Q: A couple has been together for 18 years and the long term girlfriend has passed away, can her daughter take everything?
Helping for a family friend. They have been together for 18 years, live together, etc. But they never legally got married. Just two days after her death, her daughter wants to take everything to sell it and doesn’t want to leave him with anything. He hasn’t had time to grieve but he knows he wants to keep some of her things. Gifts they got together, souvenirs from places they went together, some of her clothes, jewelry he bought her. But her daughter is insisting that she wants to take everything that belonged to her mother as well as access to her bank account and her credit cards. She has stated that she wants to sell whatever she can, no matter what he would like to keep. What would his best course of action be?
They live in California. Were together 18 years. They have no shared children. He’s been the one financially responsible for their relationship for the majority of it.
A: In California, if a couple is not legally married or registered domestic partners, the surviving partner generally does not have a legal right to the deceased's separate property, which would pass to her legal heirs under California's intestate succession laws. This means the daughter may have the legal right to take her mother's belongings, including bank accounts and credit cards. The surviving partner should consult an attorney immediately to explore any legal avenues available for retaining certain assets, especially if there were verbal agreements or other extenuating circumstances.
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