My Mother Passed away in Athens, Greece, where she has been living for the last 30 years. She divorced my Father before going there. My Father passed away in USA in 1991. I live in California. I have an attorney in Greece who is arranging for her savings to be released to me as her sole heir (I am her only child). She died without a will. My Greek Attorney tells me that if I supply a Birth Cert. For me and Death Certs. For Parents - along with a lawyers letter stating that upon her death, although intestate, that the monies revert to me. Is that correct under California Law? What type of Attorney should I contact to write the letter citing the statute that proves that her funds are to go to me? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this.

Was your mother still a citizen of the United States? If she has lived in Greece that long then that is her primary residence. Those are the laws that you would follow.

As far as California law goes the lawyer can just quote it from the books as you are the sole heir then her estate would go to you.

How sure are you that this is legitimate? The reason I ask is that the Inheritance laws that apply are those where the person dies. So it doesn't matter what the CA laws are.

I can understand your having to supply a birth certificate. But I don't understand your having to supply a letter from a lawyer.

... What type of Attorney should I contact to write the letter citing the statute that proves that her funds are to go to me? ...

A California attorney.

I fail to understand why people think they need some sort of "specialist" lawyer for matters such as this. Any lawyer can find the statute you need to cite, and write such a letter.

It's sort of like insisting on a brain surgeon to put a band-aid on a superficial cut to the head.


... that the Inheritance laws that apply are those where the person dies. ...

Actually, it's where the person resides. And in the case of a U.S. citizen living in a foreign country, I believe it's the state where the decedent was domiciled: that state where she last lived with a simultaneous intent to live there permanently.

My mother was a citizen of the United States all that time and she held a US passport only - was NOT a dual citizen?? She previously lived in INDIANA in USA.