Hemet, CA asked in Estate Planning and Probate for California

Q: How long does it take to open probate?

My grandmother passed in 2005, she had signed an Irrevocable Trust granting a long time friend of my fathers as Trustee. My father just passed last month and I am told by the lawyer handling all the affairs that everything of my fathers is going back into my Grandmothers Irrevocable Trust? My sibling and I are the next of kin and we live out of state. Our father lived with his parents. My questions are; Will the next of kin be notified for any of the process for a Irrevocable Trust Case? My Grandmother had dementia and passed two years after signing the Trust. How do i prove undue influence and ethical violations regarding legal competency of my Grandmother at the time she signed the Trust? If I wanted to contest the Will, what is the process? I don’t believe our Grandparents would have wanted all they worked for to go to a “Friend of our Dads”. Please advise.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Genene N. Dunn
PREMIUM
Genene N. Dunn
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Tustin, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: This is a very complex question. It all depends on what the trust says and what your father's estate plan said, and what assets you are concerned with. Also, the fact that everything goes back into the trust doesn't necessarily mean that the trustee (friend of your father) is receiving the assets. There is probably a plan in the trust of what happens to assets in the trust upon your father's passing.

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