Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
My stepmother passed away in Jan 2015.
My stepbrother, who lived with her at the time supposedly became the executor of her will and produced copies of a will that gave him everything. Although he has never produced an original and refuses to. Is there something that states he has to submit the original will to the County Clerk? If so, how is that enforced? He has not submitted it as of yet and it's been 9 months.
2 Answers from Attorneys
RCW 11.20.010 requires that your stepbrother have filed the will with the local court within 30 days of learning of your stepmother's death, or within 40 days, if he was the named executor.
You may want to search the court records to determine if the will was filed and probate was opened: http://dw.courts.wa.gov/
Did your mother own real property?
Title to real property cannot be changed (except under certain rare circumstances) without out a probate, which requires a public filing.
There are other circumstances that can be investigated to determined if your step-brother is telling you the truth.
You will probably never find out all of the relevant circumstances without competent legal assistance.
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