I am looking for the inheritors of a person who died in Orange county, California, in 1994. It seems that the person probably died without a Will, and there seemed to be no inheritors. Approaching the Orange County clerk and the Office of the Attorney General of California yielded the same disappointing answer of "no records found".

The questions are:
1. Who inherits such a person in California?
2. How do I find out who actually inherited that person?
3. As it is possible that there was no appreciable or valuable estate at the time of death, is it possible the nobody was declared the inheritor? In which case, who is entitled to the inheritance? and can they be declared now the inheritors?
4. How can I enforce the issue and create an "official inheritor" of the estate of the deceased person, so that her estate will be settled legally.

Thank you,

Hanoch Shalit, Ph.D.

JudyKayTee

If the deceased had no relatives, why do you think you are entitled to inherit?

And the answer is that the estate goes to the Government (the State).

Hanoch Shalit

I do not think that I am entitled to inherit, however, I want to know who did. If the estate goes to the government (assuming it is the State of California, where death occured) then why there are no records at the County clerk and at he attorney general of California?
How can I find out who inherited? and if no procedures of inheritance were made, how can I request them?

JudyKayTee

Are you reading the answers?

"If there was no will, and no assets, chances are that there was no need to begin a probate proceeding to determine the heirs of the deceased. Thus you found no record." - AK Attorney.

If you have no interest what is this about? "we" are I and the Inheritor of the deceased. The "new inheritance" is an inheritance that we are both entitled to, provided that we both show up to request it."

AK lawyer

It occurs to me that the OT may be nibbling on a baited hook of a Nigerian scam.

Hanoch Shalit

This is not a scam, nor is it related to a scam of any kind. Why don't you attempt to respond to the genuine question (or problem of Law) instead on speculating on the motives of the inquiree? It is a question of Law: Who inherits, and how to start the right procedure to determine the inheritor? All the details are already spelled in previous responses. Thank you.

ScottGem

The law was given to you in post #9. As to finding out how inherits that is a genealogy exercise. One has to find relatives, no matter how distant.

As to the speculation, you gave rise to that by your cryptic answers to why you are involved. You say you are partnered with the Inheritor so you seem to already know who that is yet ask how to find such a person. You also said there are almost no assets, so it gives rise to the question of why this is a big deal. When you are cryptic and evasive about details, it certainly justifies speculation.

Hanoch Shalit

Thank you for your guidance. It was suggested that the State is the inheritor in this case. However, if there are no documentations with the State, it suggests that the procedure of deciding who is the inheritor, and how the dispense of the inheritance was not made. How can I start (or request) such a procedure (knowing that the deceased died in 1994)?

AK lawyer

If there were no significant assets, the state's escheat mechanism would not have been invoked. Thus the absence of any record. If you have found assets, no doubt the state would be interested in knowing about them.

When I speculated that this may be a scam, I was suggesting that someone may be trying to scam you.

Hanoch Shalit

Thank you again. As I stated before, I know it is not a scam, as I was not approach by anybody to do this. I agree that the State, who should be the ultimate inheritor, should be interested in a newly found inheritance. My specific question is
1. Whom to approach, and how to deal with it, and
2. How to minimize my own expenses (although I should benefit by getting what is due to me for my part, the State should pay what for its part.).

AK lawyer

You might want to read this and this.