[WSBAPT] Petition for Probate of Foreign Will - Special documentation required?

[Eric Reutter]

Hi all,

I am working to prepare a petition for a foreign (out-of-state) Will. It appears that the Will was executed validly in the decedent's state of domicile. There is no need for no ancillary probate in the foreign state, as the decedent owned property only in WA at the time of her passing.

My question is, without an Order admitting the foreign will to probate in the foreign state, will the Commissioner need any special supporting documentation to admit the foreign Will?

I am more accustomed to filing foreign Wills in the case where we provide an attached Order from the foreign state admitting the Will to probate, which I imagine satisfies the WA Commissioner that the Will was validly executed in the foreign state. In this case where we have no such foreign order admitting the Will to probate, I am a little wary of simply citing to the relevant out-of-state statute governing a Will's validity, as (a) I am not licensed in that foreign state, and (b) the Commissioner may not be equipped to verify the law in the foreign state either.

My first thought is that the Commissioner may need a Declaration from an attorney in the foreign state, stating that the Will was validly executed, or something similar to that effect. I would be very interested to hear if anyone has probated a foreign Will without an order from the foreign state admitting that Will to probate and, if so, what kind of documentation was requested by the Commissioner.

All advice/thoughts are much appreciated.

Best regards,

Eric Reutter
Attorney
DIRECT 206-332-7553
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