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California

Already Tried:
It is hard to answer the State question; they were married in California but held properties in Arizona, Michigan and California. We haven't done anything yet except consult with my sister's family attorney and he says that it is required that when our father died that we should have received a copy of the trust within 90 days of his death. When we told our step-mother she said she talked to the attorney (retired) that it was nonsense and she did not have to supply us with a copy of the trust. Last month she sent us a nasty letter telling us how much we had hurt our father and 3 copied pages of the trust which clearly states that we each receive 25% of the estate but I think it is only after she dies. We do not know if a trust is a public document or how to go about getting it. We think it was drawn up in Arizona. She is a Jehovah Witness, converted our father and had a friend who is a JW and a retired attorney draw up the trust. We do not know how to proceed or if we have any grounds or any way of getting a copy of the trust. She is 64 and our Dad was 87 when he died - they had been married for 15 years. Our mother died at 63 after 45 years of marriage.

PS - When our Grandfather died he left our mother approximately $90,000 and to our knowledge his will stated that if she was not living that the money would go to my sister and myself. However, before the estate could be settled she died and our father was the executor of our mother's estate and since he was recently widowed and the timing or something he got all the money. We question whether that was right or not now.

Thank you