[WSBAPT] Due diligence to find heirs in lost Will scenario

[Eric Nelsen]

Decedent was born Japanese, married an American serviceman in 1950s and moved to the US, became a US citizen. Husband died decades ago. No children. According to her 50-year-old immigration papers, she had three brothers and a sister in Japan. Our understanding is that she was excluded by her family after marrying an American.

We have an address for sister in Japan but zero information on the brothers--we don't even know if they are living. Decedent did have some minimal contact with sister's daughter, and we've managed to contact that niece to ask about the status of her uncles, but no response.

Decedent's Will leaves everything to charity, except for a minor gift to the sister. So all three brothers and/or their descendants are disinherited by the Will.

Final wrinkle: A lost Will! So I will have to prove a copy and give prior notice to all heirs at law. It's a solid Will with self-proving affidavit and I have the witnesses available. I have no qualms or concerns about the validity of the Will.

Under these circumstances, I'm inclined to regard the "due diligence" as satisfied, mention the possible existence of disinherited brothers in the petition, but not search further for them. Effectively, I'll be giving notice to the sister, but not the brothers, in order to prove the lost Will.

What do y'all think? Have I gone far enough, or do I need to do more to identify whether brothers are living or if deceased who their descendants might be?

Sincerely,

Eric C. Nelsen
SAYRE LAW OFFICES, PLLC
1320 University St
Seattle WA  98101-2837
phone 206-625-0092
fax 206-625-9040

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