Intestate Probate: Asset Search Tab

This article covers the Asset Search tab in the Intestate Probate Opening Package. The tab comes just before the Bond & Nonintervention Powers tab. It collects the facts of the Petitioner’s search for the estate’s major assets.

Each question is answered Yes or No. Each Yes prints as a sworn sentence in the Petition, and No prints nothing. A question left blank displays an Action Needed box until it is answered.

Why This Tab Exists

EHB 2445 amended RCW 11.28.110, effective June 11, 2026. An intestate petition must now set forth:

• “A general description of the major probate assets of the estate, including real property, motor vehicles, and any known property or interest estimated in good faith to exceed $10,000 in value, and the details of the applicant’s reasonable search to identify such assets;” (RCW 11.28.110(1)(d))

Subsection (3) relieves some petitioners of part of that requirement:

• “If the applicant is a person entitled to letters under RCW 11.28.120(1) (a) or (b), the petition need not describe the major probate assets of the estate, but shall still set forth the applicant’s reasonable search to identify such assets.” (RCW 11.28.110(3))

This tab asks for the facts of what the Petitioner actually did, rather than a general statement that a search was made. Each fact becomes its own sentence.

The Exemption Covers the List, Not the Search

A Petitioner with priority under RCW 11.28.120(1)(a) or (b), such as the surviving spouse, a person the spouse designated, or next of kin, does not have to list the estate’s assets. When that applies, a Note box at the top of the tab says so. Every Petitioner still describes the search. The priority tier comes from the Petitioner Information tab. See this article for that tab.

Tier (1)(a) or (1)(b) Petitioner	After the search facts, the Petition states that the Petitioner holds priority under RCW 11.28.120(1)(a) or (b) and is therefore exempt from describing the major probate assets under RCW 11.28.110(3).
Tier (1)(c), (1)(d) or (1)(f) Petitioner	After the search facts, the Petition states “The following major probate assets were identified:” and lists each asset entered under Add each major probate asset at the bottom of the tab. The list covers real property, motor vehicles, and any asset or interest estimated to exceed $10,000. A full inventory is still required after appointment.

In a matter with Co-Administrators, the exemption sentence prints when the surviving spouse is one of the Petitioners or the Petitioners serve at the spouse’s request, so that each of them is entitled under RCW 11.28.120(1)(a), or when every Petitioner is next of kin under (1)(b). Otherwise the asset list prints.

Answer the Questions or Type a Custom Paragraph

The tab opens with the same question as the Lack of Will and Heir Search tab, How would you like to give these details?

Answer the questions below	The default. Each question answered Yes prints as its own sentence in the Petition.
Type a custom paragraph instead	A text box replaces the questions. The paragraph prints in the Petition exactly as typed. Type any names in capitals.

A matter saved before this tab was added keeps its earlier asset search wording, which states a method without the facts. The tab displays an Action Needed box until Answer the questions below is chosen and the section is rebuilt.

What Prints in the Petition

The paragraph is headed Asset Search; Details of Reasonable Search. It opens: “In connection with the preparation of this Petition and pursuant to RCW 11.28.110(1)(d), Petitioner conducted a reasonable search to identify the major probate assets of the Decedent’s estate, including real property, motor vehicles, and any known property or interest estimated to exceed $10,000 in value. The details of that search are as follows.” A sentence for each question answered Yes follows, then the exemption sentence or the asset list.

In a matter with Co-Administrators, the paragraph refers to the “Petitioners,” and the sentences about the Petitioner’s own relationship with the Decedent name the Client, for example “JOHN SMITH, one of the Petitioners, paid the Decedent’s bills.”

The Questions

The first group of questions depends on who the Petitioner is. A spouse sees The Petitioner and the Decedent. Any other individual Petitioner who knew the Decedent sees The Petitioner’s Role in the Decedent’s Finances. A Petitioner with no personal relationship, or an entity, starts at Records and Searches. Every Petitioner sees the groups from Records and Searches on.

The Petitioner and the Decedent (Spouse)

Did the Petitioner and the Decedent file joint income tax returns, and did the Petitioner review the most recent one, including all Forms 1099?	Yes prints: “Petitioner and the Decedent filed joint income tax returns for [years], and Petitioner reviewed the most recent return, including all Forms 1099.” The years are optional. Answering Yes hides the separate tax return question below.
Did the Petitioner and the Decedent manage their finances together?	Yes prints: “Petitioner and the Decedent managed their finances together.”
Did the Petitioner and the Decedent co-own property?	Yes prints: “Petitioner and the Decedent co-owned property.” An optional What property? box adds the detail: “…co-owned property, including the residence and both vehicles.”

