Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Re: If a man, unmarried, (but shacking up for 15 years) dies intestate, and in d

The order of intestate succession in Washington state for an unmarried person would provide that the issue of that person take their property. For example, if your brother had any children, they would take his entire estate. If there are no children, your parents would take the estate. If his parents are deceased (I have no idea what your brother's age is), then your brother's siblings would take his estate. From there is gets very complicated and we would have to talk by phone to sort it out.

I should point out that his longtime girlfriend may try to claim that they were in a meretricious relationship, and that some of the acquired property was hers.

As for the debts, his estate pays the debts from the "corpus" of the estate. In other words, everything your brother owns is liquidated to satisfy his debts before distribution of assets to the beneficiaries can occur.

As to the power of attorney, I need to know more to advise you on what she can do. Probate is a procedure to determine the validity of a will. There can be no probate without a will.

If there are assets that are in danger of being disposed of improperly by your brother's "woman" then you should call me immediately for a free consultation by telephone to see what if anything can be done.