[WSBAPT] Who is Entitled to Notice of Appointment

[Roger Hawkes]

I think the purpose of the 'notice' statute is to alert those who presumably would be in a position to know if there was some other intention of the decedent, other than the purported will language,  if that is true then all persons close enough to the decedent such that they might have knowledge of his or her intent should be given notice.  I think that means all first order relatives: parents, siblings, children.

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Lovie Bernardi
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2022 2:04 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Who is Entitled to Notice of Appointment

Dear listserv members,

It has always been my practice to send notice to the children of a decedent when opening a probate, even when it appears all decedent's property is community property and goes to the surviving spouse. I have been contacted by the child of a decedent who did not receive a notice of appointment when her father's probate was filed. The probate has been closed for three years and she and the other children just found out about the probate. I viewed the petition (filed by step mother) online and the children were not listed as heirs and the petition states all property was community property. Setting aside the issue that there is nothing for the heirs to claim if all property was community, were the heirs entitled to notice? I've looked at the statute and the definition of heirs is as follows :
"Heirs" denotes those persons, including the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner, who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the real and personal property of a decedent on the decedent's death intestate.
I suppose it could be argued that if there is no separate property, the heirs other than the surviving spouse aren't entitled to any property and therefore aren't entitled to notice. But I would argue that they should be given notice so they can demand an inventory of the assets so they can dispute the characterization of the assets as community property, if appropriate.
I would like to know how others view this issue. Thanks!

Lovie

Lovie L. Bernardi
Flaherty & Bernardi, PLLC
3600 15th Avenue West #205
Seattle, WA  98119
(206) 682-2616

lovie at fb-lawfirm.com<mailto:joni at sbfirm.com>
http://fb-lawfirm.com<http://sbfirm.com/>

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