[WSBAPT] Tangled Fact Pattern re: VR or no VR?

[Brian Andrews]

Greetings, listmates:

I have a thorny fact pattern for you, if you will oblige me. The short version of the question is:

Is a VR or a GAL necessary to approve fair market value transactions on behalf of a minor heir of a nonintervention probate estate?

Assume there is a PR of an intestate estate. Decedent is PR's son. Decedent was not married, but has a minor child, who lives with child's mother.

Years ago, PR decided to help Decedent purchase a house. She mortgaged her house, with Decedent as co-mortgagee. So PR and Decedent are (a) co-owners of his house and (b) co-mortgagors of her house. Decedent paid the entire mortgage, because it was made entirely for his benefit. There was no written agreement between them.

PR has used her own money to pay off the mortgage on her house. So now (a) she owns ½ of her house and ½ of his house, and (b) the minor child will inherit ½ of PR's house and ½ of Decedent's house.

Minor child will receive the real property via UTMA transfer, in custody of a UTMA custodian.

Okay, here are the questions:

(1) PR wants to own her house outright, so she would ordinarily buy out the interest of the heir. Does she need a GAL or a VR to approve that transaction, or does it merely need to be at fair market value and reported to the court?

(2) Because PR paid off the mortgage on her house from her own funds, and minor heir owned half of that debt, she wants to be reimbursed by heir for his half. (Equitably, the entire mortgage was decedent's, but PR does not want to press that claim.) So (a) can she do that? It seems plainly fair. And (b) does a VR or GAL need to sign off on that via a TEDRA or some other means?


I appreciate your insights.


Brian H. Andrews, Attorney at Law
brian at hawklaw.biz<mailto:brian at hawklaw.biz>
Hawkins Law, PLLC
Phone 509-529-5175 / Fax 509-529-2564
2225 Isaacs, Suite A/ Walla Walla, WA 99362

Visit our website at hawklaw.biz<http://www.hawklaw.biz/>.

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