Q: Alameda County - CA My partner of 26 years passed away without a will.

A: Sorry for your loss. Assuming the house was titled in his name only, it should go through probate. The siblings can formally "disclaim" their shares. The brother can continue to live there and pay the existing mortgage.

A: California law provides that people in this state who have assets valued at more than $184,500 (that's the gross value or what you could sell the assets for, NOT the net amount of a home minus the mortgage, for example), those people have two choices: (1) each person could have a Will or do NO estate planning in which case the person's loved ones are forced to go through a year-long court process called Probate BEFORE anyone can inherit those assets, with very few exceptions; or (2) each person could set up a trust and place his/her/their assets into their trust, so loved ones do NOT need to go through the Probate Court process. In other words, if your partner had a Will, his family would still need to go through Probate since he owned a home, and presumably a bank account and other assets that, collectively, have a fair market value exceeding $184,500. Wills do not exempt family left behind from going through Probate; only a trust with assets in it (called a "funded" trust") allows the loved ones to avoid the court process. In your case, since your partner did not have a Will or a trust, his family will need to file a Petition in Probate Court to get the process started. Expect a filing fee between $450 - $500 to file that Petition. The people who will get your partner's assets are set by law since he did no estate planning. Whether you will receive anything depends on whether you were in a registered domestic partnership before he passed. All of this is the basic law, but a lawyer would need to examine your partner's assets and obtain much more information before the lawyer could give you advice tailored to your specific situation. Best wishes!

A: I'm very sorry to hear about your partner's passing. The property must go through probate to transfer ownership to the heir. The non-interested siblings can disclaim their interest in the house or this can be done in tandem with a Settlement Agreement between all heirs which gets filed with the probate court. Statutory probate fees include probate referee fees to appraise the property and typically run 1/10th of a percent of the value of the estate. Statutory fees for the administrator and attorney for the administrator are based on the value of the estate. The administrator can waive their fee, however, the attorney (if hired) will want to be paid. The statutory fee for a 1/2 million dollar estate is $13,000. Every $100,000 in estate value adds another $2,000. Hence, the statutory fee for an estate worth $1,000,000 is $23,000. Given the complexity of this matter, I do recommend hiring an attorney.

A: In California, when a person dies without a will, the state's laws of intestacy govern how the person's property is distributed. In this case, if your partner passed away without a will and is survived by four siblings, those siblings would be considered his heirs under the intestacy laws.

However, if the siblings are willing to waive their claim to the house and allow the youngest brother to keep it, there are several options available to transfer the property to him:

Voluntary transfer: The siblings can voluntarily transfer their interest in the property to the youngest brother through a quitclaim deed or other similar document.

Probate: If the siblings are unwilling or unable to transfer their interest voluntarily, the youngest brother can initiate probate proceedings to have the court recognize his claim to the property. In this case, the court would need to determine that the youngest brother is the rightful heir to the property.

In either case, it is important to make sure that the mortgage balance is addressed. The youngest brother may need to assume responsibility for paying the mortgage, or he may need to refinance the mortgage in his name. It is also important to make sure that any transfer of ownership is properly recorded with the county recorder's office to avoid any disputes or legal issues in the future.

I would recommend consulting with a real estate attorney to discuss your options and ensure that the transfer of the property is done legally and effectively.