Michael P. Jacobs's Answers

My father died in Wash state and did not leave a Will. How do my brother and I settle his estate? We don't know where to begin.

If a small estate administration is not appropriate and you do need to be appointed executor, you will need to file a petition with the Superior Court in the county of your choice. Your siblings should sign consents authorizing you to be appointed without bond and without court intervention. You may need to post a bond and you will need to file an oath before the clerk will issue you Letters of Administration. The Letters of Administration are the documents that show you have authority to...

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Does everything have to go through probate?

Assets that your mother designated as "payable on death" or have a designated beneficiary do not need to be probated. Those assets pass outside of probate, but may need to be accounted for in the administration of the estate. As the house is in her name, someone will need to be appointed Personal Representative of the Estate. Hopefully, your mother left a Will that designates a Personal Representative to act without bond and without intervention of the Court. If so, then that person will...

Community property agreement/Will/ Probate

Your question is somewhat unclear. Did she own the home with her husband and the four children or just her husband and she has four children? If she owned it with her husband and the title to the home is held "as joint tenants with right of survivorship," then the home would transfer to husband without probate. If the deed is held as "husband and wife," then a probate would be necessary to clear title. If the title is not transferred to the husband, then he cannot sell, transfer, or...

Foreclosure during probate

Assuming there is no surviving spouse and no other party on the loan documents or title to the property, the only person with authority to pay the mortgage, work with the bank, or sell/transfer the property is the Personal Representative ("PR") of the Estate. The PR is appointed by the court and is usually the person identified as the PR in the Will. If you are in possession of the Will and/or the named PR, you should commence the Probate. The PR does have a duty to marshal and protect the...

How can I sell my house.

Because both of you are on the deed you are likely tenants-in-common and each entitled to an undivided one-half interest in the whole property. Therefore, you are entitled to bring a Partition action against her wherein you ask the court to divide the property. However, because the house cannot be divided the court will order the house sold and the proceeds divided. There may be adjustments and offsets on the proceeds for each parties' contributions, debts, etc. Hopefully, once the action...