What are the important things to take care of
after someone dies?

You can, of course, hire an experienced probate attorney to do all of this for you. However, here is a general, non-exhaustive list of things your need to either do or consider doing.

If there is a Will, take the original of the Will to the appropriate county superior court office to have it accepted for probate. Make a copy of the will for yourself; the court will keep the original.

Administering the Will. If the Will is properly drawn, it will name a personal representative (also known as an executor or executrix). The personal representative, who can be an individual, a group of individuals or one or more institutions (or some combination thereof) will be responsible for the administration of the estate.

If there is no will and there are sufficient assets to probate, then the court will appoint an administrator (not a personal representative) and the assets of the decedent will be distributed according to state law.

Even when there is a valid Will, if the estate is insolvent (more debts than assets), the court will be more involved and this type of estate will be more expensive to probate.

Open a bank account for the estate. This should be done early on and all receipts and disbursements should be recorded in that bank account, in order to account properly for the assets of the decedent and the expenses of administration. You will need to obtain a TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) for the estate before the bank will allow you to open an estate bank account.

The personal representative is responsible for collecting  the assets and reporting to the court as to the amount of assets in the state of the decedent. The personal representative then assembles the assets and, after paying debts, expenses and taxes, distributes the assets according to the wishes of the decedent.

If the decedent left no Will, the process of administration is essentially the same, except that Washington State law determines to whom the assets are distributed, the court system will be much more involved, a bond will usually be required before the personal representative is appointed, and the estate's legal fees will be much higher.

If everything is done correctly, eventually, after the personal representative has accounted for and distributed the assets, the personal representative is discharged and the estate is closed by court order.

If you are the personal representative, make a list of the assets owned by the decedent so that they can be accounted for and distributed according to the wishes of the decedent. The inventory should include household goods, personal belongings and the like (not just investments and real estate).

Look for insurance policies or annuities which often go directly to other family members and may not need to be probated.

Assemble the deeds of the decedent to see what real estate, if any, is owned by the decedent.  If real estate is owned outside of Washington State, special proceedings, called "ancillary administrations," will need to be opened in the other state(s) in order to sell the real estate.

Determine if the decedent owned any securities, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement plans or IRA accounts.

If, after the appointment of a personal representative, a bank account or safe deposit box is found, then the assets in the bank account or safe deposit box need to be distributed according to the wishes of the decedent.

If the decedent was indebted to anyone, then the creditor needs to be paid. If the creditors are not paid and they can make a claim against the estate after all of the assets are distributed, the personal representative may be in trouble and held personally liable for the debt.

Whether your estate is large or small, you probably need an estate plan. For more information on estate planning, call us at 206-782-0722.

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