[WSBAPT] Probating a holographic will with witnesses

Fri Mar 5 13:58:29 PST 2021

The requirements of a Will in Washington don’t require the notary of the witnesses for the will to be valid.
That is something that is sometimes achieved after the death of the person who signed the Will.

RCW 11.12.020<http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.12.020>
Requisites of wills—Foreign wills.
(1) Every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or by some other person under the testator's direction in the testator's presence, and shall be attested by two or more competent witnesses, by subscribing their names to the will, or by signing an affidavit that complies with RCW 11.20.020<http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.20.020>(2), while in the presence of the testator and at the testator's direction or request: PROVIDED, That a last will and testament, executed in the mode prescribed by the law of the place where executed or of the testator's domicile, either at the time of the will's execution or at the time of the testator's death, shall be deemed to be legally executed, and shall be of the same force and effect as if executed in the mode prescribed by the laws of this state.
You file the original Will and file the testate estate.  Since PR, bond and non-intervention powers are not automatic and you will be requesting these from the court, a hearing would be required.  BUT, you have waivers to the hearing, if required, from the other heirs so I think ex parte via the clerk would be the way to go with the testate petition.

As for the Affidavits, prepare two and send one to the witness out of state to get a Notary, other to in state witness for a notary, and indicate in the affidavits where the will was signed, who was present, place signed, at request of testator and in testator’s presence for the court.  by the way, I recently received Order approving probate of Will when the will was signed in front of witnesses by ZOOM conference.  Then, original Will was delivered to the two witnesses with notary and they signed on another date.  The court approved probate of this Will based on a declaration of the 2 witnesses and notary present on ZOOM conference.

Dalynne Singleton
Gourley Law Group
Snohomish Escrow
The Exchange Connection
1002 10th Street / PO Box 1091
Snohomish, WA 98291
360.568.5065
360.568.8092  fax
dalynne at glgmail.com<mailto:dalynne at glgmail.com>
Website:  www.glglawgroup.com

As we face the challenges presented by COVID-19, we have limited staffing in the office to maintain critical functions. Attorney/client meetings will be handled by teleconference or virtually whenever possible.  Be assured that we will continue to advise & support our clients throughout this health emergency.  If you would like to set a telephone conference, please call or email my paralegal theresa at glgmail.com<mailto:theresa at glgmail.com> or dara at glgmail.com<mailto:dara at glgmail.com>.

Please be advised, we are requiring all clients with scheduled appointments coming in, as well as our staff, to be prepared to wear a face mask or adequate covering during all in office interactions.

LICENSED IN WASHINGTON AND OREGON
IMPORTANT/CONFIDENTIAL: This e-mail message (and any attachments accompanying it) may contain confidential information, including information protected by attorney-client privilege. The information is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s).  Delivery of this message to anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is not intended to waive any privilege or otherwise detract from the confidentiality of the message.  If you are not the intended recipient, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, do not read, disclose, reproduce, distribute, disseminate or otherwise use this transmission, rather, please promptly notify the sender by reply e-mail, and then destroy all copies of the message and its attachments, if any.
[cid:image001.png at 01D711C7.014210F0]  [Rated by Super Lawyers] <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.superlawyers.com_redir-3Fr-3Dhttp-3A__www.superlawyers.com_washington_lawyer_Gary-2DManca_ca059d21-2D1b6e-2D4fca-2Db396-2D80c253f82402.html-26c-3Demail-5FSmall-5Fbadge-26i-3Dca059d21-2D1b6e-2D4fca-2Db396-2D80c253f82402&d=DwMGaQ&c=4VfW4Y7UDKzr0jHM1Tk29w&r=wJy-5dBh2e8cdp8KTDyWsjq7WPfG_HRNpImWO5yfs2A&m=FCmO2jSMMhwxfYb-8WN5A3L-M6GKeJ_8gc6cS3vECHM&s=z2j9M4GPJAL7pempIOe0TGAPkMWrzXJSlY1lyMRDlRg&e=>        [cid:image007.jpg at 01D711C7.9E49F4D0]  [No alt text provided for this image]

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Suzanne Lieberman
Sent: Friday, March 5, 2021 1:34 PM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: [WSBAPT] Probating a holographic will with witnesses

Hello,

We have a client whose legally competent mother signed a handwritten will with two witness signatures, not notarized.

The will does not name anyone as PR, so also does not mention serving without bond and the request for non-intervention powers. On top of waivers from the two other beneficiaries (her brothers), I assume we use the PR, Bond, and Nonintervention Powers provisions of the intestate petition, correct? Also we wouldn't need to request a hearing if we obtained the waivers, correct? If we do, what would be suggested language for a hearing?

The witnesses are willing to sign an affidavit of subscribing witnesses. One is out-of-state, however. Can the signatures and notary blocks be signed separately on separate pages? Or would one witness have to get the document signed and notarized and then sent to the second witness for signature and notarization? (Or would neither of these options work - would they both need to sign at once with the same notary?)

Thanks for any help.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Lieberman
CMS Law Firm LLC<http://cmslawfirm.com/>
811 Kirkland Ave. Suite 201 (please note new address!)
Kirkland, WA 98033
206-383-6484 (Cell Phone)
206-659-1512 (Main Office)

Legal stuff I have to put in... To ensure compliance with Treasury Department and IRS regulations, we inform you that, unless expressly indicated otherwise, any federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written by CMS Law Firm LLC to be used, and cannot be used by the taxpayer, for the purpose of: (i) avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer under the Internal Revenue Code; or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein (or any attachments).
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20210305/6676bb9d/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 5410 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20210305/6676bb9d/image001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1524 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20210305/6676bb9d/image002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3112 bytes
Desc: image007.jpg
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20210305/6676bb9d/image007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3828 bytes
Desc: image008.jpg
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20210305/6676bb9d/image008.jpg>