Washington Probate Instructions

1st Question: Is a Probate Necessary?

The Six Probate Instruction Alternatives:

1. Personal Property Affidavit
2. Adjudication Proceeding
3. Traditional Probate with Nonintervention:
   • Opening the Probate Estate
   • Administering the Probate Estate
   • Closing the Probate Estate
4. Traditional Probate with Nonintervention: – The Simple Version: Probate “for Dummies”
5. Administering Nonprobate Assets
6. Election Upon the Death of an Intestate Ward

Traditional Probate with Nonintervention

1. Opening the Probate Estate
   • Preparing for Court
     An Official Action Needs to Be Taken Before a Personal Representative Can Be Appointed
     • Obtaining a Certified Copy of Decedent’s Death Certificate
       • In King County
       • In Another County in Washington
     • Determining the Proper Court
       • Jurisdiction
       • Venue
     • Filing a Case Cover Sheet
     • Filing Decedent’s Will
       • Procedure for Filing Decedent’s Will
       • Filing Fees & Methods of Payment
       • Decedent’s Will Is in an Inaccessible Safety Deposit Box — Gaining Access to the Box
       • Decedent’s Will Is Lost or Destroyed — Probating a Lost or Destroyed Will
       • Decedent’s Will Is Not “Self Proving”
       • Decedent’s Will Has Already Been Filed as a “Will Only”
       • Decedent’s Will Has Already Been Admitted in Another State — an Ancillary Probate
     • Petitioning for Letters
       • Dealing with the Priority Order of Those Entitled to Letters
       • Appointing a Guardian ad Litem for a Minor (or otherwise incapacitated) Heir or Beneficiary
     • Obtaining Nonintervention Powers
       • What are Nonintervention Powers & How to Obtain Them
       • Petitioning for Nonintervention Powers after Your Appointment
         • “Walking a Matter through Court”
       • An Insolvent Estate
     • Avoiding Notice of Hearing
       • Re Petition for Letters
       • Re Petition for Nonintervention Powers
         • Who Is Entitled to Notice of Hearing?
           • The Heirs
           • The Beneficiaries
           • Special Notice
           • Becoming an Heir by Right of Representation
         • Satisfying the Notice of Hearing Requirements
           • An incapacitated heir or beneficiary (eg, a minor)
     • Avoiding Posting of Bond
     • Avoiding Designating a Resident Agent
     • Drafting a Proposed Court Order
     • Filing an Oath of Personal Representative
       • Notary at King County Courthouse and Kent Regional Justice Center
     • Resolving Issues Surrounding Payment of Compensation to You as Personal Representative
       • Payment of Compensation to the Personal Representative & His/Her Attorney
     • Filing a Probate Notice to Creditors
     • Telephoning the Probate Clerk
       • Requirement Specific to King County
       • Requirement for Some Less Populous Counties
2. Going to Court
   • Washington Probate Court Practice
   • The Initial Filing in a New Case
   • Appearing in Probate Court
3. Giving Notice of Your Appointment
   • To Heirs & Beneficiaries
     • Who Are These “Heirs and Beneficiaries?”
       • The Heirs
       • Becoming an Heir by Right of Representation
       • The Beneficiaries
     • To Washington Department of Social & Health Services
     • To Washington Department of Revenue
     • To Internal Revenue Service
4. “Housekeeping” Issues
   • Evidencing Your Authority as Personal Representative
   • Changing Your Address During Administration

Administering the Probate Estate

1. Opening a Checking Account for the Estate.
2. Preparing an Inventory & Appraisement
   • Print the Inventory & Appraisement form.
   • Review “Is a Probate Necessary?”
   • Omit Most Items of Tangible Personal Property.
   • Omit Partnership Property.
   • Inventory of Real Property.
   • Out-of-State Real Property.
   • Account for Marital Interest.
   • Make Sure to Inventory Any Claim Against You.
   • Appraise the Inventory Items.
   • Unnecessary to File Inventory & Appraisement.
3. Handling Creditor’s Claims
   • Are All Claims Subject to the Creditor’s Claim Procedure?
   • Why Follow the Creditor’s Claims Procedure?
     • Why Publish a Probate Notice to Creditors?
       • Statute of Limitations
     • Why Send Actual Notice to Known Creditors?
       • Evidencing Your Reasonable Review
     • Why Insist on a Creditor’s Claim for Payment?
   • What Can “Go Wrong” Even Though You’re Doing Everything “Right”?
     • An Insolvent Estate
   • Publishing a Probate Notice to Creditors
     • Legal Newspapers & Costs of Publication
   • If Decedent Was a Resident of a Different County in Washington at Death
   • Giving Notice to WDSHS
   • Conducting a Reasonable Review to Identify Decedent’s Creditors
   • Giving Each Possible Creditor Actual Notice
     • Evidencing Your Reasonable Review
     • Special Circumstance: You Are a Creditor
   • Determining Whether Creditor’s Claims Are Lawfully Presented
     • Statute of Limitations
   • Disposing of Lawfully Presented Creditor’s Claims
     • Paying
     • Allowing
     • “Holding”
     • Rejecting
   • Disposing of Defective Creditor’s Claims
   • Completing the Creditor’s Claims Process
4. Handling Tax Issues
   • Handling Income Tax Issues
     • Federal
     • Washington
   • Handling Estate Tax Issues
     • Federal
     • Washington
5. Making Preliminary Distributions
   • What is a Preliminary Distribution?
   • Reasons for Making a Preliminary Distribution
   • The Inherent Problem in Making a Preliminary Distribution
   • Legal Requirement
   • Practical Requirements
   • Priority of Preliminary Distributions
   • Likely Situations for Making Preliminary Distributions
   • Unusual but Reasonable Situations for Making Preliminary Distributions
   • “Advantage” of Not Publishing a Probate Notice to Creditors So That the Estate may Be Distributed and Closed Promptly

Closing the Probate Estate

1. Are you Ready to Close the Estate?
2. Closing the Estate – Simply
3. Closing the Estate – Not So Simply
   • Declaration of Completion
   • Notice of Filing & Declaration of Mailing
   • Final Distribution
     • Forms for Distribution or Sale of Property
     • Distributing to an Incapacitated Heir or Beneficiary
   • Receipt by Heir or Beneficiary
   • Advantage of Using the “Not So Simple” Method to Close the Estate
4. Closing “Problems”
   • You Can’t Close Within 12 Months — Filing a Status Report
   • Someone Timely Files & Serves an Objection to Your Declaration of Completion
   • You’ve Closed but Need to Re-Open the Estate
   • Is Your Liability as Personal Representative Over Once Your Declaration of Completion Becomes Final?

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