Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: will

If the will has not been probated and the property is still in the name of your aunt, no. If the estate has been probated already, then,yes.

Re: will

Assuming that the property has not been lost in some other way (i.e. tax lien sale, etc.),there may be a possibility that you could still probate the estate. I'd find out about title to any real estate from a title company and then proceed to a lawyer's office who handles probate litigtion if title is still in your aunt's name.

Re: will

You didn't say whether the aunt, or the sister, left their estates to their heirs by will, trust or under the rules of intestate succession, or whether either was married at the time of decease. These additional facts could alter the analysis somewhat. I also assume there are no "zinger" facts such as the property was personal property, or was a life estate instead of a fee simple, or that aunt was someone's joint tenant.

I also assume the two daughters are daughters of the sister, not the aunt, and that there are no sons that weren't mentioned!

Then, under most imaginable scenarios, the two daughters would be entitled to inherit the property equally. As to whether the 25+ year delay is a barrier to a probate proceeding, I don't know; you'd have to ask that as a wills, trusts and estates or probate question of specialists in that area. My guess is that the long delay wouldn't be an absolute bar to a probate, but could render the process more vulnerable to challenges by unhappy potential heirs or other claimants.

Another serious area of concern is what has happened to the property in the meanwhile. Even if it is undeveloped forest or rangeland, unless someone has paid the taxes, the land has probably been sold for taxes. If the taxes were paid, let's hope it was by a tenant or someone in lawful possession, because if the taxes were paid by a stranger or trespasser, the property has probably been lost by adverse possession. Also, who has done the maintenance?

I think the next steps are a physical inspection, a tax-rolls inquiry, and a search of title records back to 1975 or so. A title company can assist you with or do a search itself for a modest fee. Then see an attorney who specializes in the administration of estates - or if title problems seem to be paramount, maybe a real estate lawyer first.

Re: will

You didn't say whether the aunt, or the sister, left their estates to their heirs by will, trust or under the rules of intestate succession, or whether either was married at the time of decease. These additional facts could alter the analysis somewhat. I also assume there are no "zinger" facts such as the property was personal property, or was a life estate instead of a fee simple, or that aunt was someone's joint tenant.

I also assume the two daughters are daughters of the sister, not the aunt, and that there are no sons that weren't mentioned!

Then, under most imaginable scenarios, the two daughters would be entitled to inherit the property equally. As to whether the 25+ year delay is a barrier to a probate proceeding, I don't know; you'd have to ask that as a wills, trusts and estates or probate question of specialists in that area. My guess is that the long delay wouldn't be an absolute bar to a probate, but could render the process more vulnerable to challenges by unhappy potential heirs or other claimants.

Another serious area of concern is what has happened to the property in the meanwhile. Even if it is undeveloped forest or rangeland, unless someone has paid the taxes, the land has probably been sold for taxes. If the taxes were paid, let's hope it was by a tenant or someone in lawful possession, because if the taxes were paid by a stranger or trespasser, the property has probably been lost by adverse possession. Also, who has done the maintenance?

I think the next steps are a physical inspection, a tax-rolls inquiry, and a search of title records back to 1975 or so. A title company can assist you with or do a search itself for a modest fee. Then see an attorney who specializes in the administration of estates - or if title problems seem to be paramount, maybe a real estate lawyer first.