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It happens more often than you think.  A loved one passes away, the family gathers to grieve, and then a distant relative or a stranger shows up and says the deceased left them everything in their Will.  The common culprits in these instances tend to be caregivers, younger “friends” to older decedents, and devious family members that saw an opportunity to take advantage of an elderly relative.  But what can you do at this point if the Will is signed, sealed and delivered; don’t you have to adhere to its terms?  Not necessarily. I looked at the Will and the signature appears to be valid, the w...

This Will Is Bogus! Can I Have It Invalidated? It happens a lot; an elderly person passes away, they are put to rest, and then a little-known heir, friend or caretaker shows up with a supposed will that the deceased signed just months (if not days) before they passed away.  Of course, the new will appoints the individual with the right to act as the executor, transfers a significant portion of the estate to them, and fails to mention the family and/or close friends of the person who passed away.  In these situations, depending on the circumstances surrounding the creation of the will, you may...

Can I Be the Personal Representative to an Estate? People often wonder who should act as the Personal Representative to an Estate.  What are the qualifications for being a Personal Representative?  Is there a priority as to whom the Court would prefer to act as the Personal Representative?  What if I do not want to act as a Personal Representative, but the will has already appointed me?  These are all questions I regularly receive when new clients come to my office seeking assistance with probate. So who does the Court prefer to act as a Personal Representative? Generally speaking, the Cour...

Is There a Faster Way to Inherit an Estate? One of the biggest concerns I usually hear from clients building an estate plan is, “how long will it take for my loved ones to receive my estate?”  While Washington has a wonderfully constructed probate system, it can still be tedious and time consuming in its distribution of estate assets.  In instances where you would want at least part of your estate to immediately be available to your beneficiaries, you will want to discuss with your attorney some “nonprobate” methods of estate conveyance. From the sounds of it, “nonprobate” means that it does...

If There’s No Will, Where Does The Money Go? Nothing is more terrifying than uncertainty, and that is exactly what people experience when there is no estate plan in place.  I regularly have potential clients come in to my office worried that they will not be receiving their inheritance because their loved one had not made a will.  Luckily, Washington law provides for distribution of assets when no estate plan has been provided; unfortunately, it often results in assets being transferred to unintended individuals or otherwise provide some other unwanted consequence. So wait, your telling me t...

The Executor Won’t Talk To Me! You would be shocked to learn how many clients come in to my office simply because a Personal Representative (Executor) in a probate matter fails to communicate with them.  I have said it before, and I will say it again, when it comes to probate matters and avoiding litigation, transparency can be the Executor’s best friend!  Without transparency, the heirs and beneficiaries are left in the dark as to what is going on with their inheritance, and they begin to worry about what the Executor might be doing with all those assets. Well shouldn’t the Executor be bend...

Can I Get Rid of a Lousy Trustee? You would not believe how many calls I get each week from potential clients saying that their trustee is mishandling their trust.  The end question from the potential client is always the same, “Can I get rid of this lousy trustee?” There are primarily three (3) mechanisms through which a trustee can be removed from a trust: (1) if the trust document itself provides a manner of removal, (2) if the trustee has violated his fiduciary duties and/or statutory requirements, and (3) if the trustee agrees to resign as trustee.  Of course, the first item I always ...

Wait!? You Mean I Don’t Pay the Probate Attorney? Clients are shocked when I tell them they don’t have to pay me for the probate themselves.  Everyone seems to think that executors or family members of an estate are simply stuck floating the bill for the attorney.  Well, in many states, including Washington, they have structured the probate statutes in such a way that the estate itself will pay for the probate attorney; not the executor and/or family! So if the estate pays for your attorney’s fees, then I don’t have to pay you a dime? For the most part, that is true.  However, when a client...

A Good Trust Still Needs a Good (Pour Over) Will I recently met with a client that was very interested in setting up a revocable living trust.  Being thrilled to help a new client set up their estate plan, I went right to work going over all the finer details with him.  At one point, I made mention that one of the benefits of having a living trust is that it really helps to simplify the will.  The look on his face when I mentioned the word “will” was of utter confusion. Then came the question I knew was coming, “I thought the entire point of setting up a revocable living trust is so that you...

Did You Know Probate Can Sometimes Escape Debt? I recently spoke with a potential client that was interested in probating his grandmother’s estate.  He said that he’d been pushing it off though because once he started having her mail forwarded to him, he received a ton off outstanding bills that she owed money on.  He figured that she owed so much to creditors, that it wasn’t worth his time to file the probate action because they would all just end up draining her bank accounts before it would ever reach any of their family. I told him that it is CRITICAL that as soon as a loved one passes a...