[WSBAPT] Funds held and no probate

[Eric Nelsen]

Who are the heirs at law? Is it sister only, or are there others?

I wouldn't bother trying to deal with creditors if estate is insolvent. Let the creditors do their own work to get paid. Death is the final bankruptcy proceeding--easier to let it do the job.

Possible methods, neither of which I've actually tried myself:

1. Put the money back in that account, deny ownership, and let the bank send it to unclaimed property in due time.
OR
2. Client opens (free) checking account in her own somewhere and puts all $1900 into it, then acts like a person "who has possession of personal property of decedent" under RCW 11.61.010(1). Leave it there for minimum two years to get past the statutory bar on claims against decedent. Evaluate who is supposed to inherit, and transfer the funds to them in exchange for small-estate affidavits from each heir under RCW 11.62.

I'd also suggest giving it to DOR as unclaimed property, but you've already ruled that out.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
SAYRE LAW OFFICES, PLLC
1417 31st Ave South
Seattle WA  98144-3909
phone 206-625-0092
fax 206-625-9040

Please Note that We Have Moved. We have moved our Seattle office to Mount Baker Ridge (a small commercial community just above the I-90 tunnel). Our new address is 1417 31st Avenue South, Seattle WA 98144. All other contact information remains the same.

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Mimi Wagner
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2017 2:24 PM
To: 'WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv'
Subject: [WSBAPT] Funds held and no probate

Dear Listmates,

I have a situation with no good solution coming to mind.  The sister of a client of mine died recently.  Sister had less than $2,000 to her name and lots of medical bills when she died.  The client does not want to open a probate due to the cost and hassle.  The total bills are unknown, but the estate is likely insolvent.  The client had a joint bank account with the sister during sister’s life for convenience reasons only (representative payee for Social Security).

Unfortunately the client recently moved the money into her sole name, as the bank threatened to close account for inactivity.  So now the client has $1900 in the client’s own name, but the money isn’t the client’s, and again, the client doesn’t want to open a probate.  Since the sister is deceased, I am sure the bank will not retitle the account into the name of the deceased sister and the client.  We can’t set up an “estate” account and let the money sit there as there is no personal representative appointed.  I don’t believe unclaimed property act or disclaimer are proper.

Does anyone have any ideas for how the client can minimize the client’s risk of being alleged by creditors to have wrongfully converted the funds?   No creditor is interested in opening probate to my knowledge.  Or, should the client just plan to hold onto the money for years (6, under the circumstances?) and if someone claims it, invite them to open a probate?  Or just buck up and open a probate and spend the estate in doing so?  The nonprobate notice to creditors process may work here if client is entitled by intestacy to the estate, and that at least would be cheaper than a full probate.  A disclaimer crossed my mind, but there’s no estate being administered so aside from showing good intentions to a judge, I don’t know what that would do.

Thank you for your thoughts,

Mimi M. Wagner
Attorney at Law
mimi at sanjuanlaw.com<mailto:mimi at sanjuanlaw.com>
Phone (360) 378-6234
Fax (360) 378-6244
www.sanjuanlaw.com<http://www.sanjuanlaw.com/>


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20170426/8be9f517/attachment.html>