My father died with no will or trust purposely. A few years…

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Was the father the beneficiary under his mother's trust? Did his mother predecease him?

In California there are two types of property for married couples. Community Property and Separate Property.

Yes you clearly stated that there was NO co-mingling.

In your case the spouse (stepmother) is not your parent which makes a difference as to how much separate property children receive.

This is a basic overview:

"If a California resident dies without a will or trust, they die "intestate" and the laws of intestate succession are used to determine who will inherit the estate. Determining the heirs involves answering a series of questions about the person who died. The following discussion applies only to California residents and the intestate succession law of other states may be different.

The first question is whether the decedent (the person who died) was married.

A. If the decedent was not married, the estate is distributed as follows:

1. To the decedent's children, who take in equal shares if they are in the same generation.
2. If there are no children or other issue (issue is the legal term for children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) living, the estate goes to the decedent's parents.
3. If there are no parents living, the estate is distributed to the "issue of the parents." If the decedent had brothers or sisters, they will inherit the estate. If there are deceased brothers and sisters, and they had issue, the issue will inherit the share of the estate that the deceased brother or sister would have inherited.
4. If there are no brothers or sisters, the decedent's grandparents will inherit the estate.
5. If there are no living grandparents, then the "issue of the grandparents" will inherit the estate. This could include the decedent's aunts and uncles, or if there aren't any aunts and uncles, the decedent's cousins. Generally, the oldest generation that has surviving issue will inherit, but if there are deceased issue in that generation, their issue will inherit their share.

6. If there are no cousins, Probate Code section 6402 provides that the estate will be distributed to "next of kin in equal degree," generally meaning more distant cousins.

B. If the decedent was married, the first question is whether the decedent owned community property, separate property, or a combination of the two. Community property is generally defined as the assets acquired during marriage from earnings or salary. Separate property is generally defined as assets brought into the marriage when the decedent got married, inheritances to the decedent, or gifts to the decedent. However, California case law provides many exceptions to these definitions, and assets can change from community to separate property, or from separate to community, by combining assets, by improving separate property with community property, or by written agreement of the spouses, for example.

1. The decedent's community property goes to the surviving spouse, who may have to file a spousal property petition to establish ownership.
2. The decedent's separate property is distributed as follows:
a. The surviving spouse receives all of the separate property if the decedent is not survived by issue, parents, brothers, sisters, or children of a deceased brother or sister.
b. The surviving spouse receives one-half of the separate property if the decedent had only one child, or issue of a deceased child.
c. The surviving spouse receives one-half of the separate property if the decedent left no issue, but left parent(s) or their issue.
d. The surviving spouse receives only one-third of the separate property if the decedent left more than one child.
e. The surviving spouse receives only one-third of the separate property if the decedent left one child and the issue of one or more deceased children.
f. The surviving spouse receives only one-third of the separate property if the decedent left the issue of two or more deceased children.”

http://www.ca-trusts.com/intestate.html

In simpler terms this is how it works in CA:

When a person dies without a will or trust in California and has a spouse and children

the spouse inherits all of your community property and 1/2 or 1/3 of your separate property

The children inherit 1/2 or 2/3 of your separate property http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/intestate-succession-california.html

My apologies for the misunderstanding and for the site pop ups. You are not the first customer to express frustration. Please do not hesitate to ask me any additional questions that you may have with regard to this matter. It would be my pleasure to continue to assist you.

If you would be kind enough to rate my service positively so I will receive credit for my work I would appreciate it.

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"So even though the spouse was made a signer on the accounts/assets of the grandmothers estate/trust, the children of their deceased father are to receive 1/2 - 2/3 of those assets?"

I was providing the law in California for the division of Community and Separate property when a married person dies intestate.

As far as the trust, the terms of the trust should set out how the Trust is to be distributed. In order to answer questions regarding who is entitled to trust assets. An Attorney would need to read the terms of the trust to answer that question.

If you can attach the a copy of the trust the site provides review of documents as an additional service. The other option, and the one I would suggest is setting up a FREE consultation with an Attorney in the county where your father resided at the time of his death. They will be able to review the trust and answer any questions that you may have.

Got it. As separate property you would be entitled to the portions as stated above.

When a person dies without a will or trust in California and has a spouse and children

the spouse inherits all of your community property and 1/2 or 1/3 of your separate property

The children inherit 1/2 or 2/3 of your separate property http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/intestate-succession-california.html

My only issue with the facts are why she was added a signor on the account? In essence he gave her control to those assets and a Judge would need to determine if this was truly separate property

This California Law:

"The gift or inheritance is likely to be separate property if the following are true:

1. One spouse was the intended heir or gift recipient

Property acquired during marriage by gift, will, or inheritance is separate property. (Section 21 of the California Constitution, California Family Code Section 752)

Except as otherwise provided by law, neither spouse has any interest in the separate property of the other. (California Family Code Section 770)

2. The gift or inheritance was not commingled

"If separate and community property are commingled in such a manner that “the respective contributions cannot be traced and identified, the entire fund or property—including property acquired in exchange therefor—will be treated as community property. (California Family Code Section 760)

California Family Code Section 852 transmutation requirements don’t affect the law governing characterization of commingled separate and community property. (California Family Code Section 852(d))"

If you would be kind enough to rate my service positively so I will receive credit for my work I would appreciate it.

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Yes. That is required by law.

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