[WSBAPT] heir presenting invalid small estate affidavit

[Diane J. Kiepe]

Harkiran,

I had this situation (and 2 years later still involved) with an estate with only two assets.  We recently won a summary judgement motion to return assets, and pay attorney fees because the “bad actor” has been so out of line.  That person still has yet to turn over the 2 assets (a home which he moved into and a small investment account).  We are at about 60,000 in fees.  What I would say from my experience is:


  1.  Call any remaining asset holders and tell them that any SEA is being presented falsely and to transfer accounts only on direction of the court appointed PR.  They may lock down and require a court order but at that point in applying for the court order I would write in the petition that the cost are directly attributable to the beneficiary’s action and the court should allow the PR to offset costs against beneficiary’s share.
  2.  If contact is made and the asset is already transferred, have the PR get a written statement of date transferred and a copy of what was given to the institution to make the transfer (you’ll need that for the cause of action).
  3.  File a TEDRA action immediately; don’t trust the dialogue that you can just work things out.  In my case the PR didn’t want to push the issue against a family matter but in hindsight, knowing now what we didn’t know then, we burned a lot of time and expense trying to mutually agree to a plan.
  4.  If the amounts are significant and I were you, I might consider speaking with someone about theft charges.  Maybe a little extreme but dang I’m sick of people doing wrong 😉

Biggest take away, don’t wait – time is not on your side in my opinion.

Diane J. Kiepe

Diane J. Kiepe
Douglas Eden
717 W. Sprague Ave.
Suite 1500
Spokane, WA  99201
djkiepe at depdslaw.com<mailto:djkiepe at depdslaw.com>
509-455-5300

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Harkiran Sekhon
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2021 5:16 PM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: [WSBAPT] heir presenting invalid small estate affidavit

Hi Listmates,

In a probate where there is a valid will and PR was issued letters testamentary, PR is now having trouble transferring any assets to the estate account because a disinherited adult child of the decedent is going around w/ a small estate affidavit.

What's the best first step here to respond?

Appreciate your input.

Best,

Harkiran

--
Harkiran Sekhon
Attorney
Sekhon Law, PLLC
P: (425) 207-4866 | F: (425) 207- 4986 | W: www.sekhonlawpllc.com<http://www.sekhonlawpllc.com> | A: 707 S. Grady Way STE 600 Renton, WA 98057
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