Copyrights

First, I live in Maryland but the trust of my deceased mothers resides in San Mateo County, California. My question is, who own the rights to the copyright of my deceased mothers book? She did not specify the 'copyright owner' in her will or trust. I have 3 brothers. Two of which, and myself, have a shared interest in my mothers estate. My mother kept the original of her book, a copy on a CD, locked away in her safe for 'safe keeping'. After she passed away, the digital copy was not there. My mother left 'her personal belongings' within her house, (as she believed to be furniture, household belongings...) to 3 teenage grandchildren. Now, 1 month ago, my daughter wrote to my brothers asking them for a copy of 'her grandmothers' book. She was told 'that there was not any to be had'. I have now received a letter from one of my brothers informing me that they have put the book on Amazon Kindle electronic book, for sale. They have done this with no prior authorization from myself or the trustee or the excuter of the estate. So my question is, who owns the rights to my mothers copyright book when not named in her trust? And do they need authorization from either myself or the excuter of the estate (whom was not made aware of this until the present). So who owns the rights and are they allowed to publish it without permission or offer it for sale without permission?

MY WEB NEWS PAGE WAS PLAGIARIZED BY A MEDIA COMPANY VERBATIM, INCLUDING MY CUSTOM DESIGNED BANNER. NO QUOTES OR CREDIT TO MY SITE, RATHER SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SITE CONTAINING MY ARTICLE. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

A college textbook was published using one of my short stories. There has been 5 editions since that time and no effort was made to contact me for permission. How do I pursue this matter?

How Do I Register My Copyright?

I have a Web Site that is set up for Internet Advertising for Real Estate Agents, For Sale By Owner and Landlord/Tenants. I would like to make a service available free on my Web Site. The information provided in the service would be gleamed from local classifieds ads in locals newspapers. Do I need permission from the classified ad owner or the News Paper to publish there information on my Web Site? The News Paper is a Public source, but is it legal for me to copy from that source and publish that information in a free service area on my Web Site?