Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Re: death and no will

First off, a child is now fatherless. Please accept my condolences.

The heir is a year old. The court needs to appoint a guardian ad litem to supervise the child's estate until he reaches his majority at 18. The superior court is the place to file a probate. The child's mother could possibly be the Administrator of the estate, but it would look better if somebody else did it. The Court would worry that the mother might be helping herself to the estate rather than marshalling it for the child.

The mother is never going to be the heir as she was not married to the decedent at the time of his death. The father's heir is the child. If the father has other children they are his heirs too.

Paternity papers (a birth certificate or acknowledgement of parentage) never expire.

The mother of the heir should get the whole situation to an attorney who handles estates and probates asap, because the child is entitled to social security benefits from the feds when the father is deceased, but the dead father can no longer acknowledge paternity. He can't, he's gone. But a court can do it for him.

Probate in WA is very simple. If the father owned property (real or personal) that property now belongs to a baby, who is too young to take it.

This answer feels way more complicated than it should be. Here it is, short and sweet: You really, really need an attorney now. One who understands the interplay between family law issues, SSI and probate.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell

Re: death and no will

Just to add/clarify the previous answer, which I believe is excellent -- there is no "statute of limitations" to be considered a child and rightful heir. As time passes issues of proof may arise but as the facts are stated it is clear that the child is an heir of the father's estate. If paternity is not proved, the father's other children, if any, or living parents would take his estate.