800 thousand dollars

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I already knew that my biological father, who I have not been contact with since I was 5, lives in Riverside, CA. He is listed on LinkedIn as president of his own company. I think he's an account or CPA, but I'm not sure.

He abused me, my sister, and my mother when I was a child. My mother rook us and died the country to keep us safe, when courts granted him unsupervised visitation.

What I just found out is that he owns a house worth 800K. Which really irks me, because me and my family are struggling. He over 70, so I don't know how much longer it will be before he passes on. I believe my sister and I are entitled to some inheritance, especially after what he put us through. But I have no desire to have a relationship with him.

I don't know if he ever had any other children, so I could have a brother or sister out there I know nothing about.

I wonder if I should attempt contact, or just wait until he passes on and go to court to claim inheritance.

That property is probably not especially valuable at that price in that neighborhood. Probably just a crappy townhouse.

Nevertheless, I would say you should at least talk to a lawyer. But you can't assume he'll die anytime soon.

From what I've been able to find out from about 10 minutes digging, children have no right of election under a will, so if he writes a legally valid will and disinherits you or chooses not to give you much, I can't see there's a lot you can do about it.

https://www.findlaw.com/forms/resources ... child.html

Having said that, you might get something if you're under 18 or whatever the threshold age is in your state.

I'd only consult a lawyer at this stage if I didn't have to pay much for the advice. It's cheaper to find out for yourself, and if your researches suggest you're in with a stronger chance than I think you are, then maybe that would be a better time to consult a lawyer.

I'd say your best chance is if he dies intestate or hasn't written his will properly. Getting in touch with him just to find out what he's likely to leave you might be tricky if you don't even like each other. I can't imagine any way of doing that without him realising that you're just sniffing around for a slice of his money, unless you're a very skilled actor.

But obviously, don't take my word for it. Find out by looking at multiple knowledgable sources.