When your parent passes away, you and your siblings may be left not only grappling with your profound loss, but also with the potentially divisive issue of which siblings get what.
Having siblings with whom you can grieve during an emotionally charged time, such as after the loss of a parent, can provide much comfort, but when questions arise around who has rights when a parent dies, the support you have for one another can quickly devolve into discord.
To prevent your irreplaceable sibling bonds from being compromised at an already delicate time, it’s worth considering what you might be able to do to get ahead of any possible sibling disputes. We recommend that you start by understanding what siblings’ rights after a parent’s death entail. By having a firm grasp on how to navigate the intricate web of financial and legal matters that can arise, you will know which fights are worth fighting and which ones aren’t.
Our firm regularly handles matters between siblings, so we know how challenging it can be to be at odds with members of your own family. But even amid family crises, fostering cooperation and harmony is feasible with the right approach.
In this article, we hope to provide clarification about the inheritance rights of siblings in common scenarios, such as when a parent dies with a will or trust versus when a parent dies intestate (i.e., without a will or trust). We encourage you to reach out to our firm for a free consultation if you have specific questions or concerns surrounding siblings’ rights after a parent’s death.
Who Has Rights When a Parent Dies?
When a parent passes away, it may not immediately be clear which parties have inheritance rights — especially if your parent’s estate planning documents have not yet been located.
In most cases, if your parent executed estate planning documents, they will have told someone where to find them. That person could be the executor named in their will, the trustee of their trust, their surviving spouse or even their estate planning attorney.
If you believe your parent’s estate planning documents have been found, but that you just haven’t been notified about them, you can try to do some detective work to track them down.
In general, locating a will may be significantly easier than locating a trust, since wills are supposed to be lodged with the court, which makes them public record and accessible by almost anyone. Trusts, on the other hand, are usually administered privately, so if your parent had one, you will need to secure a copy of the document from the successor trustee.
As far as who has rights when a parent dies, it’s usually any parties that have a financial interest in the estate or trust (called interested parties). We further break down interested parties in the following subsections.
Beneficiaries
A beneficiary is someone who is directly named in estate planning documents who will receive some benefit. An estate beneficiary refers to someone who is named in a decedent’s will and stands to inherit from their estate, whereas a trust beneficiary refers to someone who is named the decedent’s trust and stands to inherit from their trust.
While beneficiaries have inheritance rights, they aren’t always guaranteed an inheritance. This is because the law generally requires that all the decedent’s debts to be satisfied before beneficiaries receive their inheritances. If an estate does not contain enough assets to satisfy all the decedent’s debts, it’s possible beneficiaries could receive nothing.
That said, beneficiaries may not receive an inheritance even if an estate is solvent. This is because there sometimes are contingent beneficiaries named in addition to primary beneficiaries. The former may only inherit if in the event some contingent event comes to pass; for example, a contingent beneficiary may only inherit in the event they are predeceased by their parent, or their parent’s interest in an estate or trust is disclaimed.
It’s possible your parent would have named you and your siblings as estate or trust beneficiaries, which would give you inheritance rights — although keep in mind that parents generally are under no obligation to leave inheritances for their adult children. That said, many parents do.
The only ways to know for sure whether you’ve been named as a beneficiary would be to either receive notice from the personal representative or trustee, or to view the will or trust document.
Heirs
Heirs are close relatives of a decedent, such as their surviving spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, siblings, and nieces and nephews.
In general, direct heirs (i.e., heirs who either stand to inherit by intestate succession when a decedent dies intestate or would inherit by intestate succession if a decedent’s will or trust were invalidated) are the only type of heir with inheritance rights.
As your parent’s children, you and your siblings may have certain inheritance rights as direct heirs, even if you had been expressly disinherited by your parent or were not named in their will or trust.
That said, if you stand to inherit by way of intestate succession, the amount of your inheritance would be determined by whether your parent died with a surviving spouse and by how many siblings you have. Intestate succession rules, which can be found in California Probate Code sections 6400 – 6414, can provide additional details about what you will be entitled to as an heir.
Surviving Spouse
If your parent left behind a surviving spouse, they would be regarded as an heir and almost certainly would have inheritance rights — particularly if your parent was a resident of California when they died. This is because California is what is known as a community property state.
In community property states, any assets (with some exceptions) acquired over the course of a marriage or registered domestic partnership are regarded as belonging equally to both spouses, regardless of which spouse acquired them. In other words, each spouse has a 50% interest in the community property in a marital estate, which they can dispose of how and to whomever they please in the event the spouses get divorced or one spouse dies.
