If your name is on the will, you will be notified. If you were not notified, then you were not on the will. As for researching. Not all wills are public documented and they are not required to be! The only way to know if you did exist in someone's will is to contact the Probate Office.
You will also need to check that you are indeed named as a beneficiary in the will. You can request a copy of the will from the executor(s) or the probate registry (where a grant of probate has been applied for and granted) to confirm your entitlement.
Unfortunately, in most jurisdictions, wills and bequests do not need to be made public until they are executed, so someone can put anything they like into a will and you won't know about it until their death (or at any other point the will becomes public).
Probate Fraud takes place when someone submits an improper Will or false information with the intent to deceive.
You will typically be told by the Will executor if you are a beneficiary. It is part of their duties to ensure the beneficiaries of the Will are informed and to ensure that they receive the assets left for them by the deceased.
If they used a Will, then it is the executor who should be notifying you, generally within a few months of the death. If they used a Trust, then it is the trustee who should be notifying you. The timeline is much shorter. California laws, for example, require that beneficiaries are notified within 60 days of the death.
An heir can claim their inheritance anywhere from six months to three years after a decedent passes away, depending on where they live. Every state and county jurisdiction sets different rules about an heir's ability to claim their inheritance.
Search state government database for unclaimed property
For a thorough search, you should check the state government database for any state in which the deceased lived or did business. You can find state databases by searching “unclaimed funds database” and including the name of the state you're looking for.
If you have grounds, your lawyer will file a contest against the will. The goal of this legal proceeding is to invalidate the current will and enforce a previous will that lists you as a beneficiary.
The beneficiaries have access to the will so they know whether they're going to accept or contest the distribution of assets. They can also contest any executors or trustees named in the will. After the will is submitted to probateAfter a Will is submitted to probate then it becomes public record and anyone can see it.
The Probate Service has no influence over when an application is made; it could be within a week or not for years after the death. There is no time limit on when a Grant may be obtained. If a grant has not been granted the probate service will not have a copy of the will.
Safekeeping by the Testator. While it's common for the executor to hold the original will, some individuals prefer to keep the original will in a safe place themselves. This can be a safe deposit box, a fireproof safe at home, or with an attorney.
A Beneficiary need not know about a trust of which he or she is a Beneficiary, and neither the Settlor nor the Trustee (if the Settlor waived the requirement for the Trustee to keep the beneficiaries informed) needs to inform the Beneficiary of the existence of the trust; but if the beneficiary finds out about it and ...
In this regard, California Probate Code Section 9050 requires the personal representative or executor to notify heirs and beneficiaries within a specified period. Personal representatives must begin notification within 60 days from their appointment date.
Once the court receives the petition, it will set a date for the initial probate proceeding, which is where an executor or administrator of the estate will be appointed to oversee the probate process and make distributions of estate assets to beneficiaries or heirs upon its completion.
Even if probate court proceedings won't be required, the will must be filed at the local county courthouse. Wills are public documents. Contact the probate court in the county where your father lived and see whether there's a will on file. Court clerks should be able to track wills by date of death and name.
Q: Can an Executor Withhold Money From a Beneficiary in California? A: Executors do not have the authority to act outside the guidelines stipulated in the will. An executor cannot withhold money from a beneficiary unless they are directed to do so through a will or another court-enforceable document.
There is no expiration date on probating a will after someone passes away. The will continues to act as the guiding document for settling the estate until probate concludes and assets are distributed to beneficiaries. At that point, the will has fulfilled its purpose.
If you are the beneficiary of a trust, the California Probate Code requires trustees to notify you within 60 days of the settlor's death. Sometimes the trust settlor will also notify any disinherited heirs as well to avoid any ambiguity.
Unclaimed inheritances typically go to state unclaimed property agencies, which hold the assets until the rightful heirs can be located, though financial institutions may also send unclaimed funds to these agencies if no beneficiary can be identified.