Thank you so very much for taking the time and effort to put the site together; it is a fabulous resource for those of us who are self-helpers. Yakima County, Thank you for saving me an enormous amount of aggravation and hassle. Statement of Case Status (PDF) (Word). Fees, collection by superior court clerk: RCW 27.24.070, 36.18.020. The Request for Nonintervention Powers must comply with RCW 11.68.041(3). RCW 11.68.110(3). Before giving you Letters Testamentary, however, the clerk will require you to provide a signed and notarized oath for filing. (i) Receipt of a copy of any Declaration of Completion of Probate and any Notice of Filing of such Declaration filed in these proceedings, and (ii) Any right I may have to file a Petition with the Court requesting it to determine the reasonableness of fees or for an estate accounting. H\]K0+rF?p67G,l}J'4_m&}wcv47z4y{9 >*1^w:_bcc6_hff0zxMw&~)9en|g,]S=k{/g,+!q1%sl|K/K#9Ts-\Kr fE`Gv`k#`b_vM^G=ZzZx That the personal representative as able to determine all beneficiaries eligible to receive property and assets; That all known creditors and beneficiaries were given notice of the estate settlement; That all beneficiaries were paid or distributed assets; The amount of compensation requested by the personal representative; and. Was not engaged in business in Washington. Finds and adjudges that all approved claims of the decedent have been paid, finds and adjudges the heirs of the decedent or those persons entitled to take under his or her will, and distributes the property of the decedent to the persons entitled [to such property]; or. If you are not an attorney, you are strongly encouraged to use eFile documents. The majority of estates are settled under the terms of a written will. SIGNED Date: On _________________________________ Its important to note, however, that Washington does have a couple exceptions to the required probate process that can help save time, confusion and cost. If the decedent didn't live in King County and didn't have any property in King County, you can choose either courthouse. Has consented in writing to the Petition for Letters, or. ; unless you petition the above-entitled court under chapter. Once the personal representative identifiedwhether through naming in the will or appointment by the courtthen he or she leads the probate process from start to finish. I completed the forms on a Thursday night and went down to the King County Superior Court on a Friday morning and by lunchtime I had successfully completed the process. King County, My Dad died last month, and your site has provided me with a wealth of information. Notice to Creditors(PDF) (Word). If a personal representative or administrator was given nonintervention powers, closing a probate can normally be accomplished without returning to court,through the use of a Declaration of Completion. So long as no Objection to your Declaration of Completion is timely filed at the Court and served on you, the estate will effectively close 30 days after filing your Declaration of Completion (the Effective Date). Overview of the Closing Process Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of someone who has passed away. The changes you'll need to make to the Word versions include at least the following depending on the forms you are using: You need to review the documents carefully and fill in the portions that are blank or bracketed with the appropriate names, facts and other information, including the name of the decedent, date of death, date of the will, etc. this notice must be sent to all heirs of the estate, persons named in the will, and basically anyone who is entitled to relieve a distribution from the estate. 126 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4B3E665C7768E945A846C94721232C4B>]/Index[103 37]/Info 102 0 R/Length 109/Prev 156869/Root 104 0 R/Size 140/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream This includes being compensated not only for time, but also for any costs and fees that may be incurred while working to settle the estate. First, state law allows heirs of the estate to skip the probate process entirely when the estate qualifies as a "small" or simple estate. These procedures make it easier for survivors to transfer property left by a person who has died. Under this simplified probate shortcut, any person inheriting from the estate must prepare a legal document called an affidavit, stating that he or she is entitled to certain assets or property held by the estate. The footer in the lower right hand corner of the documents must show your name, address and phone number. Assuming your will gives your personal . Less complicated estates can also move forward under the simplified procedures called settlement without court intervention, as described above. If your probate case does not pay, then you owe us nothing. After notices are mailed, the receiving parties have thirty days to come forward to request an accounting of the estate, or for a review of the fees paid, or both. Look for the form called Notice of Court Date - Ex Parte.. Simpler estates can be closed within a matter or weeks or months, while the probate for complicated estates can drag out over a year or more. You won't have the cause number until you file the probate. (1) If a personal representative who has acquired nonintervention powers does not apply to the court for either of the final decrees provided for in RCW 11.68.100 as now or hereafter amended, the personal representative shall, when the administration of the estate has been completed, file a declaration that must state as follows: (ii) The amount of fees paid or to be paid will be deemed reasonable