[WSBAPT] Ex-spouse standing in Probate

Wed Mar 30 14:46:19 PDT 2016

I don’t think there is anything in the probate statutes that confers standing for ex-wife to get this info.  However, the following might come into play:

The fact is that ex-wife is a judgment creditor of the ex-husband, who is the PR (since each month’s installment of unpaid maintenance becomes a judgment when the next month rolls around).

Ex-wife, as judgment creditor, could garnish the Estate for money owed to ex-husband from the Estate, but that is a bit dicey because she would not necessarily know when money becomes available for payment to the ex-husband and it is possible that nothing can be definitively determined until the administration of the Estate is over.  If this is a non-intervention Estate, she would have to monitor the court filings to find out when administration is over, but, by then, it is likely that the Estate would have made distribution of the ex-husband’s share to the ex-husband.  The PR, with non-intervention powers, is empowered to make partial distributions, and it seems that the PR could time those in a fashion to favor himself, so long as he treated other heirs the same way.  But, he would have no responsibility to keep the ex-wife in the loop, and he might be able to rid the Estate of the vast majority of the assets prior to the completion of administration, via partial distributions.

If the Decedent owned real property and if ex-husband was due to inherit that real property, the rules regarding vesting at the time of the Decedent’s death might come into play, and the real property might be a target of an execution, based upon the judgment.  (But, that would be probably be true only if the PR was the sole heir and would be entitled to the entirety of the real property.  If there were others entitled to shares of the Estate, perhaps the ex-husband, as PR, would choose to sell the real property out of the Estate in order to be able to distribute equal amounts of cash to himself and the other heirs.

But, no, since ex-wife is not a creditor of the Decedent (the mother of the person against whom she has a judgment), I don’t think that she would be entitled to any info based upon her being owed money by an heir.  The PR must prepare an Inventory, but is not required to file it, unless someone with an interest in the Estate (like a creditor of the Estate) or an heir requests that an Inventory be provided.  If an Inventory is actually filed, the ex-wife would be entitled to see whatever was in the court file, it seems to me.

My one cent’s worth (inflation affects all things).

Good luck.

Regards,

Doug Bratt

Douglas J. Bratt
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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Heather deVrieze
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 1:36 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv
Subject: [WSBAPT] Ex-spouse standing in Probate

Is there any basis in the law that an ex-wife of an heir (but not a direct beneficiary under the Will) is entitled to probate information of ex-husband’s mother?

Even if husband owes wife back maintenance, and even if he is the Personal Representative of the estate, if he is not a beneficiary of the estate, what legal grounds exist for the ex-wife to demand an inventory and copies of brokerage statements for the estate?

Seems to me like none, but, never had it come up before, so I’m looking for something to support my gut feeling.

Heather

Heather S. de Vrieze
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