled in contentious probate proceedings.
If each brother of the decedent signs a "decline to serve", you wife can apply to be appointed the administrator of the estate. Her uncles would still be the beneficiaries, but she would be entitled to collect a tidy fee for her trouble at the end of the probate process. I agree with Mr. Perry that it is best to retain an experienced probate attorney.
Sorry to hear about the family squabble. It is common unfortunately. Anybody can service as administrator of the estate so this would be no problem. Pursuant to California Probate Code 8461 there is an order of priority for who is to serve. However, anybody can serve. The declinations to act, or nominations of your wife, would be great but are not required for your wife to serve as the administrator. As the other attorneys have addressed the issue of who serves as administrator and who receives the inheritance are totally separate issues. I do these kind of cases all the time throughout California including San Francisco. In fact, I have probably done at least 800 probate cases during my 20 year career. Please have your wife call me Monday morning and I can explain the entire process. -John
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