and will be approved; (iii) The acts of the personal representative will be approved; (iv) The personal representative, and any bond ensuring the proper actions of the personal representative, will be discharged; and. How to Probate a Washington Decedents Estate for those who have never set foot in a Courthouse. I have so far concluded the initial motion hearing and a second hearing to admit the Will to probate. . RCW 11.76.050. If any Heir or Beneficiary entitled to receive property from the estate is unable or unwilling to execute a Receipt & Waiver, then closing becomes more complicated necessitating substantially more paperwork, mailing, and filing on your part and resulting in a delay of approximately a month to close the estate. Interested parties may file objections to the report or petition, or appear at the hearing and make their objections known to the court. If the estate qualifies as a small estate, if there are is only one or very few beneficiaries, or if it is eligible for the simplified probate, then the entire process can take as little as a few months. You can find a sample Declaration of Completion containing such language on the Documents page. %PDF-1.7 % The answer is yes, in Washington a personal representative can be fairly compensated for the work of settling an estate in probate. For more information on the process and documents involved in closing a probate visit the Closing the Probate page. (a) The date of the decedent's death and the decedent's residence at the time of death; (b) Whether or not the decedent died testate or intestate; (c) If the decedent died testate, the date of the decedent's last will and testament and the date of the order probating the will; (d) That each creditor's claim which was justly due and properly presented as required by law has been paid or otherwise disposed of by agreement with the creditor, and that the amount of taxes assessable against the estate has been determined, settled, and paid or otherwise provided for; (e) That the personal representative has completed the administration of the decedent's estate without court intervention, and the estate is ready to be settled and distributed; (f) If the decedent died intestate, the names, addresses (if known), and relationship of each heir of the decedent, together with the distributive share of each heir; and. Sample Declarations of Mailing can be found above. The more lengthy, complicated and costly formal process will be required if any disputes arise among the estates beneficiaries, heirs, creditors, or other people with interests in the estate. Even though I hired a Paralegal with a rusty background, your site has guided both of us through this uncertain territory and everything is going very well. Join Our Email List. He is a member of the Washington State (current member, Real Property Probate and Trust and Business Law Sections) and Tacoma-Pierce County bar associations. Distribute little or no property during administration, Avoid putting yourself in the awkward position of not obtaining all the necessary. We appreciate the resource for a process that was at first daunting. The Declaration of Completion should also state how much and whether the personal representative intends to hold back any funds to pay any taxes, interest or penalties and the costs and expenses related to determining those payments. The estate is solvent (has sufficient assets to pay all outstanding debts and taxes); The personal representative is not a creditor of the deceased person; The person requesting the simplified process is either the personal representative named in the will, or in the case that there is no written will, the surviving spouse. Anticipating that this would occur, I had intended to handle the probate myself. For the process of starting a probate without a will, visit the No Will page. Thank you very much for the tremendous effort you expended in developing the probate website. King County (Kent), Thank you so very much for distributing the probate forms and basic information to help me navigate the probate path as a pro se litigant in a solvent testate estate. What is Probate?Is Probate Required in Washington?How do you Avoid Probate in Washington?Can an Executor of an Estate in Washington Be Compensated?How Much Does an Executor get paid in Washington?How Long Does Probate Take in Washington?Do all Estates Have to Go Through Probate in Washington?How Long do you Have to File Probate After Death in Washington?Settling an Estate in WashingtonProbate Court in WashingtonProbate Code in Washington. Your website and some outstanding people at the King County Regional Justice Center, in Kent, were extremely helpful in allowing me to accomplish this with a minimum of lost effort. King County Superior Court, Clerk of Court. . . No attorney-client relationship. In those cases, it must contain the contact information for each heir, their relationship to the Decedent, and their distributive shares. You have made a world of difference for us. For forms to use upon distribution or sale of property from or by the estate, see: Forms for Distribution or Sale of Property. Filing the will with the clerk of the superior court within 40 days of death, if there is a will; Assembling and identifying all of the deceased persons assets and property; Giving notice of the persons death to all known creditors, beneficiaries and heirs; Receiving and managing all claims against the estate by creditors; Paying all outstanding bills, including funeral bills, burial costs, and costs incurred from the estate administration; Paying all outstanding debts to creditors, including taxes owed by the estate; and finally.