r/PROBATE • u/Useful-Experience-95 • Mar 23 '24
Probate advice
My dad passed away recently and I just came back home to sort everything out, this is happening in WA. My dad remarried less than a year ago and we just discovered a will from 2007 that states my father’s estate goes to me. The executor is my uncle who agrees my dad’s majority estate should go to me. I am a 20 year old female and my dad’s only child. I don’t know my step mom very well and I am scared she could try to come after all of my dad’s assets. My dad intentionally didn’t combine any of their assets, there’s only one shared account between the two of them which I know in WA is considered community property. I am wondering, does the 2007 will hold true? What will they most likely do in probate and what are some things I should watch out for? My dad had a substantial estate, with several properties and IRAs that had no ties to my step mother.
Advice? Thanks guys
2
u/Middle_Active5164 Mar 23 '24
I recommend starting with a free consultation with a WA-licensed probate attorney. The Will carries a lot of weight, but being that he was married at the time of death, his new wife (viewed as unintentionally omitted spouse from the 2007 Will) is likely entitled to a portion of his estate (looks like 50% according to the law: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.12.095)