Lincoln J. Miller's Answers

How do I collect what is legally mine?

As Brianne mentioned, you really do need to talk to an attorney experienced in probate matters. There is more information that needs to be collected from you in order to help you with next steps. If your sister is the Personal Representative of your grandmother's estate, she owes fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries, which includes the duty to keep the beneficiaries informed. It is unwise for her to ignore legitimate inquiries from you or to respond in the manner you indicate she did. It...

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Form 17 property disclosure form, in WA what is the penalty for a seller not providing full disclosure

In addition to the seller's statutory duty to provide the completed Form 17 disclosure statement, the seller is obligated to disclose all material facts relating to the property known by the seller. The presence of extensive dry rot would appear to be a material fact. The next question is whether the seller knew or should have known of the dry rot. You will need to investigate and determine this. Find out who performed the painting and whether they notified the seller of the dry rot (unless,...

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Property manager gross negligence

It sounds like you are making two claims - one for negligence and one for breach of contract. Your negligence claim relates to the property manager not following the standard of care for a property manager. You would need to engage an expert who is familiar with the industry standard that property manager's are to follow. Perhaps the standard is to perform a background and credit check and to communicate problems (i.e. late payment, tenant damages, etc.) to the owner. There may be similar...

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Adverse possession of land or move my fence and retaining wall?

Adverse possession cases tend to be very fact intensive and in your case, it is your burden to prove all of the adverse possession elements: open, continuous (10 years), exclusive, and adverse use of the property and as a natural owner would use it. Based on your bullet points, you have what appears to be a good case. However, you need to gather evidence that is objective and indisputable if you want to have a good chance at settling this case short of a lawsuit. For example, locate the survey...

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My mother died in April I have not received a copy of her will. How do I find her will for viewing?

Under Washington law, an executor a/k/a a personal representative, has 20 days to give beneficiaries under the Will and heirs of the decedent notice that the Will has been admitted to probate. In some instances, notice must be given before the Will is admitted to probate. If the executor has custody of the original Will and does not intend to probate it, then Washington law requires that the executor file the original of the Will with the court within 40 days of the date of death. However,...

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When there is no will and If one heir is executor and told the other heir they are getting nothing can anything be done

There are a couple of things that you should consider. First, a person who dies without a valid will is known to have died intestate, and his/her property is distributed pursuant to RCW 11.04.015. This statute reflects how the legislature presumed the average person would want their estate distributed. The distribution scheme is dependent upon the character of the decedent's property and whether the decedent died with or without a surviving spouse, and with or without issue. So, when an heir...

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Can we end a general R.E. partnership with a quit-claim on the 1 property & I buy out the interest of other couple for $xxxxxx?

There are a lot of details that you need to cover in this transaction. I won't cover the income tax issues and recommend that you consult with an accountant about the tax consequences, but I'll address some legal issues that you should consider. First, I would be inclined to enter into a partnership dissolution agreement with your partner. The agreement would cover not only the basics - purchase price, deed transfer - but, also other details that may not have immediately come to mind. For...

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Can adverse posession be established based on a previous owner's use of the land?

You should consider whether there are legal theories beside adverse possession that may result in a successful claim of the fence line becoming the new boundary line. Under Washington law, there are four well recognized practical location doctrines that may be used to support a claim of a new/changed boundary line. These doctrines are different from adverse possession for a variety of reasons, the primary difference being that they rely on an agreement of the parties as to the boundary line,...

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Can you quit claim property and pay excise taxes without recording the transfer of ownership?

I'll add a few remarks that haven't yet been covered. You want to make sure that this is a completed gift. The elements of a gift are (1) donative intent; (2) delivery; and (3) acceptance. If there is going to be silence about what is actually occurring, you may run the risk of not being able to prove delivery and/or acceptance. If the gift is challenged by your siblings later and you are unable to prove those elements, the gift is incomplete and remains part of your parents' estates. So,...

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Who can use the easement when it only services one lot and the lot that it runs thru has an existing driveway on other side?

Look to the easement document, first. It may answer your question. Does it say that the easement is "exclusive" or "non-exclusive"? If exclusive, then others do not have a right to use the easement area. My guess is that it either says the easement is non-exclusive or the document simply doesn't say. If it's non-exclusive, then your neighbor can use the easement area, also, provided that his/her use is not inconsistent with the ultimate use for reserved easement purposes. Turning to the...

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