The Petitioner’s Role in the Decedent’s Finances (Other Individuals)

Was the Petitioner the Decedent’s agent under a durable power of attorney?	Yes prints: “Petitioner served as the Decedent’s agent under a durable power of attorney from [year] and managed the Decedent’s finances.” The year is optional.
Was the Petitioner a joint holder or signer on any of the Decedent’s accounts?	Yes prints: “Petitioner was a joint holder or authorized signer on the Decedent’s account at [bank].” Without a bank, the sentence ends “…on the Decedent’s accounts.”
Did the Petitioner prepare or help prepare the Decedent’s tax returns?	Yes prints: “Petitioner prepared or helped prepare the Decedent’s income tax returns for [years].” The years are optional.
Did the Petitioner pay the Decedent’s bills?	Yes prints: “Petitioner paid the Decedent’s bills.” An optional For what period? box adds the period as typed, such as “…bills for the last two years of the Decedent’s life.”

Records and Searches

Did the Petitioner review the Decedent’s income tax return, including all Forms 1099?	Yes prints: “Petitioner reviewed the Decedent’s [year] income tax return, including all Forms 1099.” Without a year, the sentence reads “most recent.”
Did the Petitioner review the Decedent’s account statements?	Yes prints: “Petitioner reviewed the Decedent’s [statements].” An optional Which statements? box describes them, for example bank and credit union statements for the six months before death. Without it, the sentence reads “account statements.”
Did the Petitioner search county real property records?	Yes displays Counties (filled in with the Decedent’s county), an optional Date searched, and What did the search find? Found real property in the Decedent’s name prints: “On [date], Petitioner searched the real property records of [counties], confirmed the Decedent’s interest in [property listed], and found no other real property in the Decedent’s name.” The property list is required, and an Action Needed box displays until it is filled in. Found no real property in the Decedent’s name prints “…and found no real property in the Decedent’s name.”
Did the Petitioner search Washington’s unclaimed property records?	Yes displays an optional Date searched and What did the search find? Found no property held for the Decedent prints: “On [date], Petitioner searched Washington’s unclaimed property records and found no property held for the Decedent.” Found property held for the Decedent prints “…and found [what was found],” or “property held for the Decedent” when that optional box is blank.
Did the Petitioner collect and review the Decedent’s mail after death?	Yes prints: “Petitioner collected and reviewed the Decedent’s mail after the Decedent’s death.” An optional For how long? box adds the period as typed, such as “…mail for two months after…”.
Did the Petitioner identify vehicles from titles and registrations?	Yes prints: “Petitioner identified the Decedent’s vehicles from the titles and registrations among the Decedent’s papers and at the Decedent’s residence.”
Did the Petitioner review online account information they’re legally allowed to access?	Yes prints: “Petitioner reviewed the Decedent’s online account information that Petitioner is legally allowed to access.”
Did the Decedent have a safe deposit box?	Yes, and the Petitioner examined it prints: “Petitioner examined the Decedent’s safe deposit box at [bank].” The bank is optional. No and Not known print nothing. Already answered Yes, with the bank filled in, when the same question was answered Yes on the Lack of Will and Heir Search tab.

Who the Petitioner Asked

Did the Petitioner ask anyone about the Decedent’s assets?

Yes prints: “Petitioner asked [each person, with their relationship to the Decedent] about the Decedent’s assets.”

Answering Yes displays a list, Parties the Petitioner asked about assets, for selecting each party already entered in the interview, and a box, Others the Petitioner asked, for describing anyone else by their relationship to the Decedent, not by name, such as “the Decedent’s accountant or financial advisor.” An Action Needed box appears until at least one is entered.

Anything Else

Any text entered here prints word for word after the search facts, just before the exemption sentence or the asset list. Write it as a full sentence about the Petitioner and type any names in capitals. The final period is added for you.

An Action Needed box appears while any question is unanswered, and another appears when no answer is Yes. In that case the Petition prints ACTION REQUIRED in place of the search details until one question is answered Yes or Type a custom paragraph instead is chosen.

What the Search Sentences Say

• The residence: the real property sentence states that the search confirmed the Decedent’s interest in each property listed. The property list starts with the residence, then anything else the search found. Title to a residence may be held in a trust, in the spouse’s name, or with a right of survivorship.
• Counties: the sentence names only the counties entered. The Counties box starts with the Decedent’s county, and another county, such as one where the Decedent had a cabin, is added in the same box.
• Online accounts: the sentence covers accounts the Petitioner is legally allowed to access. Signing in with the Decedent’s own password is not covered unless the Petitioner was authorized to do that.
• Dates: the date of each records search prints in the Petition. The date entered is the date the search was done.

The will and heir questions are on the Lack of Will and Heir Search tab. See this article for details.