California Pre probate

[Ryan Hobbs]

I was introduced to a family , where the Father passed away.The Mother is not around and there are the children still living in the house. They are still paying the mortgage with the Fathers 401k.They are about to run out of money and won't be able to keep the house.The rest of the family, like aunts and uncles want a piece of the estate.The oldest child is 19.Does he need to open probate in order to sell the house?