Another Reason to Have a Last Will and Testament
When the legislature updated RCW Title 11 to crack down on people who tried to profit from probates and collusion between personal representatives and people buying assets from estates, an unintended consequence arose. See my earlier posts regarding the changes that came into effect on June 11, 2026 (Probate Update #1 and Probate Update #2).
The changes in the law primarily affected probates where the deceased did not have a will. It has always been slightly more work to open a probate without a will, but what we have found since the law change is that the amount of extra work has increased. Additionally, the court Commissioners who are opening the probates are carefully reading the petitions to make sure all the new requirements are clearly met.
Some of the new requirements include stating the basis for the knowledge that the decedent died without a will, stating the efforts in identifying the heirs-at-law, identifying the efforts in searching for assets of the estate, and identifying assets over $10,000.00. These additional requirements may not seem like a lot, but it may require an additional statement from the petitioner regarding where they looked for a will and who they talked with regarding other heirs. An heir search performed by a private investigator may be required in some cases. The additional notice requirements also add to the work required to open an intestate estate.
As you can guess, additional work means more expense in opening a probate. If you have a Last Will and Testament, the named executor can petition the court to open a probate of your estate without the extra steps required by the recent updates to the probate laws. Avoiding the costs of probate is a common goal that my clients express. While a revocable living trust may not be the answer for everyone, at least having a will helps to reduce the costs associated with probate. Estate planning is valuable for many other reasons, but the increased cost of opening a probate without a will is avoidable by simply having done your estate planning.
The Estate Administration Lawyers at Beresford Booth have extensive experience helping clients navigate all aspects of estate planning. Contact us at info@beresfordlaw.com or call (425) 776-4100 to see how we can help.