Can I Tear this down?

[Rib Wallace]

Doing some DIY work at my home in California. I have a hip roof and the joists in the attic that run parallel to this wall I am trying to take down. It is only the top half of the wall that I am trying to tear down to open up the room more. The top wall consists of a 2x4 that runs along the ceiling, below it are cripple studs that connect to 4"x10" header. From what I have seen online it seems like it is ok to tear this down, however I have also seen that a header can be structural. However I don't know whether it is structural to ceiling/roof or whether it is structural for the wall.

Some more background... this half of the home was an addition at some point. Picture is below:

 

[havasu]

Nobody can just look at one pic to determine if a wall can be removed. You'd need to go into the attic to determine if this is a structural necessity.

 

[Rib Wallace]

I did access the attic and I saw the joists are running parallel to this as I stated above. I have access to the attic, what do you need to know and I can check?

 

[billshack]

I worked at a building permit office. Before we would approve this in a permit we would want an engineer plan .

 

[Snoonyb]

WELCOME.
What you need to look for are, are there any roof braces terminating on this wall.

Also, above the top plate, visible from the attic, will be a backing member which could be side by side 2X4's or a single 2X6 or larger, nailed flat on top of the top plate, which will need to be cut and replaces, because it will not span.

Given the age of the structure there may be double trimmer studs, on each end of the header, when patched, and not replaced, may affect the corners stability.

Other than that, demo away.