There are also other considerations. For example, did your parent die with estate planning documents or did they die intestate? How was your parent holding title to the properties they owned? Did your parent designate any beneficiaries on assets like bank accounts, retirement accounts and life insurance policies? The answers to these questions not only will affect the inheritance rights of your parent’s surviving spouse, but it could affect your and your siblings’ inheritance rights as well.
Personal Representative / Trustee
The personal representative (i.e., executor or administrator) and trustee have certain rights to empower them to not only administer your parent’s estate or trust, but to look out for the collective best interests of the beneficiaries.
For example, executors and trustees have the authority to access estate or trust assets and litigate on behalf of the estate or trust. Suppose an executor discovers that an heir may have exerted undue influence on your parent to make them execute a codicil that drastically changed the terms of their previous will. The executor could bring a will contest to try to not only have the codicil invalidated, but the problematic heir disinherited as well.
It may be that you are the executor or trustee in addition to being a beneficiary. In such an instance, you would retain your rights as a beneficiary, but must be careful to walk a fine line between enforcing your rights as a beneficiary and impartially fulfilling your executor or trustee responsibilities.
When the sibling named executor or trustee is also a beneficiary, it’s not uncommon for conflicts to arise within the family due to the perception that one family member is in control of all the other family members’ inheritances. But being that executors and trustees are bound to their fiduciary duties and could be ordered to pay severe penalties if they are found to be engaged in executor or trustee misconduct, siblings in this position should take every precaution to not abuse their position and be as transparent as possible.
Other Interested Parties
In some instances, there may also be other parties who could be entitled to your parent’s assets that are not beneficiaries or heirs.
For example, if your parent had been a defendant in litigation at the time of their death or died with other active debts, their creditors may be regarded as interested parties.
These interested parties have certain rights to ensure they are not overlooked by your parent’s estate or trust, and at times, their rights may even trump the rights of beneficiaries and heirs.
Suppose your parent had substantial medical debt when they died. The medical institutions they owed could file creditor claims with their estate to try to collect the debt. If the personal representative determines their claim is valid, they generally would need to satisfy the claim before releasing any funds to beneficiaries or heirs. If an estate does not contain enough assets to cover debts, creditors may be able to pursue repayment from your parent’s trust (if they had one).
Creditors must file their creditor claims within four months of the issuance of Letters (i.e., the document appointing an administrator or executor). If the claim is rejected, the creditor also must file an action against the estate no later than one year from your parent’s death, or their claim could be time-barred — which is why they generally have the right to open probate themselves if the named executor is taking too long to file the initial probate petition.
Understanding Sibling Inheritance Laws
When a parent passes away, emotions will probably be running high within the family. If it comes to light that your parent left you and your siblings unequal inheritances, or that one sibling was left in charge of their estate or trust, it can be like adding fuel to the fire.
Rather than allowing perceived slights to drive a wedge between you and your siblings, a better approach would be to consult with a probate attorney about your situation. An attorney can educate you on your rights and help you to enforce them if necessary.
Sometimes, it’s not that your parent favored certain children over others, but that they knew some children were in a better financial position and didn’t have as much of a need for a sizable inheritance. In the same vein, if one of your siblings was nominated executor, it may be because your parent knew they had the time to take on the role of executor and the duties that come with it.
In general, you and your siblings will enjoy the same rights as beneficiaries during trust and estate administration, even if you were not mentioned in your parent’s will or trust or have been expressly disinherited.
For example, if an executor is not communicating with beneficiaries or heirs, you generally would have the right to make an informal request for information. In the same vein, if a trustee has failed to provide the required annual trust accounting, you generally would have the right to file a petition with the court to try to compel an accounting from the trustee.
If you and your siblings are curious how to best enforce your inheritance rights, educating yourselves on estate beneficiary rights and/or trust beneficiary rights would be a great place to start. Continue reading to learn more about siblings’ rights after a parent’s death.
What Happens When a Parent Dies With a Will?
When a parent dies with a will, it means their estate generally will be subject to a formal probate. Probate is a court-supervised process during which the will is authenticated, an executor is formally appointed, and your parent’s debts are paid, among other things. The last step of the probate process entails the executor distributing the assets remaining in the estate to beneficiaries.
Most wills nominate an executor, who should try to file a probate petition to initiate the probate process within 30 days of your parent’s death. If they fail to file within 30 days, they may waive their right to serve as executor. In such an instance, an interested party could potentially open probate themselves.
Once the probate petition is filed, a date will be set for the initial probate hearing. It will be the responsibility of the petitioner to mail or hand-deliver a Notice of Petition to Administer Estate to all interested parties at least 15 days prior to the hearing. This way, if any interested parties wish to object to the admission of the will into probate, they will have ample time to prepare a formal objection or can appear in court to object to the opening of probate in person.
