Q: my dad passed away and didn't leave a will. My mom passed away and left a will with my sister being the beneficiary
Does my sister inherit everything even if my dad didn't leave a will
I was told by some family members that since my father didn't leave a will
that my dad part should be divided by my brother and sister.
A:
It depends on whether your father was married to your mother when he passed, and if so, whether his children were of your mother and father's marriage. You need a probate attorney to assist you.
Assuming parents were married at the time of dad's death and all his children came from their marriage, then the surviving spouse would get 100% of the community property, 1/3 of separate personal property with 2/3 going to the children, and surviving spouse gets a 1/3 life estate in the separate real property which comes back to the children when the surviving spouse dies. This assumes she survived him by 120 hours.
If there are any children from outside the marriage, the equation changes. Then the children get 100% of the decedent's community property share, equally.
If the decedent was unmarried and had children, the children then get 100% of all the decedent's property. However, you have to go through probate to determine heirship rights and establish any of this.
To establish who gets what, you will have to probate both estates.
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