My dad left 1/2 his community property to my mom and his entire estate to the family trust.They were married over 50+ years.

I agree with attorney Shields. It is impossible to advise you without knowing what your parents assets are, what the terms of the trust are, etc. Consult with an estate planning/probate attorney and provide him/her with the required information at a counseling session. You will then have answers to your questions.

I agree with previous responses by my esteemed colleague. However I would also add that you stated you dad passed with a will not a trust and as such the will needs to be probated. Therefore, you will need to speak with an attorney who is experienced in Probate filling. There is possibility of speedy probate process if the total asset is less than 150K.

It is hard to tell based upon just those facts. Just because property is owned jointly does not mean your mother had a right of survivorship, meaning that when your father died the property owned jointly did not necessarily pass to her making her the sole owner. You are going to need an estate planning attorney to help you sort this out because how property was titled, when it was acquired, what the will and trust say and many other factors play a role in determining ownership after death. Based upon your question I am assuming no probate was opened after your father died, and if that is the case a probate will probably need to be opened as well to determine what exactly passed by way of the will to your mom and what did not. You did not mention whether you mother had a will and whether a probate of her estate has been opened either. Best of luck getting this all sorted out.