[WSBAPT] RCW 11.12.051 (dissolution of marriage)

[Mark Higgins]

Jeanne--I haven't had the situation, but logic seems determinative to me.
The statute says the will is revoked as to a former wife, and that is your
situation.  The will was revoked as to her the instant they became
divorced.  I don't see that initially making her an estate beneficiary when
she was not a wife makes any difference either under the statute or under
the spirit of the law.  Presumably the man who wanted to have his friend be
a beneficiary under his will would continue to want that after he got
married.  Thus, no need to change the will when they got married.  However,
it seems to me if he then divorces his wife the statute applies as
presumably he would no longer want her to be a beneficiary.  I can't make a
real argument that just because he made her a beneficiary when she was a
friend, then even when he later divorces her the will continues to apply.​
That doesn't seem to follow.

Mark

On Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 4:04 PM, Jeanne Dawes <jjdawes at goregrewe.com> wrote:

>  Dear listmates:
>
> Has anyone run into a situation where the Last Will and Testament names
> as a beneficiary a person, who at the time of making the will was not
> married to testator, but who subsequently married and divorced testator.
>   At the time the will was made (1987), the testator was married to
> someone else, and subsequently divorced.     At the time of death the
> testator was unmarried.  I’m hoping that RCW 11.12.051 which revokes
> provisions in a will as to former spouses will not apply in this scenario,
> since the two were not married at the time the will was made.  Testator
> never revoked the will or made a new will.
>
> If you’ve run into this before, or have any insight as to what a court
> might do, I would appreciate hearing from you.  I do not have any
> beneficiaries contesting where the meager balance of this estate should
> go.  The testator left his estate in trust, giving the trustee discretion to
> choose among a short list of people where estate should go.     Trustee
> wants it to go to the ex-wife who was not married to testator at the time
> the Will was created.
>
> *Jeanne J.** Dawes*
>
> Attorney at Law
>
> Gore & Grewe, P.S.
>
> 103 E. Indiana Avenue, Suite A
>
> Spokane, WA 99207-2317
>
> Voice:  509-326-7500
>
> Fax:      509-326-7503
>
> *jjdawes at goregrewe.com* <jjdawes at goregrewe.com>
>
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-- 
Mark T. Higgins
Higgins Lock PLLC
P.O. Box 57
Darrington, WA 98241
206-491-2420
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