As I mentioned in my last post, my client was the daughter of a man who had recently died She had a half-sister, who was the child of her father and another woman. The difference was that the dead father had been married to the half-sister’s mother before my client was born, divorcing after a few years, while my client’s mother had not been married to my client’s dead father. Also, the dead father died without a will, necessitating a petition in probate court (California Probate Code §8000). In this case, it was the half-sister of my client who filed the petition in Superior Court of Los Angeles County, North East District.
My client learned of her father’s death only after she received the notice that was required by law (California Probate Code §8110) to be given to her when her half-sister petitioned the court to be the personal representative of their mutual father’s estate, pursuant to California Probate Code §8400.
Once appointed as personal representative, my client’s half-sister filed a petition with the court to have my client’s half-sister declared to be the only legal heir to my client’s father’s estate.
I’ll describe what happened in my next post.