Life insurance policy left to first wife for their son for his education. Second wife suing for money stating comm property

I am assuming, based on your question, that this is a Probate case. Under California Probate law, the surviving spouse (the new wife here) may make a claim for her share of life insurance proceeds where the decedent spouse (your friend's former husband) has named a third party beneficiary (the child) without having obtained the surviving spouse's written consent to do so. Without knowing what the judge's preliminary findings are, it could be that he or she has made a determination that the premiums were paid from community funds and that the decedent's present wife did not consent to a third party beneficiary. Even though the couple may have had separate bank accounts, if the premiums were paid from the decedent's earnings, for example, then those premiums were paid with community property funds. You have stated that the decison of the judge is preliminary. If the ruling is a tentative one, then your friend (or her attorney, if she has one) can make an oral presentation (also called an argument) of her side at the actual hearing. A tentative ruling is a written preliminary ruling issued by the judge prior to the actual hearing. If by preliminary ruling you mean that the judge has indicated that he or she will make a permanent ruling at a later time, your friend should still have an opportunity to make her argument in open court again. Your friend cannot request a different judge just because she does not agree with his or her ruling. After an actual hearing on the issue, assuming that the judge stands by his or her previous ruling, she can make a motion for reconsideration. This motion is made to the same judge to issue the ruling and asks him or her to reconsider his or her decision. Your friend may want to obtain legal advise prior to filing such a motion. Also, a judge's ruling can be appealed, if there is a legal error. However, I would strongly recommend that your friend seek the advise of an attorney before undertaking any appeal. Based on just the facts in your question, there may not be a basis for filing an appeal.