mother passed away without a Will, what are probate procedures in WA state

Questions about probate, etc...: I'm going to be straight forward. My mother passed away October 22nd of last year. She didn't have a will and didn't have many possessions. Nothing has gone through probate. She did have a car, my sister and I are the ones who have entitlement to the car because she was unmarried. However, we have no idea on how to proceed so we can get the title for the car (we were unable to find the title) and get possession of the car to sell it, we need the money badly and the car just sits there. She has no other possessions of value, what are the steps we need to take to get possession of the car? We can't afford a lawyer in this matter and are hoping we could have some guidance so we can resolve this matter on our own. - Is this your question? Add additional information
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Answers (2)

Richard Wills

Richard Wills

Contributor Level 5
1. Go to your local WA Dept. of Licensing office (or one of their subagents).
2. Fill out two forms:
a. Affidavit of Loss (stating that the Title to the car has been lost).
b. Affidavit of inheritance (stating that your mother has died, there is no Will, there is no Personal Representative appointed for her estate, and you & your sister are her heirs & entitled to the car).
3. In about a month, you should receive a new Title to the car in the names of you & your sister, allowing you then to sell the car.
4. Speak to a DOL representative to see if you can speed up the process. You should be able to do so if you have your buyer in hand, ready to buy the car from you then & there, as your Affidavit of Loss also has on it a Release of Interest, allowing you to transfer ownership to someone else.
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Thuong-Tri Nguyen

Thuong-Tri Nguyen

Contributor Level 9
You may be able to use the affidavit procedure for small estates to take care of your mother's estate.

You may want to read the links available through WA LawHelp to see if your mother's estate qualifies. The main page for WA LawHelp is here: http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/WA/index.cfm . Search for "small estate" in the search box at that site.
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