[WSBAPT] Estranged Heirs Question

[James Dolan]

Colleagues:

When petitioning to probate a Will, or when using a Small Estate Affidavit, do you need to name heirs at law, or just beneficiaries?

Over the years, when petitioning for probate, I have named and provided notice to beneficiaries and heirs, assuming the heirs can be located, even when heirs are not named as beneficiaries in Decedent’s Will.  Unless I am missing something, I don’t see anything in RCW 11 that specifies who must be named in the petition or who receives notice.  I have had disagreements with other attorneys about this.  My theory has always been that, even if not named as beneficiaries, heirs should receive notice, with the thought that an heir might want to challenge a will.  (For example, if a ne’er-do-well unduly influences a Testator to bequeath everything to the ne’er-do-well, notice should go out to heirs even if they aren’t named beneficiaries in case they want to challenge.)

When submitting a Small Estate Affidavit, RCW 11.62 requires prior notice to “That person or those persons who are entitled to the claimed property pursuant to the terms and provisions of the last will and testament of the decedent or by virtue of the laws of intestate succession.” Emphasis added.

The reason for this question is I am dealing with the very modest ($28,000 in the bank) estate of a decedent who left his estate to his wife of 11 months, per his Will.  The Will is legit, and it makes sense that everything goes to his wife.  (When we were drafting his estate planning documents, he was either unable or unwilling to name his wife as the TOD or POD beneficiary on his bank account, as I suggested, or maybe he just forgot.)  He was also the father of four very estranged children who had no contact with him for decades.  I planned to use the Small Estate Affidavit, but no one has any idea where these estranged children might be, and it doesn’t make sense to hire an heir hunter.  This might be a stupid question but do I need to name the children in the Small Estate Affidavit , or just name the sole beneficiary, the spouse?  Same question if we were to go the probate route.

Asking for a friend. 😊

Jim Dolan

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Jones Butler Dolan, PS
P.O. Box 458
10027 SR 532
Stanwood, WA 98292
(tel) 360-336-2939
(fax) 360-336-2949

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