What happens now after my father recently passed and he didn't have a will?

Assuming your father was a resident of California the Probate code of California has specific laws as to how your father's estate will handled and since you are his daughter you have the right to file a petition with the court to be appointed as the administrator of your father. The law as long as followed will protect the estate and the heirs of your father which are you and your brother. You need to contact an attorney who does probate law as soon as possible.

Those assets not assigned a survivor benefit will go to probate.

You should consult a probate lawyer to probate the estate of your father. The state does not take property of an estate; no truth to those rumors or old wives tales.. The lawyer is paid out of the proceeds of the estate at the conclusion of the probate proceeding; the lawyer may ask you to advance the filing fees, and other assorted fees required by the administration of the estate.

401k plan goes according to his beneficiary designation, if none then equally to you and your brother. Life insurance goes according to his beneficiary designation, if none then equally to you and your brother. Car goes equally to you and your brother. Go to AAA to take care of this soon. Much easier to deal with them than with DMV. Everything goes equally to you and your brother. You'll need to hire a lawyer and file a petition for probate. It won't be free, but will be less than 4%.

The state doesn't take anything (common misconception). You and your brother will inherit anything in Dad's name alone. In order to do so you?ll have to open a probate; please see an experienced probate lawyer. Many times an insurance policy or a 401K will have named beneficiaries; if that is your case the insurance company will pay the benes direct without probate.

If your father was a resident in California and died there. You would need to file a probate action because there is real property involved.

You are going to need to speak to a lawyer about this, as it all depends on the exact paperwork governing his property. In general, parties to a divorce separate their property. As such, your mother likely has no interest in any of your father's assets. Assets will pass to specific beneficiaries listed on things like life insurance, bank accounts, and his 401K. If there is not specific beneficiary designated, the assets pass through the will or trust. If there is no will, the assets pass by intestacy, which would likely be half and half to you and your brother. Unless there was a living trust, the estate will need to go through probate to make sure all the bills are taken care of. As I said, you are likely going to need a lawyer here to help you with this. Fees are often capped by state law, so while you should shop around for a lawyer, the decision as to whom to retain should be made on a combination of price and whom you feel you and your brother can work with.