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How is this fair?

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Extatique

Junior Member
From California (Los Angeles)

I'll try to make this as simple as possible.

My father passed away without a will. The only thing he had was a letter he mailed to a friend a year before I was even born stating where he wanted some of his guns to go (1981). In this letter he included his son.

About his son... his son (my half-brother) was born out of wedlock to a woman who never married or lived with my father. My half-brother was adopted by his step-father while he was still very young. My Half-brother has no recollection of living with his biological father, nor did they ever have a relationship. I'd met my half-brother twice in my life. Once when I was eight, and again at the beginning of this year before my father became ill. My father and half brother kept in touch through phone calls and letters later towards his (my father's) life.

I lived with my father until I was nine. He was a very abusive man to me and my mother and we did not leave on the best of terms. They were never married and he did not file for custody yet we kept communications open via phone and through letters.

When my father became ill, the hospital contacted me. I have handled everything from being at his bedside to arranging and paying for the cremation. My half brother did not come down from where he lives in Northern California until several days after our father's death to sign some paperwork. It was at this time when I got a lawyer. My half-brother and I went to see the lawyer together, and it was agreeed that as I have been handling everything to that point, that there would be no problem with me handling everything from there on. My half brother even signed paperwork stating so.

I have had to do everything. I pay all the bills. I contact all the collectors, I've been soley responsible for cleaning out the filthy townhouse my father owned, and renovating it for sale. My half brother has done nothing....
until my lawyer discovered that the law resticts him from inheriting because of his adoption to another father.

My lawyer called me into his office to tell me that I am the sole heir based on california law. As long as my half brother never lived with our father, he was not entitled to anything. They contacted my half brother and asked him if he ever lived with our father and he said he could not remember, nor could his own mother. So my lawyer started pumping me up on how much money I would soon come in to. He went on and on about the wealth that was soon to come into my name. I told my lawyer I did not want to be the one to tell this to my half brother, which he completely agreeed with, and said he would do. But he did not. Several days later, I ended up having to tell my half brother, not the lawyer. It was awkward, and I was mad that the lawyer did not handle it.

Then I heard later that my half-brother was in my town, he'd come to dispute the news with my lawyer. No luck, he went back to nothern california.
The court date was in september, I was to be appointed as administrator. It came and went, with no news until I recieved a notice in the mail that I was petitioning the court for administrative rights ... again. I had to call my lawyer to find out what happened, the court date got pushed back because the judge wanted them to file additional paperwork. That didn't sound right to me, and entire month of extra time just because of more paperwork?

In the meantime... my halfbrother was getting council of his own. The next court date became pushed back as well. I called to find out why because again no one notified me, and this time my lawyer responded telling me that my half brother has his own lawyer, but not to worry because the lawyer was just some shmuck from an unaccredited law school, just some stupid kid. My half brother's lawyer had two weeks to get proof that he lived with my father to bring before a judge.


Well the day before thanksgiving I get a call; my lawyer tells me to pretty much give in, to give my half brother 50% because they have a witness (an aunt that used to babysit me when I was little, and aunt that my half brother HAS NEVER MET BEFORE IN HIS LIFE) she says that there was a crib at my father's home, and toys, for my half brother. My lawyer has buckled and says that I will loose if I fight this.


I am so angry. I feel like I've trusted the wrong person to handle all of this... like if it was taken care of properly the first time and it went through court the first time then I wouldn't be losing to my half brother.
I hate that I'm always the last to know when something has happened and the way I find out is only because I CALLED the lawyer.
I hate that he put the idea in my head that things would go completely in my favor when there apparently was always this chance that it would not.



I wrote how upset I was about all this on my personal website and now that too is going to be used against me.
It just seems so unfair. I lived with him, he was the only dad I'll ever have, and he was a really really bad one. This guy never had to deal with any of that and he's entitled to as much as I am? How can that be fair?

Please help.
I have until Friday before this goes to court again.


Dani@DaniTrue.com
 


stephenk

Senior Member
Wrong Dandy Don.

"(except in certain cases involving the severing of the relationship between a child and the child's natural parent due to adoption). "

once the son was adopted to stepfather he no longer is an heir to his biological father's estate.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
stephenk said:
Wrong Dandy Don.

"(except in certain cases involving the severing of the relationship between a child and the child's natural parent due to adoption). "

once the son was adopted to stepfather he no longer is an heir to his biological father's estate.

Now he'd be heir to his ADOPTIVE father's estate, if and when that occurs.
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
Here you go boys and girls. Have a ball. :D

PROBATE CODE
SECTION 6450-6455

6450. Subject to the provisions of this chapter, a relationship of
parent and child exists for the purpose of determining intestate
succession by, through, or from a person in the following
circumstances:
(a) The relationship of parent and child exists between a person
and the person's natural parents, regardless of the marital status of
the natural parents.
(b) The relationship of parent and child exists between an adopted
person and the person's adopting parent or parents.


6451. (a) An adoption severs the relationship of parent and child
between an adopted person and a natural parent of the adopted person
unless both of the following requirements are satisfied:

(1) The natural parent and the adopted person lived together at
any time as parent and child, or the natural parent was married to or
cohabiting with the other natural parent at the time the person was
conceived and died before the person's birth.
(2) The adoption was by the spouse of either of the natural
parents or after the death of either of the natural parents.
(b) Neither a natural parent nor a relative of a natural parent,
except for a wholeblood brother or sister of the adopted person or
the issue of that brother or sister, inherits from or through the
adopted person on the basis of a parent and child relationship
between the adopted person and the natural parent that satisfies the
requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a), unless the
adoption is by the spouse or surviving spouse of that parent.
(c) For the purpose of this section, a prior adoptive parent and
child relationship is treated as a natural parent and child
relationship.

6452. If a child is born out of wedlock, neither a natural parent
nor a relative of that parent inherits from or through the child on
the basis of the parent and child relationship between that parent
and the child unless both of the following requirements are
satisfied:
(a) The parent or a relative of the parent acknowledged the child.
(b) The parent or a relative of the parent contributed to the
support or the care of the child.

6453. For the purpose of determining whether a person is a "natural
parent" as that term is used in this chapter:
(a) A natural parent and child relationship is established where
that relationship is presumed and not rebutted pursuant to the
Uniform Parentage Act, Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of
Division 12 of the Family Code.
(b) A natural parent and child relationship may be established
pursuant to any other provisions of the Uniform Parentage Act, except
that the relationship may not be established by an action under
subdivision (c) of Section 7630 of the Family Code unless any of the
following conditions exist:
(1) A court order was entered during the father's lifetime
declaring paternity.
(2) Paternity is established by clear and convincing evidence that
the father has openly held out the child as his own.
(3) It was impossible for the father to hold out the child as his
own and paternity is established by clear and convincing evidence.

6454. For the purpose of determining intestate succession by a
person or the person's issue from or through a foster parent or
stepparent, the relationship of parent and child exists between that
person and the person's foster parent or stepparent if both of the
following requirements are satisfied:
(a) The relationship began during the person's minority and
continued throughout the joint lifetimes of the person and the person'
s foster parent or stepparent.
(b) It is established by clear and convincing evidence that the
foster parent or stepparent would have adopted the person but for a
legal barrier.

6455. Nothing in this chapter affects or limits application of the
judicial doctrine of equitable adoption for the benefit of the child
or the child's issue.
 

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