Caroline R Suissa-Edmiston's Answers

What rights do the heirs of an estate have when the executor does not folow the will

First you need to determine if he has indeed started an actual probate proceeding through the Court. A person who has a deceased's Will must present that Will to the court within 40 days of death. If your brother has not begun proper probate proceedings, you can petition the court to be the Administrator of your mother's estate (Administrators are not so called because they are not named in the Will as Personal Representative/Executor) and that would give YOU the power to collect the assets,...

6 people marked this answer as helpful

What form in washington state should I use to open probate for my father's estate? I was told I should do it in 40 days?

An easier way to be appointed without having to wait or to set a hearing with notice is to have your sister sign a waiver of appointment acknowledging her priority in the naming of the Personal Representative, but saying that she waives her appointment and recommends you as the PR. There are no "state" forms for probate. Each attorney develops their own that reflect the current state of the law. Mr. Wills has indicated a website that has some available. I do not know if there are any...

Selected as best answer

What if the executor decides to leave some of the kids out and keep the money?

Absolutely not. The person appointed by the court as the executor has very specific duties. They are to find the assets, find the debts, pay the debts and distribute the remainder the way the will says to, or in the absence of a will, the way the laws of intestate succession dictate. In Washington those laws say that the deceased's remaining property shall be divided through bloodlines. So if there is no surviving spouse, then the assets are distributed to the deceased's children in...

Selected as best answer

Living Will in WA

Absolutely, but you need to be clear by what you mean by a living will. A living will is also called an Advanced Health Care Directive and is used to tell people what level of care you would like continued in the event that you are unable to communicate in any way and are in a terminal condition. If what you mean is a will that you handwrite, then no, those wills are not recognized in Washington, those are called "holographic" wills, and the ONLY time that one is recognized in a Washington...

2 people marked this answer as helpful

If a designated heir to real estate in a will dies prior to the principal what is the disposition of the real estate?

Your first investigation is with the wording of the Will itself. If it says, I give my land to Uncle Bob, and if Uncle Bob does not survive me, I give it to Aunt Cathy, then it goes to Aunt Cathy. If the Will says, I give my land to Uncle Bob (and makes no provision for what happens if Uncle Bob does not survive him,) and then later in the Will says, I give the residue of my estate (what ever is left over after giving away specific bequests), to Cousin Edward. Then the land would go...

1 person marked this answer as helpful

Does the children out of the country has to be mentioned as heirs, or can they be left out in the probate process?

It does not matter where the beneficiaries are located. If there is no Will, then the property of the deceased is divided equally between the surviving children (assuming there is no surviving spouse). It is the Administrator's (the person the court has appointed to administer the probate--to find the assets, to find the debts, to pay the debts, and to distribute what is left over to the beneficiaries) job to find and notify ALL the beneficiaries and heirs of the death and to distribute to...

1 person marked this answer as helpful

Self-made will

This is a complex question. If you acquired anything while you were married those things are considered community property and you only own one half of the community property. You do not have to give your spouse your half of the community property, but you must make a will with the proper provisions and language that will make it a valid will, and you will probably need to specify that you understand that you are disinheriting your wife. And you cannot just write down what you want done...

1 person marked this answer as helpful

What is my liability to pay funeral costs for my last living parent if there are 5 siblings?

When one is paying a lesser amount than the amount owed, it is prudent to obtain the holder of the debt to sign a waiver as to the remainder of the debt. It is unlikely that the holder of the debt will allow a partial payment of their offer to hold them to the offer. Only if the offer is paid in full would they then sign a waiver. The person paying the debt to the funeral home would then put in a claim on the probate of the deceased (or to the trust if the deceased did not have a will,...

How to adopt my soon to be wifes child

You would go about adopting the child as a Step-Parent Adoption. This is easier than an agency adoption (where you are adopting a stranger's baby). You have a couple of options. King County Family Services has an adoption packet that you can buy and you can try and do it yourself, or you can hire an attorney to do it for you. Basically, you need to petition the court to adopt the child, then have the court appoint a social worker to do what is called a post-placement report, which...

Will

The answer to how much it will cost, depends on what you own and how complicated an estate plan you desire. If you have more than $3.5 million dollars, you will want to do tax planning in your estate plan. That kind of complex planning is more expensive than a simple non-taxable estate plan. The simple non-taxable estate plan can run between $500-750 or more depending on if you found an attorney that does a flat fee versus an hourly fee. For simple estate plans, I usually charge a flat fee....