Father passed away, left 4 children, no will and no real estate in California - Help?

Question

Our father died this month and left no will that we could find. He was not organized by any means. He is survived by his four children, divorced, we are all over the age of 21. He resided in California. He did not own real estate, just a jeep that is paid for (but can't find a title). We did find out that he was fully vested in a retirement pension plan and had contributed money into an IRA account with his employer. He has no other assets and his brothers and father say that this avoids probate because everything is less than 100,000 dollars. How does one of us get a letter of administration to gain access to his bank account, request a title for the jeep, etc. He lived in an apartment and we put everything in storage.

We were able to contact the union about the pension and they said just to fax over the death certificate, divorce decrees and our birth certificates.

Answer 1

First of all, I am sorry for your loss.  My father died unexpectedly and had the same issue as yours - divorced, no will, a pension plan and a paid for car.  We also live in CA (wow!)   His estate did not need to go into probate as he did not leave a will,  nor did he own real estate.  The pension will be distributed as per the company policy and to whoever he has listed as the beneficiary.  The vehicle can be sold - just bring DMV the death certificate & a birth certificate proving he was your father & you can have the title transferred into one (preferable) or all (kind of a pain) of your names. You then can split the proceeds once it is sold (unless one of the kids wants it - you'll need to work that out between you).  The bank will place a hold on his account once notified of his death, and will require a death certificate & all of you to sign an affidavit stating your relationship (they may also want to see birth certificates) before they will release the funds to you - usually at least 30 days later to give checks & things a chance to clear.  BTW - be sure and order PLENTY of copies of the death certificate through the funeral director - you'll need to send those to any credit card companies, etc. that he owes money to.  You are not legally obligated to pay any of his debts since there wasn't a will directing anyone to do so, so don't let the credit companies tell you otherwise!   Good luck, and again, sorry for your loss.  

Answer 2

Your grandfather and uncles are correct. So long as the total estate has a net value of less than $100,000 you can avoid probate and handle the estate yourself without a lawyer.

Here.... http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/probate/p... is a handy brochure courtesy of the LA Superior Court that explains the rules and procedures very well. It even includes an example of the format to be used to make the claim.

To clarify what 'taximom' said about paying his bills....  You have no obligation to pay his bills out of your own money. You are, though, obligated to pay them out of HIS money or other assets before taking anything from the estate yourself.

Very simple examples....

1) He has one heir, and dies with no money, but has a used car worth $1,000, and there's a credit card with a $300 balance, plus an unpaid electricity bill for $100. You sell the car for $1,000, pay the credit card and the electric bill, and get to keep the remaining $600.

2) He has one heir, and dies with no money, a used car worth $1,000, a credit card for $1,500 and a $500 electric bill. You sell the car, pay half the credit card and half the electric bill, and all the money is gone. You are NOT obligated to pay off the rest of the bill.

Richard

Answer 3

Regardless of the amount, the estate needs to go into probate. Since there is no documentation, you need to obtain a lawyer that can guide you through this complex process.

As for the Jeep title, the state can issue a new one.

My condolences on your loss.

Answer 4

That is correct. You have to report the death to you fathers' employer and they will let you know what to do. He might have had pension and 401 K  The bank will only give you info if your name is on the account. Yomightght need to go through Court to get the records pulled everywhere else