No Will and absolutely no experiance...please help.

[websurfer]

What is the name of your state? California

my father past a few months ago. im his only child and he wasnt married. both parents have past as well. his home was under his name as well as my half sister so she took over its title when he died. so my assets to worry about is his bank account which holds about 20k pension which hold maybe 10k. and a vehicle worth maybe 5k. what is my best course of action since he didnt have a will. im guessing i would inherit all the rest. would i need a lawyer? and how long does the process usually take. i was hearing something about a Small Estate Affidavit would that be the smart thing to do? or should i go through probate?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

You guessed wrong. The half-sister would be entitled to a portion to be determined by the probate court.

Also, the first question you need to ask is HOW were the names listed on the deed to the home?

 

[websurfer]

its listed them as joint tenants. from my understanding she can file a affidavit of survivorship on the property and i prefer it go to her since shes giving it to our mom and i dont care to deal with it. now for the remaining assets would i be able to file a small estate affidavit? and how long does this process take and what does the process include?

 

[divgradcurl]

Check the website for the court in your county, most counties have probate information online. If you live in a small county that doesn't have the online resources, call the clerk of the court -- they will get you pointed in the right direction. If there is no real property involved, CA has a pretty high threshold for "small estates," so you may well be able to handle this without probate.

 

[spike808]

Everything you could ever need to know about CA probate law here:

http://www.megalaw.com/ca/top/caprobate.php

I may be wrong so don't hold me to it but I could swear I just read the other day that probate is required if the estate in it's entirety values $100,000 + and it seems to me that the house would be part of that too since the deed didn't specify your 1/2 sis had rights of survivorship.