[WSBAPT] Intestate Probates in King County

[Brent Williams-Ruth]

If you are wanting more than the following answer, I am happy to share my
knowledge from my 5 years on the WSBA Board of Governors.

The short answer is this:  The Federal System is one unified system from
the SCOTUS to the District Court Commissioners. I took (in my insurance
days) spent 100% of my time using ECF/Pacer, and miss it every day.

Washington does not have a unified court system.  Without a
constitutional amendment that strips each county clerk of their authority,
we will never have a unified court system.  There has been an effort to
create one that has not yet taken root (no money for it).

So we have this mish-mash.  Obviously, there is more to the story but
asking people to give up their own power has never really gained traction
and good luck getting the electorate to understand enough to vote for
change.

Brent

*Brent Williams-Ruth* (pronouns: he/him)
*Attorney-At-Law*

*Law Offices of Brent Williams-Ruth, **a division of BWR Consulting, PLLC*

*Physical Address: 500 S 336th Street, Suite 214; Federal Way, WA 98003*

*Mailing Address: **PO BOX 3319; Federal Way, WA 98063 *

Office/Scheduling Phone: (253) 285-7751

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e-mail <Brent at Williams-RuthLaw.com> / website
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On Thu, Oct 1, 2026 at 7:00 AM Mark McClure, J.D. - McClure Law Group <
mark at mcclurelawgroup.com> wrote:

