[WSBAPT] Unknown heirs in intestate probate

Wed Dec 3 03:24:50 PST 2025

I recently took on a probate in which I opened for a decedent who owned real estate land which had an interested buyer and the land was subject to a tax foreclosure sale.  No heir could be found when we opened probate.  So, I opened the probate and served as Administrator, worked with the county and potential buyer, appraised the land and sold avoiding the tax foreclosure sale.  The problem was I could not find an heir to the probate estate and $$ in my trust account from the sale.  As in all probates where we cannot find heirs, we hired a private investigator who found a possible "uncle".  What was amazing is that we also did our due diligence searching for assets by reviewing the DOR unclaimed property and found an account over $500k which was in the name of the decedent with no named beneficiary or joint account holder.

Just a story with a nice ending.  Most attorneys wouldn't take this case on and the potential RE buyer reached out to me.
At this point, I have hired an heir search company, and we await results of an extensive report to confirm if there are other heirs or only the one.
Dalynne Singleton
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<http://www.glglawgroup.com/>
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 From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Eric Nelsen
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 2:41 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] Unknown heirs in intestate probate

I typically advise that the PR must exercise "due diligence" meaning follow up on any available clues as to location of the heir, and ask anybody they know of who might be in contact with the heir. But the efforts need only be "reasonable" and I judge that mainly by evaluating how much money the heir is likely to receive, and how much it would cost to take additional steps like hiring an investigator or an heir search company. If the heir is likely to get, say, $30,000, it seems like the Estate could spend a few hundred dollars attempting a skiptrace with an investigator. BUT that investigation could also happen after appointment, so the PR has access to estate funds to pay for it. Then once the heir is located, give them notice.

The other factor I think about is the likely consequence if the heir shows up later-what difficulty it might present for the estate. Usually that's not an issue because nothing the estate does is likely to prejudice the heir. So if we can't get a good address for an heir right away, I'd still file with "address unknown" and follow up afterward.

Keep in mind that heir search companies do monitor filings and they'll track down and approach missing heirs and ask for a cut in exchange for letting them know about a possible inheritance. If client wants to avoid that possibility, best to do more due diligence at the beginning so you don't have to identify an "address unknown" heir. If the heir is going to get a big chunk of money, then I think if at all possible, do an heir search or hire an investigator before opening probate to try to locate them, to avoid this issue.

Short of a big fancy-pants heir search company, I have had great success with Leslie Lawson doing the genealogical research to locate cousins.
https://lawsonresearch.net/

If the client doesn't want to advance money to do the research before appointment, then I'd recommend stating clearly in the petition that there may be cousins whose names and locations are unknown, and that the PR intends to retain an heir search company immediately after appointment, to determine living heirs at law.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
Sayre Law Offices, PLLC
1417 31st Ave South
Seattle WA 98144-3909
206-625-0092
eric at sayrelawoffices.com<mailto:eric at sayrelawoffices.com>

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com>> On Behalf Of Timothy Lehr
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 2:05 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Unknown heirs in intestate probate

All,

I have an estate where decedent was unmarried, no kids, parents predeceased him and no living siblings. He was a recluse and lived off the grid, however there are some assets in the estate. A cousin stepped in to act as Administrator. The cousin hadn't talked with the decedent for many years.

There are a number of cousins that were found that are potential heirs to the estate, but many potential others and the Administrator has no idea where they live, if they are still alive, or how to get in contact with them.

What's the best process or RCW to follow for due diligence on notifying these potential heirs and how do we approach final distributions if we can find everyone that may be an interested party?

Thanks,

Timothy C. Lehr
Attorney & Partner

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p: 360.855.0131
e: timothy at stileslaw.com<mailto:timothy at stileslaw.com>
w: www.stileslaw.com<http://www.stileslaw.com/>

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