- Jurisdiction
- California
Hello, my cousin passed away in a house fire last year. He was never married, had no children or siblings and his parents were deceased and so my Dad (his uncle) was his only heir.
He had made a Will many years ago leaving everything to his Mom firstly and then my Dad as the next beneficiary.
Everything sounds simple.
However, the Will we have obtained from his papers in the garage is only a photocopy. It is signed and has two witness names but we obviously have no idea who they are and as any address books would have been in the house, it is impossible to locate them, if they are even alive.
As I mentioned, the house was almost completely destroyed by fire so it's likely the original copy of the Will went up in smoke.
The question I am asking is, is it likely the court here in California will accept this Will even though it's a copy? It should be a fairly straight forward probate otherwise with my Dad being his only family but we are concerned they might not accept this and insist on declaring he died 'intestate'.
If they did accept this Will, would they trust that my Dad is his only heir or insist on a lengthy process to search for any other legal heirs?
Anyone with knowledge or experience in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
He had made a Will many years ago leaving everything to his Mom firstly and then my Dad as the next beneficiary.
Everything sounds simple.
However, the Will we have obtained from his papers in the garage is only a photocopy. It is signed and has two witness names but we obviously have no idea who they are and as any address books would have been in the house, it is impossible to locate them, if they are even alive.
As I mentioned, the house was almost completely destroyed by fire so it's likely the original copy of the Will went up in smoke.
The question I am asking is, is it likely the court here in California will accept this Will even though it's a copy? It should be a fairly straight forward probate otherwise with my Dad being his only family but we are concerned they might not accept this and insist on declaring he died 'intestate'.
If they did accept this Will, would they trust that my Dad is his only heir or insist on a lengthy process to search for any other legal heirs?
Anyone with knowledge or experience in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.