Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Re: ex-huband died,his mother put everthing in to probate.what is probate?How ca

If you ex-husband�s �stuff was put in probate,� this is a figure of speech which means that his estate is now in the legal process of being consolidated for payment of debts and distribution of property to his successors. Depending on the dollar value of his estate, this can be an informal process done on paper only or a legal proceeding (perhaps lengthy) conducted before a Judge of the Superior Court.

As far as getting your ex-husband�s money or property awarded to your daughters (i.e. her �their inheritance�), the probate process must conclude before your daughters receive any portion of the remaining estate. This is true whether there was a will or not.

If he had a valid will, the property remaining in his estate after all debts are paid will be divided up according to the gifts (or �bequests�) that he wrote in the will. An �Executor,� who would have been appointed in the will oversees and manages the probate process. You should be able to ask your brother-in-law if there was a will and who the executor will be.

Your ex may have left specific gifts of property to named individuals or might have simply given a percentage to his estate to certain named people. If he specifically disinherited the daughters, then they won�t receive anything from the estate. But, if they were omitted and not named at all, they may be able to submit a claim to the Executor and the court to receive an �elective� or forced share of the estate. But I need more facts here to say for sure what will happen. If your ex-husband remarried and/or has children elsewhere, many different things can happen.

If there was no will, the estate still goes through the probate process, only now the debts are paid and the property remaining in the estate is divided according to the state law of �intestate succession.� This is literally a priority list set out is law which states who gets what according to the degree of �kinship.� Under this situation, an �Estate Administrator�, who is appointed by the court, handles the payment of debts and the final property distribution. But once again, more facts are needed to say what will actually happen.

If, your daughters had property which they own and it was located at your ex-husband�s home at the time of his suicide (e.g. clothing, toys, money, and other personal items), you should contact the Administrator, the Executor, or the Court where the probate is filed and request that the property be returned immediately. The deceased didn�t own these items and they are not part of the probate process.

Re: ex-huband died,his mother put everthing in to probate.what is probate?How ca

Both of the other replies are good for information on your situation. The key element is to get involved with this situation immediately so as to avoid losing any rights in any property that your daughters have any interest in receiving either as inheritance from their father's estate of as a return of their property from their father's home. I would be happy to help you.

Re: ex-huband died,his mother put everthing in to probate.what is probate?How ca

Mr. Lustick provided an excellent summary of the probate process. You may also wish to review another summary at www.BuddBayLaw.com. I would just add that on behalf of your daughters you'll want to find out who the executor is immediately (check out the Superior Court Clerk in the county where your ex-spouse passed away) and give them what is known as a Request for Notice of Probate Proceedings or some variation of that term. This mandates that the executor provide you with notice of all significant events in the probate process. I your daughters are listed in the decedent's will, great. If not, they may have a personal injury claim against the decedent. You'll probably want to contact an attorney that can assist you both with the probate proceeding and any potential personal injury claim.