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Probate is one of the most misunderstood proceedings in all of the law. Essentially, probate is the presenting of your original last will and testament to the court for its approval and appointment of your executor or personal representative (PR), as it is called in Washington. Unbeknownst to most people, your PR is NOT free to act on your behalf after your death UNLESS they have been properly appointed by the court. This process to get them appointed is called probate.
Many clients come into our office indicating they want to avoid probate. That is not always necessary but may be worth consideration. The reason? The probate process requires “heirs” to agree (by signing legal papers) the will is that of the deceased person and consent to the PR being appointed. Unfortunately, this cannot always be accomplished as easily as we hope. For example, the surviving spouse may be incompetent, one of the children may be estranged and unable to be located, or one of the heirs may be mentally incapacitated and therefore lack the legal capacity to sign the forms. Sometimes, the kids won’t sign, even when we thought they would. In all of these cases, additional legal procedures and costs must be expended to get the will presented and the executor appointed. The PR cannot be appointed until all of the heirs have been located, have capacity, and agree. Failing to agree does not take any effort by the heir other than not signing the waiver and form sent which obeys your will “contested.”
It is very important you have a will. If you die without a will, the state decides who gets your assets and more importantly, who your PR will be (except in this case they are called an administrator). If you have minor children, then your will must name a guardian of those minor children or the state will decide who your children will be raised by.
Probate takes a minimum of four to six months. And in many cases if you are unable to meet all the requirements perfectly (as described above) it could linger for years.
Contact us to meet our probate department and enroll in our five-step probate process to ensure all the legal burdens are assumed by us so you can take care of your family needs. During this sad time, let the experience and trust of the Orca Law Group team support you and your family.
If you need assistance to complete a probate or trust administration, please fill out the form below and we will be in touch with you shortly.