My niece's grandmother died without a will in the state of California. Her grandmother had three daughters. Two are living. The third, who was my niece's mother, is deceased. My niece is the only child born to this deceased daughter. According to CA laws will she be entitled to any inheritance from her grandmother?

Can you recommend an attorney in Northern CA??

Was she married when she died? Because if she was then her husband will take over her estate. If not and neither of her daughters was named as executor before her death then the state will take it over. When the state takes over an estate they first have their accountants go through all of her debts and her assets. They use what assets she had to cover her debts, the most liquid ones go first. Hopefully, she didn't have a lot of debt and that will be cleared up relatively easily then the attorney will begin handing out the rest. Your niece may or may not get anything it really depends more on how much was left in her estate after all debts are paid in full. If one of the living daughters was named executor before her death then she will be in charge of making sure the debts get paid and then what to do with the rest and it will be up to her if she wants to give your niece something or not. I hope it helped if you have any other questions please ask!

Was she married when she died? Because if she was then her husband will take over her estate. If not and neither of her daughters was named as executor before her death then the state will take it over. When the state takes over an estate they first have their accountants go through all of her debts and her assets. They use what assets she had to cover her debts, the most liquid ones go first. Hopefully, she didn't have a lot of debt and that will be cleared up relatively easily then the attorney will begin handing out the rest. Your niece may or may not get anything it really depends more on how much was left in her estate after all debts are paid in full. If one of the living daughters was named executor before her death then she will be in charge of making sure the debts get paid and then what to do with the rest and it will be up to her if she wants to give your niece something or not. I hope it helped if you have any other questions please ask!


I don't believe the niece is entitled - the line inherits: spouse if surviving. If no spouse, living children. If no living children, living grandchildren.

Of course, a Will can change that but that does not appear to be the case here.

The value of the estate does not enter into it other than it determines the share for the people in the direct line and in this case that does not include your niece. She is not entitled to her late mother's share as you describe the situation.

Hmm.. this is interesting. From Dying Without a Will (http://www.ca-trusts.com/intestate.html) :

"A. If the decedent was not married, the estate is distributed as follows:
1. To the decedent's children, who take in equal shares if they are in the same generation.
2. If there are no children or other issue (issue is the legal term for children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) living, the estate goes to the decedent's parents."

So it appears that the estate would go to the children, but if there were no living children, it would go to the grandchildren before it goes to the grandmother's parents. The tricky question is that bit about whether the state only considers living descendants, in which case it may get split between the surviving children. But it's not clear to me.

I know of a similar case in Ohio, where one of the daugters was deceased. The children of the deceased daughter split half of the share that the mother would have inherited. Because they were heirs, but not of the same generation as the living children. That stipulation made their portion lower. I would advise that the probate court office in the jurisdiction that is handling this case be informed about the granddaughter's claim through her deceased mother. Don't depend on the living daughter to notify the probate court about it.

I am not familiar with California laws, but contacting the probate court as I suggested above will let you know if you need a lawyer to put in the claim, and if so, they may be able to provide a list of them. You could also contact the lawyer that is handling the estate, and inquire if the interest of the granddaughter with the deceased parent is being processed. That attorney has to provide documents to the probate court, but to be sure that the process is being handled properly you can check with the probate court to find out the laws as to what if any percentage the granddaughter might be entitled to.

If everything is being handled correctly, and matches with what you find out from the probate court, as to the percentage of what the child is entitled to, you may not need to involve another separate attorney.

I know of a similar case in Ohio, where one of the daugters was deceased. The children of the deceased daughter split half of the share that the mother would have inherited. Due to the fact that they were heirs, but not of the same generation as the living children. That stipulation made their portion lower. I would advise that the probate court office in the jurisdiction that is handling this case be informed about the granddaughter's claim through her deceased mother. Don't depend on the living daughter to notify the probate court about it.

I am not familiar with California laws, but contacting the probate court as I suggested above will let you know if you need a lawyer to put in the claim, and if so, they may be able to provide a list of them. You could also contact the lawyer that is handling the estate, and inquire if the interest of the granddaughter with the deceased parent is being processed. That attorney has to provide documents to the probate court, but to be sure that the process is being handled properly you can check with the probate court to find out the laws as to what if any percentage the granddaughter might be entitled to.

If everything is being handled correctly, and matches with what you find out from the probate court, as to the percentage of what the child is entitled to, you may not need to involve another separate attorney.


I believe you but I can't find anywhere that a child of a deceased child automatically inherits in Ohio - by automatically I mean without a Will. Usually the inheritance goes to the first class and then if there is no one, to the next class and so forth.

Do you by any chance have any idea where this law of succession might be? I find the usual "this is how it is BUT maybe that's not how it is in your State" and this is really something that people should be aware of.

This is a area of the law where things differ greatly. The very best thing is to hire an attorney early ( NOW) and make your claimis in probate if this is a large estate. You can be sure the other children of the deceased may very well have attorneys to try to keep the other ones from getting anything.. Sad but true in far too many cases

LawFacts (http://www.ohiobar.org/pub/lawfacts/index.asp?articleid=1)

Above is a link that addresses the issue in Ohio.

Below is a link that discusses the matter in California. Hope this will be helpful.

Intestate Succession (http://www.mbscott.com/intestat.htm)