California Inheritance Problems -- Handled!

In California, half of the "community property" belongs to the surviving spouse. The deceased spouse can leave the other half to anyone. Exceptions may let the surviving spouse receive additional property. Some states do not have "community" property, but each state has its own laws protecting the inheritance rights of spouses. Children who were unintentionally forgotten in a will may also be entitled to an inheritance. This is a very complicated area of law and a probate lawyer's advice is usually needed to make a good decision.

Wills can contain mistakes that only a probate court can correct. Children can be unknown or mistakenly overlooked; property can be incorrectly described; or the person making the will can mistakenly believe that something has happened when it hasn't. Each mistake must be individually considered and a court case must be brought to ask the probate court to correct the mistake or declare that an uncorrectable mistake makes the will or part of it invalid.

Sometimes, a person is heavily pressured or lied to when making a will. If this affects "who inherits what," the probate court can be asked to declare the will, or part of it, invalid. This complicated legal proceeding can be worth pursuing if there is enough at stake.

It is not always clear who qualifies to inherit under a will, especially one prepared without an attorney. If the will uses non-technical terms such as "my friends" or "my relatives" a court case must be filed to determine who can inherit.

If the person who has died has left more than one will, or has made corrections or amendments ("codicils") to the will, the court may have to decide in a legal proceeding which will documents to use.

If the deceased owned property out of state, probate proceedings may be needed in more than one state. Each state may have different laws. Multiple probates can be complicated to coordinate.

It is possible to have a will declared invalid (non-operative) in some limited situations. Two examples: 1) where the person who made the will was so mentally incapacitated that he or she did not understand what they were signing and 2) where enforcing the will would break a contract to leave property by will.

8. Evicting a Person from Inherited Property

A separate eviction proceeding may be needed when the inherited property has someone living on it. This person may be a caretaker, a tenant, a relative or a friend that the deceased had allowed to live on the property. Caution must be taken to avoid wrongfully evicting someone who has a competing legal right to the property - for example, a rent-to-own tenant.

Property and other items cannot be distributed to the persons who are to inherit it until the end of probate. As a result, property, investments, or a business that is losing value or needs ongoing attention can pose a real problem. A probate attorney may need to ask the court to order that the property can be sold, or ask that the court appoint a trustee to manage property - particularly business and rental property - that takes day-to-day oversight.

10. Other Inheritance Problems

These and many other inheritance problems can benefit from the advice and help of a knowledgeable probate lawyer. If you are concerned about an inheritance or probate problem, San Diego Law Firm can offer skilled, knowledgeable legal help by caring attorneys.