Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Will

There is no registry of wills. The only filing of a will occurs after the person dies and the will is filed with the probate court.

In Oregon. it is not uncommon to see requests posted on one of the lawyer listservs for information on whether anyone prepared a will for a decedent. You may want to review his paperwork for the name(s) of any attorney that he may have contacted and check with that attorney.

Depending on the value of the estate, in Oregon, it may be possible to settle it without a probate, otherwise you will need to file a probate indicating that there was no will. Either you or your brother can be appointed personal representative in that instance.

Our office regularly assists folks in settling estates and offers a low cost initial consultation if your brother died in Oregon and/or owned Oregon property.

Re: Will

Typically, a Will is not filed anywhere until someone passes away. If you can't find the Will, one of you could petition the court to serve as personal representative of his estate. Much depends on the particulars, for example, was he married? Did he own a home in California? If so, where was it located? Did he have more than $100,000 in assets? If you'd like to talk more about this, you can email me at [email protected]. Otherwise, good luck to you.