Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I need some advice on this somewhat difficult matter. My mother died in June 2010 she had a retirement trust account with her union/employer. She was also still married to her estranged husband at time of death. So we submitted her union her death certificate and they said that her retirement trust would go to him since they were not divorced. We found out he died the year following her, in October 2011. We were able to obtain a copy of his death certificate from his family and we notified and sent the union his death certificate. After sending the union requested information for their investigation on determing beneficiary which included, a notarized affidavit stating my minor brother is his only child and contact info of step father's relatives with them clarifying that my brother is his only child they had determined that my half brother, who is a minor, almost 18 now is the beneficiary to the retirement trust account. They sent him a spousal check with a letter addressed to my brother, but the check was not in his name it was in my step father's name and it stated in the estate of. My brother cannot do anything with it and I cannot deposit in his bank account that I set up for him. We have notified the union about re-issuing another check in his name and not putting in the estate of since that is what the bank said was the problem with the check. I was told by the union rep that she would have a manager get back to us and never heard anything from them. The check is now voided since it has been more then 6 months since issued and I did not know about the check until it was already mailed to my brother 4 months after issued. I need to know if this is a probate case that I need to open for them to release the money to my brother since he is still currently a minor. If not then how do I go about getting them to release the money to him. They already determined him as the beneficiary so I don't know why they are making this difficult. I also need to know if their is a statue of limitations on opening up a probate case for the retirement account only. The retirement trust is in California where my mother and step father lived. My brother and I moved out of state so I need to know what state to file a probate case if needed.


Asked on 2/09/13, 12:59 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jennifer Rouse Meissner Joseph & Palley

You may not need to open a probate depending on the amount of the check. If the check and all other assets of your step-father are under $150,000, then you can probably have the assets pass to your brother through a summary proceeding. There is no time frame in which you must open a probate and it is opened in the county where the decedent lived at the time of their death. You should contact an attorney to assist you.

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Answered on 2/09/13, 8:56 am


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