Are the kids being cheated?

When our uncle passed away 3 years ago he left 2 surviving sisters. One sister has been handling all the issues of probate and told the other she was left nothing in the will. How can we find out if this is true?

Also, if both sisters were named in the will, but one has passed away since our uncle died, would her share of the inheritance be passed on to her heirs?

The Will is on file in the probate court of the county in which he lived, or should be.

Usuually if a beneficiary dies (after surviving for 1-60 days depending how the Will was drawn) his or her heirs get the share.



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A correction to what ALawyer posted. Wills in California are generally not required to be filed with the probate court unless the estate is more than $100,000. If that is the case in your situation, then you probably won't find a copy of the will that way.

The sister that is handling the estate has a duty to act with utmost fidelity and trustworthiness. Her duty, among others, is to make sure that all heirs that take under the will are appraised. That would also imply that heirs intentionally left out of the will should have the right to review the will. Since she is apparently not allowing this, a simple letter from a probate attorney of yours should suffice to get you a copy of the will.

For a good book on probate in California, buy a copy entitled How To Probate An Estate In California. It is about $35 and written for non-lawyers. You can get it from Nolo Press at www.nolo.com.

I hope this helps!

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Mark B. Replogle

[This message has been edited by Attorney_Replogle (edited August 07, 2000).]