Mom Said She Had Money. We Were Told There Was Nothing Left. Before my mother died, my brother was handling her money. Whenever we talked about paying for a live-in caregiver, we were told there wasn't enough. I didn't understand. My mother had worked for
When my mother passed away, my siblings and I knew almost nothing about her estate. We didn't even know she had a living trust until we were served with a Notice of Trust Administration. Suddenly, we learned there was a trust, who the trustee was, and who the
When discovery began in our probate case, I honestly didn't know the first thing about it. In fact, I didn't even realize we had entered what I would later understand as the discovery phase until the other side served us first. Requests for Admission. Interrogatories. Pages
Three reasons understanding the probate litigation process can make representing yourself less overwhelming. When my siblings and I decided to represent ourselves in probate court, we weren't thinking about trial. We were just trying to figure out how to begin. Every time we completed one step, another appeared,
If you're representing yourself in California probate court, your first hearing may not go the way you expect. Mine certainly didn't. When I walked into probate court for the first time, I thought I was finally going to tell my side of the story. I had
One child gets everything. Everyone else gets nothing. Is that legal? It depends. In California, being someone’s child doesn’t guarantee that you will inherit from them. A parent can leave unequal amounts to their children. They can even disinherit six children and leave everything to one. Is it
When my mother died, my siblings and I found ourselves in a situation we never expected. We had been disinherited, one brother became the sole beneficiary, and suddenly everyone around us seemed to know exactly what we needed to do. "You need to sue him." "Subpoena his
Yes. The law says you can. People do it every day. However, it's not easy. There isn't a step-by-step guide handed to you when you file your case. And when you ask questions, you may quickly discover that most people cannot simply tell you
When my mother died, we thought we had time to grieve. Instead, a legal clock was already counting down. Two months after she passed away, my siblings and I weren't thinking about probate court. Like most families, we were grieving and trying to process our loss. The last
When my siblings and I first filed our petition, I thought the court would want to hear about the evidence. I thought the discussion would focus on my mother's health, her vulnerability, the circumstances surrounding the trust, and why we believed something was wrong. Instead, one of the
When I first started researching probate court, I thought the case was about fairness. Honestly, how could I not? Isn't justice supposed to be about treating people fairly? Isn't that what courts are for? At least, that's what I thought. Then I learned the
Your parent dies. A will or trust suddenly appears. One sibling gets everything. You’re left confused, shocked, angry — or completely cut out. So late at night, you start Googling: “Can I contest a trust in California?” “Do I have rights if I was disinherited?” “Can my sibling legally inherit