The WASHINGTON (State) PROBATE
Law Office of Richard Wills, WSBA # 19720

Washington Probate > Probate for 995 + Costs > Definition

Definition of "Basic, Simple, Problem-Free, and Uncontested"

 By "basic, simple, problem-free, and uncontested" we mean (for example and not by way of limitation) that the probate may be opened summarily; for example,

• Any Will is clear, unambiguous, valid on its face, "self-proving" (that is, it is the original of the Will & may be admitted to probate without further action, such as obtaining witnesses' signatures), and uncontested.

• A Personal Representative is able, willing, and qualified to serve without further action.

• No Bond is required by the Court.

• The identity of the heirs and beneficiaries is clear, and they are all competent, available, and cooperative.

• If Nonintervention Powers are desired, they may be obtained concurrently with the initial appointment of Personal Representative without additional work or an additional hearing.

• Any Will may be admitted & the Personal Representative may be appointed without a noticed hearing or personal presentation to the Court.

• No further Court involvement is required after the initial appointment of the Personal Representative.

• No one disagrees with, objects to, contests, or disputes anything regarding the Will or the probate estate.

• The information necessary to open the probate may be obtained quickly by telephone or Email from you.

• The probate may be closed by filing a Declaration of Completion of Probate with Receipts & Waivers from all the heirs or beneficiaries.

Our Usual Process to Open a Probate Estate

Our usual process to open a probate estate is:

• We spend 10-15 minutes on the phone with you to answer any questions you have & obtain the information necessary for us to prepare the Court documents.
• We prepare the documents & Email them to you together with a letter of instructions.
• You review them, sign several of them, get one of them notarized, and mail them back to us with a deposit check &, if the Decedent died with a Will, the original of the Will.
• We send the documents with the Court Clerk & pay the filing fee.
• The Clerk's Office presents them to a Judge, obtains a signed Court Order, files the Order, makes a certified copy of it, & conforms a copy of each of the other documents.
• If no Bond is required, the Clerk's Office issues either Letters Testamentary or of Administration.
• The Clerk's Office sends us whatever documents it has generated.
• When we receive them, we prepare & mail the legal notices, order the publication of a Notice to Creditors if one is desired, obtain from the IRS an EIN (tax ID #) for the estate, prepare a long letter of instructions, and mail the letter together with a copy of all the documents filed with the Court to you for your files.

So, here, what I need is 10-15 minutes of your time on the phone.  Please call us when convenient:

If we're in Court or otherwise unavailable, please leave us a voicemail with your name, phone #, & we'll return your call.

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