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<p class="MsoNormal">That is a great question and not one I have dealt with before. I agree with your reading of the statute; the “or” in RCW 11.62.005(2) appears to be disjunctive, meaning you give notice to beneficiaries under a Will, or to heirs if there
is no Will, but do not have to notify both if there is a Will—even if the Will has not been formally entered for probate. This interpretation is reinforced by the use of “and/or” in two other locations of that section, which contrasts with the “or.” The difference
must be meaningful, so I think the only interpretation is the “or” is disjunctive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Personally, I think the best route is to give the client two options and compare the risks and benefits, and let the client choose the route.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b>Small Estate Affidavit, file the Will for permanent record, don’t give notice to heirs at law, get the funds relatively quickly</b>. The risk here is that an estranged child comes
and files to have the Will rejected as invalid. If the Will were eventually found to be invalid, the client could be sued to disgorge the funds. If the Will is solid and there’s no realistic possibility of a challenge actually succeeding, this is probably
a very small risk.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="2" type="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b>Petition for Order of Adjudication of Testacy without appointment of PR, per RCW 11.20.020(1), and give notice to the intestate heirs per RCW 11.28.330 and RCW 11.28.340, wait four
months for Will contest period to end, then get the funds</b>. The burden here is mainly the time and expense in doing the longer process, in order to eliminate the small risk under option #1.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Eric<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Eric C. Nelsen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Sayre Law Offices, PLLC<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">1417 31st Ave South<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Seattle WA 98144-3909<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">206-625-0092<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:eric@sayrelawoffices.com"><span style="color:#467886">eric@sayrelawoffices.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"> wsbapt-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>James Dolan<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, February 20, 2025 3:48 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv' <wsbapt@lists.wsbarppt.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [WSBAPT] Estranged Heirs Question<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">Colleagues:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">When petitioning to probate a Will, or when using a Small Estate Affidavit, do you need to name heirs at law, or just beneficiaries?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">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.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">When submitting a Small Estate Affidavit, RCW 11.62 requires prior notice to “<span style="background:white">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
<b>or</b> by virtue of the laws of intestate succession.” Emphasis added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white">Asking for a friend.
</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white">😊</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841;background:white">Jim Dolan</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">=========================<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">Jones Butler Dolan, PS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">P.O. Box 458<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">10027 SR 532<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">Stanwood, WA 98292<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">(tel) 360-336-2939<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E2841">(fax) 360-336-2949<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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