California probate/will

[paulclmnt1]

California Probate Law...My wife passed away last December 2018, she and I have been living in a house owned by my wife's mother for some 18 years where I paid all the households bills, utilities, food, taxes, performed all the repairs over the years and paid for all materials used etc. My mother in law had the property deed signed over to her many years ago by her late husband and she recently signed the deed over to my wife. My wife passed away, then my mother in law dies a few days later. My wife and my mother in law were both named "Charlotte Mary" and "Mary Charlotte", I guess they both used the same names over the years. My wife's other siblings have made attempts to take control of the property by telling me that I need to vacate the house because they feel they are the legal heirs but have not brought any legal action as of yet...it's now 6 months after my wife passed and I still haven't filed a probate petition with the court. I know I should file a petition but I'm waiting to see why the other siblings haven't filed suit yet, also, there were no wills left behind by either my wife or my mother in law. Should I start probate or is there another option available to me to transfer ownership of estate to me? Am I legally entitled to the estate? Any attorney's out there do free consultations?

 

[LdiJ]

California Probate Law...A friend of mine's wife passed away last December 2018, He and his wife lived at his wives mothers house for some 18 years and he paid all the households bills, utilities, food, performed all the repairs over the years etc. His wife had her mother sign over the deed to the house a few years ago and it has been recorded. Then first his wife passes away, then the wives mother dies a few days later leaving him and I guess the wives 2 children the house. Here's the tricky part... his wife and her mother were both named "Charlotte Mary" and "Mary Charlotte", I guess they both used the same assumed names over the years. The other siblings have made attempts to take control of the property but have not brought any legal action as of yet...it's now 6 months after his wife passed and he hasn't even filed a probate petition yet with the court. I believe that Cali law says that he must file a petition but he's waiting to see why the other siblings haven't filed suit yet. What advice should I give him on what actions he needs to take...and why haven't they other parties filed suit yet? Also, there were no wills left behind by either the wife or the mother in law.

If the mother in law signed the house over to her daughter AND her daughter's husband, with rights of survivorship or tenants in common, then probate may not be needed. The house may belong entirely to the husband now.

If the house was signed over to his wife only, then her estate would likely be shared between the husband and his wife's children. In that case, probate would be needed. Either the husband or the wife's children could file to open probate.

 

[Litigator22]

California Probate Law...A friend of mine's wife passed away last December 2018, Blah, blah, blah . . . What advice should I give him on what actions he needs to take...and why haven't they other parties filed suit yet? Also, there were no wills left behind by either the wife or the mother in law.

Unless you are licensed to practice law in the state of California and in current good standing with the California Supreme Court you are not to give your friend any such advice!

 

[bcr229]

The wife's other siblings have made attempts to take control of the property but have not brought any legal action as of yet...it's now 6 months after his wife passed and no probate petition has been filed yet with the court.

After whatever first attempt the siblings made your friend should have run to a probate attorney, if only for a consult.

 

[LdiJ]

After whatever first attempt the siblings made your friend should have run to a probate attorney, if only for a consult.

Yes, although it would be to probate his wife's estate, not the mother in law's estate, as the mother in law no longer owned the home when she passed away.

 

[Zigner]

... and it has been recorded with the L.A. County courts.

No, it wasn't. Tell friend to seek competent legal advice from an attorney.

EDIT: The courts have nothing to do with recording deeds in California.

 

[Zigner]

If OP continues along the path of giving incorrect advice to his friend, both he and his friend could land in hot water. Really.

 

[paulclmnt1]

I have edited and re-posted my thread, is this more acceptable and correct?

 

[marek]

paulclmnt1: First, my condolences on your wife's passing. As it was already pointed out by LdiJ, if the house was signed over to your wife only, then her estate would likely be shared between the husband (you) and your wife's children. Let's assume that is the case here.

California is a community property state, but since the house was gifted to your wife only, the house would be treated as her separate property. After her passing, it is divided between the spouse(you) and any surviving children. Your wife's siblings should have no claim on the house. The exceptions that come to mind would be if she had a will (which you said she did not) and passed the house onto her siblings in her will or she titled the house in such a way that they would have a claim on it or she named her siblings on TOD for the house or possibly put the house into a trust.

You may be facing a cumbersome tax situation when you sell the house. In the situation you describe, the wife owned the house as separate property. The good news is, the whole house qualifies for a step up in its basis. Make sure to obtain a valuation of the house on the day your wife passed. This will be your stepped up basis in the house for tax purposes when one day the house is sold. You do not want to use the previous house basis (I am assuming the house has hugely appreciated over the years), which based on your description, would be your mother-in-law's husband's basis.

There are all kinds of inheritance and tax permutations that you may face depending on your exact situation, such as if the house was titled as joint owners with rights of survivorship (LdiJ already pointed that out) or if she had children who inherit part of the house, but don't live in it at all during the 5 years previous to the sale of the house, etc., however, there is no need to speculate on a what-if here since we don't know your exact situation. The most important thing is to get your name (and possibly any of your wive's children) on the deed of the house (most likely through probate in your situation) and get an official appraisal of the house on the day your wife died for the purposes of step up in basis.

...then it would be a good idea to put together an estate plan so that your inheritors don't face a similar headache when you pass.

Wish you best of luck!

 

[t74]

The longer he waits, the more complicated it gets. Some states have time sensitive filings and/or limits on standard (easy) probate process. (Learned from experience when another person was supposed to file, claimed to do so, and did not know what she did do; problem came when the heir if the first died.)

Please help locate an estate attorney in the location of the deceased.