If O.J. Simpsons assets go to court, Goldman, Brown families could be first in line [Video]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — O.J. Simpson died Thursday without having paid the lion’s share of the $33.5 million judgment a California civil jury awarded to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Acquitted at a criminal trial, Simpson was found liable by jurors in a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit.

The public is now likely to get a closer look Simpson’s finances, and the families are likely to have a better shot at collecting — if there is anything to collect.

Here’s how the next few months may play out.

THE PROBATE PROCESS

Whether or not he left behind a will, and whatever that document says, Simpson’s assets will now almost certainly have to go through what’s known as the probate process in court before his four children or other intended heirs can collect on any of them.

Different states have different probate …