Estate of O'Neil CA4/2

STATEMENT OF FACTS

O’Neil, a resident of Desert Hot Springs, died of natural causes on February 4,

2011. He was found by a friend and neighbor, Eduardo Medina.

On February 18, 2011, Medina, acting through his attorney, filed a petition for

probate of a notarized holographic will. The handwritten will left three pieces of real

property and the contents of a Charles Schwab account to Medina. The subsequent

inventory and appraisal listed the value of the real property as $128,000. The Schwab

account was then worth $86,511.70, for a total value of $214,511.70. The total value of

all the property in the inventory and appraisal was $238,028.78.

A notice of the filing of the petition for probate was published in The Public

Record, a Palm Springs newspaper, on March 1, 8, and 15, 2011.

A copy of the petition for probate was allegedly mailed to Kost, O’Neil’s sister, at

a post office box in Pleasant Valley, New York. Kost subsequently denied receiving

notice of the probate, although the postal box address was correct. McGean, also a sister

of O’Neil, did not receive any notice of the proceeding and alleged that she did not learn

of the death of her brother until January…