If you or your siblings are opposed to the executor nominee being formally appointed as the executor, you are permitted to dispute the appointment. That said, the court will presume your parent’s will to be valid — and by extension, their choice of executor — so unless you can demonstrate to the court that the will is not a reflection of your parent’s true intentions, it generally will default to upholding the terms of the will.
Is a Sibling Entitled to a Copy of the Will?
As direct heirs, you and your siblings are interested parties, regardless of whether or not you’re mentioned in the will. For this reason, you are entitled to receive a copy of the will from the personal representative.
Nevertheless, even if the personal representative has failed to provide you with a copy of your parent’s will, you should be able to secure a copy from the court clerk’s office, since opening probate would have required the personal representative to lodge the original will with the court.
Can a Sibling Contest a Will?
It may come as a shock to adult children that their parent is generally not required to leave them an inheritance. If you or your siblings were left only a minimal inheritance, not left an inheritance at all or were expressly disinherited, it’s natural to wonder: Can a sibling contest a will?
Because you and your siblings are direct heirs who would inherit by intestate succession if your parent’s will were to be invalidated, you are permitted to contest their will, but only if one or more of the grounds for contesting a will apply.
To put it simply, you cannot contest your parent’s will merely because you are unhappy with the inheritance you were left. Suppose you’re angry because your estranged sibling was left a greater inheritance than you. This would not count as a valid ground for contesting your parent’s will. However, if it comes to light that your estranged sibling manipulated your elderly parent into leaving them a larger inheritance than they were leaving you, then you not only would have the grounds for bringing a will contest, but it’s likely your will contest would be successful.
Remember, objecting to a will’s admission into probate is generally preferable to contesting a will after it has already been admitted into probate, because the former may result in time and cost savings. If you must contest a will after its admission into probate, it’s crucial that you pay attention to time limits for bringing a contest so your contest does not end up being time-barred.
It’s worth noting that even though formal contests must be initiated with a court petition, they don’t necessarily have to be resolved in court. Mediation — an informal negotiation led by a neutral third-party mediator that the parties to the dispute can attend with their attorneys — is a great option for resolving will and trust disputes in both a time- and cost-efficient manner. Additionally, by preventing disputes from spanning months or even years, longstanding rifts among family members are less likely to occur.
When a contest is successful, a previous version of the document either will take effect or assets will be distributed by way of intestate succession.
What Happens When a Parent Dies With a Trust?
How a trust works after someone dies is slightly different than how a will works. This is because trusts, unlike wills, are generally not subject to a formal probate. While a trust’s ability to bypass probate has many advantages, such as time and cost savings, it may require both the trustee and interested parties to play a more active role in trust administration.
For example, since no petitions have to be filed to initiate trust administration, it will be up to the trustee to stay on top of important deadlines — one of which is serving administration notices to interested parties within 60 days of the settlor’s death in accordance with the rules stated in California Probate Code section 16061.7.
If a trustee fails to meet important deadlines, administration could be prolonged, resulting in beneficiaries potentially having to wait longer to receive their inheritances.
Because creditors generally look to a decedent’s estate to satisfy debts rather than to their trust, trustees may be able to start making trust fund distributions once they’ve accounted for all the assets held by the trust. That said, before making distributions, they should make sure there are enough funds remaining in the trust to satisfy debts should any arise down the road.
Is a Sibling Entitled to a Copy of the Trust?
As with wills, you and your siblings are entitled to a copy of the trust, regardless of whether or not you are trust beneficiaries. However, if a trustee has failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty to provide you with a copy of the trust, securing a copy won’t usually be as simple as making a trip to your local county clerk’s office.
To secure a copy of the trust from the trustee, you should make your request to them in writing. This way, you will have a log of communication to present to the court in the event you have to initiate legal action against the trustee to be provided with trust documents. In most cases, such extreme action won’t be necessary, as a written request will usually do the trick. Additionally, if you are having problems with an uncooperative trustee, you can always ask an attorney to help you light a fire under them.
Can a Sibling Contest a Trust?
The requirements for contesting a trust are virtually identical to the requirements for contesting a will. In other words, if you desire to contest a trust, you will need to have standing (i.e., a financial stake in the outcome of the matter) and grounds.
Wills are unique, in that you can object to their admission into probate. With trusts, this isn’t usually an option, since trusts tend to bypass probate. To contest a trust, it’s generally required for a formal trust contest to be filed.
The other main difference between contesting a trust and contesting a will arises within the acceptable grounds for bringing contests. One of those acceptable grounds is lack of capacity (i.e., your parent having lacked the requisite mental competence for creating and/or executing a will or trust). Because a trust is typically more complex than a will, the standard of capacity needed to create or execute a trust is usually substantially higher than the standard of capacity needed to create or execute a will. Likewise, it is less difficult to contest a trust on the basis of a mistake than it is to contest a will for the same reason.