> Speaking of difficult computer systems, I normally play in ECF/Pacer.
> Mostly, I do bankruptcy work. But also, some probates.  I am also a former
> Boeing Engineer and Systems Administrator.
>
>
>
> ECF/Pacer has all of the systems in the State of Washington that I have
> tried beat by miles (why isn’t there just one system btw?).
>
>
>
> Odyessy just needs to go away.
>
>
>
> Lynx is okay.
>
>
>
> King County KSCRIPT is better than Odyssey, but that is all I can really
> say for it.
>
>
>
> I actually like King County District Court’s system slightly better than
> the Superior Courts.
>
>
>
> This is the land of Microsoft and Amazon.  Meta.  I know we have a Low Bid
> contractor-based system here, but really?  It is embarrassing.
>
>
>
> Btw, I just looked at Asotin County, Odyssey and fax filing… :(  Judge
> might be great, but the tech is close to flint and stone.
>
>
>
> *Mark C. McClure* *| *
> *Managing Attorney *Law Office of Mark McClure, PS
>
> *"Why Retire With Debt?"*1103 West Meeker Street, #101
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1103+West+Meeker+Street,+%23101+Kent,+WA+98032+Office:%C2%A0+253?entry=gmail&source=g>
> Kent, WA 98032
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>
> Office:  253.631.6484 <(253)%20631-6484> (Leave Msg - Will be returned
> within 24 hours)
> Email: Mark at McClureLawGroup.com
> Web: www.McClureLawGroup.com <http://www.mcclurelawgroup.com/>
>
> *Notice of Unavailability:*  *TBD*
>
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> building.  Call *253-631-6484 <(253)%20631-6484> * to schedule.*
>
> *CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:* This email contains legal stuff. If you are not
> the intended recipient you could get into a lot of trouble if you read it,
> and even more trouble if you tell someone else about it. So, the best thing
> to do is ignore it and forget you ever saw it. Thank you.
>
>
>
> *From:* wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <
> wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> *On Behalf Of *Joshua McKarcher
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 1, 2026 6:32 AM
> *To:* WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>;
> brent at williams-ruthlaw.com
> *Subject:* Re: [WSBAPT] Intestate Probates in King County
>
>
>
> Jeannie, I am so sorry to you and these children and their nominated
> administrator. This is deeply wrong. This email, if possible, should be
> delivered by personal courier with trumpets playing and at least one
> serious journalist in attendance (or at least forwarded) to each AG lawyer
> who insisted on a statute that did NOT permit this exact scenario.
>
>
>
> Attached is the document our local judge here in Asotin County circulated,
> which is what I assume each judge is following.
>
>
>
> If you ever want easy, "correct," but not "ridiculously helicopter
> parented" probate AND ARE NOT TRYING TO DO ANYTHING UNETHICAL, I cannot
> more highly commend Asotin County for venue in probate cases in which any
> Superior Court has jurisdiction.
>
>
>
> I've thought for years I could make a play at (forgive me the crass
> reference) Profiting From Probate merely by yelling at you all, or
> marketing the message: "Stop dealing with difficult courts and computers
> and filing systems, and come to the corner of the state! Judge Brooke Burns
> in Asotin County is reasonable and DID PROBATES before taking the bench!
> She gets it! Our elected clerk is reasonable and has a staff who actually
> desire to progress cases and WANT TO be told when they do something
> incorrectly and WANT TO KNOW/LEARN! Imagine!"
>
>
>
> I expect Brent and those most familiar are going to say you will need to
> follow the new statute to the letter. These surviving children will need to
> choose a lawyer or professional fiduciary as PR (shouldn't be awful, but I
> realize it costs money); and check each box in the new statute, reading it
> step by step to get relief for these Presumptively Dirty, Tainted, Profit
> Seeking Children and Their Presumptively Suspicious Nominated Third-Party
> Fiduciary.
>
>
>
> I'll be emailing this chain to State Senator Mark Schoesler, our local
> state senator, who in the old days of divided, centrist state government
> (which gave us things like paid family leave, but leavened with
> non-small-business-crushing elements), was the senate majority leader (yes,
> from from little ol' Ritzville and representing my little ol' Asotin
> County).
>
>
>
> He will want to know what this ridiculous legislation inflicted upon our
> state, and he will likely be very disappointed to not have known what
> snakes were hidden in the weeds when he and his senators voted (I think)
> nearly unanimously to approve it.
>
>
>
> I'm speaking this morning on Washington EP law at the Idaho Estate
> Planning conference. I'm intentionally not spending any of my 20 minutes on
> intestate probate other than to mention very briefly to "Beware if you,
> unsuspecting Idaho lawyer, encounter one. But let's not fret this morning,
> because you obviously have to refer it to a Washington lawyer since by
> definition you as a non-Washington lawyer cannot file a Washington
> intestate administration matter."
>
>
>
> What a sad set of facts, Jeannie. I'm sorry to you and these children and
> whoever stepped up to be their fiduciary at their nomination. Consider
> APPEALING the denied petition if they have the money and see if our
> appellate courts by some miracle might deem the statute an excessive
> restriction that violates due process on their right to administer property
> that "vested" in them upon their parents' death (and other arguments we
> could unearth) -- to see if our appellate courts might possibly "blue
> pen/line/whatever" the statute to permit NOMINATIONS BY TIER-ONE PRIORITY
> HEIRS as any rational system should permit.
>
>
>
> I'm guessing you're rolling your eyes, but I've thought about it if I
> encountered the right situation. At some point we lawyers have to fight the
> fights we might possibly win. There are too many we simply have no
> reasonable prospect of winning.
>
>
>
> Another one that every lawyer of anyone over age 65 should be aware of is
> FINRA Rule 2165 and its utter and complete violation of due process for
> account holders whose accounts are frozen in toto at the DISCRETION and
> OPTION of a financial advisory firm. If you pull it up notice that at Day
> 30 some GOVERNMENTAL ACTOR must approve the continued freeze . . . but
> without giving the account holder whose millions of dollars are simply
> frozen NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD before the approval of the
> GOVERNMENTAL ACTOR is given. My clients' $4 million account was completely
> locked for over 90 days this past December to March by a Big National Firm
> I will restrain myself from naming here, despite the firm's obvious ability
> to speak to the couple's independent CPA or do any other minimal
> "investigation" (required by the rule), beyond demanding all manner of
> personal and private information of the client to satisfy itself (the
> brokerage firm) as judge, jury and executioner (go read FINRA Rule 2165!)
> that a requested withdrawal of $425,000 was not for exploitative purposes.
>
>
>
> This is another fight we must fight. Eventually. Not today. American and
> states' laws are twisting "ahistorically" both from the right and the left.
>
>
>
> Our job is to untwist it (from whichever extreme it derives) where we have
> a reasonable prospect to do so.
>
>
>
> Best, Josh
>
>
>
> *Joshua McKarcher*
>
> *Attorney, Owner*
> McKarcher Law PLLC
> o: (509) 758-3345
> josh at mckarcherlaw.com
>
> [image: signatureImage]
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <
> wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> on behalf of Jeannie O'Brien <
> jeannie at selanderobrien.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 30, 2026 3:25 PM
> *To:* wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>;
> brent at williams-ruthlaw.com <brent at williams-ruthlaw.com>
> *Subject:* [WSBAPT] Intestate Probates in King County
>
>
>
> You don't often get email from jeannie at selanderobrien.com. Learn why this
> is important <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification>
>
> Hello Brent and all,
>
>
>
> I am very frustrated. And confused. I attended the elder law WSBA CLE last
> Friday, and learned from Commissioner Sarah Moen that since June 11, 2026,
> they have rejected 80% of the probates filed. It took 12 days for the court
> to deny my first intestate probate submitted. I haven’t heard anything yet
> from the second intestate probate I submitted early last week. Are the
> commissioners enjoying this? All of the extra work for us and for them?
>
>
>
> Both of these decedents were not survived by a spouse, all of their
> children survived, and the children were of both parents. The siblings in
> each declined to serve, and provided consent to the nominee. Easy peasy in
> the old days.
>
>
>
> My question to Commissioner Moen was asked by the facilitator, and it was
> what do you need from a surviving child to prove that they know who all of
> their siblings are, and that they are the only children of the parents who
> were married to each other for 60 years? She said that they have to state
> how they know…
>
>
>
> Are the other counties playing these reindeer games? Can we get a meeting
> with the commissioners? I’d like to ask them to specify why they are
> denying an order instead of the catchall “Petitioner’s motion is missing
> additional information required in cases of intestacy after RCW 11.28.110
> was amended.”
>
>
>
> Brent, I agree 1000% with you that the updates to RCW 11.28.110 created a
> cannon to kill a mosquito. I used to tell my King County PRs that we will
> have an order back within a week, usually sooner. Now I don’t know what to
> say, other than “sorry, I don’t handle probates where there isn’t a valid
> Will.”
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Jeannie O'Brien, Attorney*www.SelanderOBrien.com
> <http://www.selanderobrien.com/>
> 3829C South Edmunds Street
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/3829C+South+Edmunds+Street+Seattle,+WA+98118?entry=gmail&source=g>
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