[WSBAPT] Newly discovered minor heir in probate

Mon Oct 12 15:18:16 PDT 2020

Hi Julie,
I’ll take a stab at your questions regarding this situation – it’s chocked full of issues, and more information is needed to answer some of them. Not in any particular order and including my running mental musings/commentary:

  *   You said Letters of Administration, so no Will and an intestate distribution. You indicate there is a wife and two adult children (leaving aside the surprise bonus heir). So, barring other oddities, SS receives all CP and ½ SP. Kids share the other ½ SP. If there is indeed another kid, then he/she would be included in that sharing of ½ of the SP.
  *   Was paternity established? How do you know there is actually another heir? You may have to have a hearing regarding the establishment of heirship. If there was a paternity case determining him to be Dad, then that would be clear. If there wasn’t, then it could be an entire can of worms...
  *   What was the substance of the judgment – Was it related to this new bonus heir?
  *   You state that the only asset in the estate is the property that is heading to the closing table. If there is a valid judgment against decedent, then you’re going to have to clear it (pay up) in order to close the transaction. If your PR has non-intervention powers then you can go forward with closing the sale. I would recommend not distributing any $$ until the bonus heir situation is figured out. If there is some question on the validity of the judgment, then you will want to address that first, which may delay your sale closing OR try to get agreement that the judgment amount is held in escrow for some period of time until a determination on it is made following closing.
  *   If the property being sold is CP, then the bonus heir would not be entitled to a share of it.
  *   Either way, the court is likely to want a GAL for the minor to ensure that his/her interest is correctly handled. I would approach it with a petition for instructions laying out the new discovery and asking the court to rule on 1. whether a GAL should be appointed and 2. whether there needs to be a hearing on a determination of heirship. IF there is nothing in the estate other than the property and it is documented as CP (kids have no interest), and there is nothing to distribute to the kids, then the court may not have the estate incur the expense. You would need to be prepared with a verified Inventory and documentation proving CP.  I would, however, expect a GAL to be appointed.
  *   If there really is a bonus heir then his/her parent may be able to claim Social Security benefits for the child. It would be beneficial for the child’s parent to know Dad is deceased in order to see if any kind of benefits are available for the child’s welfare.
  *   Finding the heir….if support enforcement is involved, you can request the case worker to reach out to the parent and let them know to contact you. They won’t tell you anything for privacy reasons, but you can let them know the circumstances and request they impart the information to the receiving parent. You can also hire a PI or heir locator service to conduct a search. Maybe some other peripheral family member knew of the dirty little secret?
  *   If the property is SP in which the bonus heir shares, then you and the GAL can figure out the best option for “housing” the share (i.e. in a blocked account in a guardianship of the estate for the child).
  *   Your original order appointing/Letters remain valid. You do not need to ask for re-validation.

Jennifer L. White, Esq.
[cid:image001.jpg at 01D6A0AA.E8B4B610]

jen at appletreelaw.com<mailto:jen at appletreelaw.com>
PO Box 11037
Yakima, WA 98909
509.225.9813

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Julie Martiniello
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2020 1:09 PM
To: Trust and Probate Section <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Newly discovered minor heir in probate

Hello All,

I opened a probate for a client in King County about 6 months ago with a noted hearing, and issued Letters of Administration for my client (adult daughter). The decedent had a wife and two adult children that were known at the time. Now two days before closing of the estate property (the only estate asset), title has notified my client of a judgment against decedent and upon looking it up, it appears there is a minor child of decedent- which is a complete shock to the PR.

I have not ran into this particular situation before.

I realize I need to update the court and notify the minor's parent of the probate. This is in King County, so I assume a GAL will be appointed. This has never happened to me before so I have a few procedure questions if anyone has advice they are willing to share:

1. What is the best way to go about notifying the court? Do I need to amend the initial petition for letters and ask that standing letters remain valid?

2. I assume I will need to note a hearing of some sort with notice to all parties. I am thinking of a combination of motion to validate existing letters and petition for instruction regarding newly found minor heir.

3. We do not know the contact information for the minor's mother at this time. Should I notify the court while we try and locate the child?

Any advice is appreciated!

--
Respectfully,

JULIE A. MARTINIELLO | PARTNER | DIMENSION LAW GROUP PLLC
130 Andover Park East, Suite 300 | Tukwila, WA 98188
t: 206.973.3500 | f: 206.577.5090| e: JULIE at dimensionlaw.com|<mailto:JULIE at dimensionlaw.com|> www.dimensionlaw.com<http://www.dimensionlaw.com/>

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