Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

You question shows some degree of confusion. Your grandmother could sell the house if she felt as executor that was the best manner of handling the administration of the estate and distribution of the assets. Most administrators do sell the property assets although they do not have to do so. The money from the sale goes to the heirs and anything put into her bank account is in trust for your brother and you. You need to get the estate probated or finish the probate. Your grandmother can be surcharged for her misdeeds so that her estate can not collect any administrator fees.

As soon as she died, your uncle's power of attorney was automatically terminated. If he kept any of the money from your father's estate then his estate can be sued for that money and perhaps more [fraud, conversion, etc.]. With no Will, the legal part of his estate would go to his children. If you can reasonably believe you would be a beneficiary under your grandmother's Will you would have a right t see it, but what she took from your father's estate should not have been in her estate.

You need to contact your cousin and find out the details of what happened and what assets there were. Depending ion the statute of limitations and whether probates had ever been opened, you may need to open a probate for all three deceased relatives. You may also need to file some law suits to get back your half of your father's estate. What you do depends in part on how much money is involved.

If you want more information , you can contact me at 510-441-2684. At least the first 10-15 minutes will be at no charge.

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First of all, a person may be named an executor in a will, but they are not a true executor until they have been appointed by the court and issued what are known as "letters testamentary." A nominated executor does not have authority to sell property that is in the name of a deceased person until this happens. That provides for court supervision and approval of the executor's actions.

From reading your post, it is not clear whether a proper probate proceeding was commenced. If not, it raises the issue as to how your grandmother was actually able to sell the property.