Q: Dad lives in California. Last 4 months was in hospice. He spent last 5days of life in North Carolina. Where probate?
My dad lives in California most of his life. He got stage 4 prostate cancer and ended up in a hospice. He then spent the last 5 days of his life in North Carolina at his brother and sister-in-law's house. His sister-in-law had power of attorney and his co executor of the will is a family friend that lives in San Jose California where my dad lived. The will is from California and was done in 2020. Where does probate take place? My dad passed away January 9th of this year and nothing has been filed in probate. I also got some emails from a family friend, where the person that has power attorney has been giving money to one of the beneficiaries and paying for some of her bills. Also a family friend left my dad $70,000 in his will. This person passed away later on the same day that my dad passed away. Does that money go to me since I'm the only child of my father whom was never married. Or does it go to his overall assets which I am supposed to get 60% of according to the will?
A: good question. probate should be administered where the decedent was a resident at the time of death. With your facts, I would presume that California would be the appropriate state for probate as him being in North Carolina the last 5 days of his life would establish his residency in North Carolina. For the other question on the will, it depends on what the will of his friend says.
A: Santa Clara County, California is the proper venue since your father resided and owned real estate there. The probate process will take a minimum of 6 months to complete. Call me if you would like more details on how to proceed.
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