Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I am sorry for your loss, but you should be glad your sister is honoring your mother's wishes at all since it was not in her will. She should have prepared a codocile to her will if she wanted you to have it clear of the rest of the division of her estate, or prepared a will if she didn't have one. It is easy to price a used piano, they are bought and sold all the time. I'm not sure why you think it's unfair. I bet your sister thinks it would be unfair for you to get a valuable piano and still get a full share of the rest of the estate too.

I am sorry for your loss. The answer to your question depends on whether or not your mother's note is determined to be a holographic codicil to her will. If it is, and depending on what it actually says, you might not have to have the value of the piano deducted from your share of the estate. If it is not, then you will have to. (In either case, you are going to be responsible to remove the paino from her home and to store it.) The Court will look at what the note says and try and figure out what she intended. The Court will also look a the equities involved - are you getting a substantial and unintended benefit over your sister? Unless the piano is extremely valuable, if you and your sister fight over it in Court you will likely spend more than it is worth. For this reason, and for the sake of family harmony try and reach a settlement.

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