Washington Probate Legal Questions

You can only give what your have, wherever you are.  In a community property state, you only have 50% of the community property.  In Washington, as here in Texas, your husband probably has a right to live in the house for life.  Your daughter will only get the 50% you gift her after he is gone.  Meanwhile, they get to argue about who pays for non-maintenance repairs (which one may think are necessary and the other does not) and property taxes (for which he may get a lower rate and even a deferrment while she will not).... Read More

Unless the estate itself is named as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, it is not considered to be part of the probate estate and is not controlled by a Will.  Instead, a life insurance policy is like a contract between the insurer and the insured with a promise to pay a certain amount to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries when the insured dies.  Even if the Will stated that life insurance should go to someone else, it is the beneficiary designation made by the insured that controls who receives the payout, not the Will.  The confusion made be that life insurance proceeds are considered estate assets, because they were an asset of the person who died, but they are not probate assets, which are a sub-set of estate assets that are controlled by Wills.  Retirement funds, for example, are also estate assets but they are paid out to designated beneficiaries, not by Will. ... Read More

I believe that Washington state law includes adopted individuals in its definition of heirs.  Most states do.   If your father died without a Will, his assets are distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy in the state where he lived.  I recommend doing an internet search for "intestacy" in that state, as well as a search in that state for "probate definition of heirs".  Good luck.  ... Read More

This is a question that falls under Washington state's jurisdiction (authority). Generally you do have recourse from being removed as executor without your knowledge, but it is very likely to be expensive.If your mother's Will was amended at a time when she was diagnosed with dementia, you need to hire an attorney to file a case to invalidate the codicil (also known as the amendment). In that action the original Will is essentially reinstated. Your attorney will have to be able to prove in Court that your mother had been diagnosed with dementia before the date the codicil was executed.Look for an attorney from the state of Washington who has experience with challenging (sometimes called "contesting") a Will. Interview those who practice Estate Litigation and hire the best lawyer you can afford.To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/GaleAllison ... Read More