Died intestate in California, weird circumstances

My father passed away two years ago. He remarried after the divorce from mom, so there was never any question about the estate. Got a call this week from the former step mom saying she wanted to sell the house and wanted me to sign some papers. It turns out Dad died without a will and she, because of legal problems with the IRS had signed a quitclaim deed regarding the house so the IRS wouldnt take it. So would the house and personal property be considered Community property or seperate property in California? She refused all of our requests for personal items to remember dad by.
He also put his retirement savings into a trust for her to live off of. Where would those funds fall? We are stunned that she kept it quiet about not having a will for over two years.

Who signed a quitclaim deed to who and when? Was the house purchased during the marriage? When you say he put his retirement $$ in a trust account was she the beneficiary upon his death?

Thanks for your posting. I am sorry to hear about your loss. Unfortunately, the situation of someone dying without a will is all too common.

You seem to have several questions. Starting with the first, "would the house and personal property be considered community property or separate property?".

The answer to that question depends on an analysis of each item of real property or personal property, to be honest. With the house, you mentioned that the stepmother had signed a quitclaim deed. The obvious question is, to whom? If the stepmother, or your father, were not in a position to get the property back, it may be a moot issue.

An asset is community property if it is "income earned, or assets acquired, during marriage." Depending on when the house was purchased, it might have been community property (if acquired during marriage), or it might be separate property (if gifted to, inherited by, or paid off by your father before marrying your step-mother).

You ask the same question about personal property, and the same analysis would apply - it depends, and there aren't enough facts to draw a conclusion from your posting.

You also ask about "retirement savings into a trust for her to live off of." It would then appear that they have a trust, so there might not be a need for a will or a probated estate? I'm not sure if you mean that your father was just saving for retirement, or if this was a qualified ERISA retirement account, or just a trust set up for the two of them.

If there is a trust making her the beneficiary of either his share of community property, or sole property of your fathers, then it is hers upon the operation of a contingent event in the trust (usually death of the settlor). Either way, if named in the trust as a beneficiary, she gets it under the terms of the trust.

I hope this helps, and please feel free ask anytime if you have other questions.