[WSBAPT] Small Estate Affidavit notice requirement

Sun Mar 8 11:29:12 PDT 2026

Esteemed Colleagues, 

First, I don't do much small-estate work, but this one was too good not to think about over coffee, with a daylight saving time hangover.  

Maybe there is another way to look at this.

If the only question were who ultimately receives the asset, I agree the narrower reading has some appeal. But in the small-estate affidavit context, we are allowing someone to collect a probate asset based on a purported will that has not been admitted to probate, so the notice function seems broader than simply identifying the likely taker.

That is also why I stumble a bit over reading “or” here as A versus B, where you must pick one group and exclude the other. In this setting, it seems more natural to read it as defining the larger A + B group, meaning successors include those in Group A and those in Group B. In other words, “or” is being used to describe alternative categories within the defined class, not to require a choice between them.

That is why I read “successor” more broadly here. RCW 11.62.010(2)(h) requires notice to all other successors, while subsection (i) separately narrows the written-authority requirement to successors who have an interest therein. That makes me think the notice group is broader than the ultimate entitlement group.

The probate analogy pushes me the same way. Once a PR is appointed the statutes still require notice to known heirs, legatees, and devisees, including heirs who do not take under the will. So it seems a little odd to read the small-estate affidavit statute as providing less notice when the will has not even been admitted.

So I wonder if the better reading is that notice goes to both categories of successors, because a disinherited heir may be the very person most likely to raise an issue about whether the will is valid in the first place.

Just another thought.

Chris Neil | Attorney | Neil & Neil, P.S.
5302 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98408 | Chris.Neil at NeilLaw.com
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> On Mar 7, 2026, at 10:47 AM, Ann Manley <ann at manleyfirm.com> wrote:
> 
> Interesting! My read is that you only have to notify the person entitled to the property under the will, not the people who would be entitled to the property under intestacy. This is because 11.62.005(2)(a)(i) defines successor as either the taker under the will or under intestacy laws, not both.
> 
> Ann Manley, Esq.
> The Manley Law Firm, P.S., Inc.
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> 
> On Fri, Mar 6, 2026 at 5:25 PM Sara D. Longley <sara.longley at practus.com <mailto:sara.longley at practus.com>> wrote:
>> Hello listmates,
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> A client needs to claim their parent’s small bank account using a Small Estate Affidavit.  They have a half-brother, but have not been in touch with him for at least 15 years and have no idea where he may be.  There is a Will, and the half-brother is explicitly disinherited.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> I read RCW 11.62.005(2)(a)(i) to define “successor” as including all beneficiaries and intestate heirs, and 11.62.010(2)(h) as requiring written notice to all other successors.  I am curious to know if anyone would interpret the definition of “successor” as either the beneficiaries under the Will or the intestate heirs.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> The language in question:
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> "Successor" and "successors" shall mean… 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 contained in this title;…
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Giving notice seems pointless in this case since the half-brother has zero chance of claiming any estate assets (I drafted the will, and the client was very firm on the decision to disinherit him).  On top of that, the expense of locating him may well exceed the value of the bank account.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Any thoughts?
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Happy Friday!
>> 
>> Sara
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> 
>> Sara D. Longley   <https://www.practus.com/vcard/Sara_Longley.vcf>
>> Associate
>> 
>> 	(360) 378-4450 (Main Office)
>> 	(360) 468-7230 (Direct Dial)
>> 	sara.longley at practus.com <mailto:sara.longley at practus.com>
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