There are many scenarios that could play out between you and your siblings if any of you decide to contest your parent’s trust. For example, the contest could be you pitted against your other siblings, or it could be trustee defending the trust against a contest you and your siblings have jointly brought.
Regardless of whether you wish to involve yourself in a contest or not, it’s important to be aware that abstaining from participating in the contest could result in less-than-desirable results for “bystander beneficiaries,” as they could lose their seat at the negotiating table and possibly even their inheritances.
What Happens When a Parent Dies Without a Will or Trust?
When a parent dies without a will or trust, any assets that are not passing by beneficiary designation will pass to their direct heirs by intestate succession. Intestate succession can also come into play if a will or trust is successfully contested and there are no prior valid versions of the document at issue to provide instructions surrounding the disposition of your parent’s assets.
As long as there remain assets in your parent’s intestate estate after all their debts are paid by the administrator, you and your siblings will be provided equal inheritances. You can find out how your inheritance will be calculated by referring to Keystone’s handy intestate succession chart.
If your parent has a surviving spouse, they will receive all of the community property under intestate succession, and you and your siblings will receive a substantial portion of your parent’s sole and separate property. If your parent does not have a surviving spouse, you and your siblings will receive all your parent’s assets.
It’s important to note that California’s intestate succession statutes are basically set in stone, so while wills and trusts can be contested, intestate succession statutes can’t. In rare cases, if it’s successfully proven that an heir had perpetrated elder financial abuse or another type of misconduct against your parent, they could be disinherited from receiving the fruits of their abuse.
Do Siblings Have Priority to Serve as Administrator?
When someone dies without a will, there obviously will be no executor nominee. As such, you may be wondering how to become administrator of the estate.
As adult children (supposing you meet the requirements for being personal representative), you and your siblings would have priority to act as co-administrators; you just may not have first priority. If your parent has a surviving spouse, the court generally would give them priority to act as administrator over the children of the decedent, although if they were to refuse appointment, children would be prioritized next. More information can be found on the order of priority to act as administrator in California Probate Code section 8461.
If you do get the opportunity to serve as administrator, it’s important to note you are bound to distributing your parent’s estate in accordance with intestate succession statutes after all of your parent’s valid debts have been paid.
What Happens When a Parent Dies With a Small Estate?
If your parent died leaving behind a small estate valued at $184,500 or less, a formal probate may not be required. Your parent may have left behind a small estate because they did not own many assets, or because their estate plan disposes of their assets through other means, such as by way of trust or beneficiary designations.
If a formal probate is not required for your parent’s estate, you and your siblings could save substantial time and money by utilizing what we at Keystone like to call “shortcut procedures” for transferring property with only a single court proceeding. In the following subsection, we discuss what shortcut procedures may be available to you and your siblings.
What “Shortcut Procedures” Can Siblings Utilize to Bypass Probate?
Two of the more common “shortcut procedures” you and your siblings may be able to utilize to transfer your parent’s property after their death include a small estate affidavit and a petition to determine the succession of real property. Again, keep in mind these petitions are only available for estates whose gross value is $184,500 or less.
- A small estate affidavit can be used by any interested party to transfer your parent’s estate assets to their intended beneficiaries (if they died with a will) or direct heirs (if they died without a will) without the assets having to pass through a formal probate. This type of affidavit can be used to transfer ownership of almost all assets besides real properties and cars.
- A petition to determine the succession of real property can be used by any interested party to confirm ownership of a real property and transfer your parent’s share of the real property to their intended beneficiaries (if they died with a will) or direct heirs (if they died without a will) without the real property having to pass through a formal probate. Keep in mind that not only your parent’s real property should be worth less than $184,500 to use this petition, but their entire estate.
Learning about what happens to property when someone dies can be helpful when trying to calculate a rough estimate of what your parent’s probate-able estate may be worth.
FAQs About the Inheritance Rights of Siblings
We hope our article on siblings’ rights after a parent’s death has helped you gain some clarity about your rights. However, if you continue to have questions, check out our frequently asked questions about the inheritance rights of siblings, and if you don’t find the answers you’re looking for there, don’t hesitate to give our firm a call.
Still have questions about siblings’ rights after a parent’s death? We want to help!
We understand how complicated it can be to navigate sibling’s rights after a parent’s death, particularly if you are trying to stay on good terms with your siblings and other family members. Luckily, our firm takes a compassionate approach to resolving disputes within the family to keep tensions to a minimum.
Our firm works exclusively in the litigation and administration of estates and trusts. As a result, we are adept at find creative solutions to even the most complex of legal issues. Let us help you navigate and enforce your sibling inheritance rights. Call us today to request a free consultation.
