How do I administer an estate using a Community Property Agreement?

The Community Property Administration Package is used when a Washington decedent and surviving spouse executed a Community Property Agreement (CPA) and community property assets pass automatically to the surviving spouse at death without opening a formal probate. The package generates the affidavit and client letters needed to document and complete that transfer.

When to Use This Package

Use this package when:

• The decedent and surviving spouse executed a valid CPA with a vesting-at-death clause (the "third prong")
• Community property assets pass to the surviving spouse without court involvement
• No Personal Representative is being appointed
• The estate does not require formal probate for the community property

Do not use this package alone if:

• The decedent had significant separate property — open a probate package for that estate
• You need to publish a Nonprobate Notice to Creditors — use the Nonprobate Creditors and Claims Package instead (client and decedent data is shared, so no re-entry is required)
• The matter involves a trust as the primary administration vehicle — use the Trust Administration package

What This Package Generates

• Affidavit for Lack of Probate — sworn statement used to transfer real property to the surviving spouse; required by title companies, county recorders, and financial institutions to clear title and transfer assets
• Affidavit Confirming CPA — confirms the CPA is valid and in effect
• Client overview and administration letters — explains the CPA administration process, digital assets, tax obligations, and asset valuation
• Checklist for CPA Administration — procedural checklist for the attorney

What You Will Need Before Starting

• The Community Property Agreement — execution date, whether it was recorded, and if so the recording date, recording number, and recording county
• The decedent's death certificate
• If there is real property to transfer: the deed, including deed date, recording number, and recording county
• If the decedent had a Will: a copy of the Will and whether it was offered for probate — if probated, the court county and cause number
• Information about interested parties — see the parties guidance below

Who Needs to Be Entered — and Where

Understanding which party tabs to complete is one of the most important steps before starting the interview. The system collects party information across four tabs. Here is when each one is needed.

Decedent's Spouse tab	Always complete if the client is not the spouse. The surviving spouse is the primary party in every CPA matter.
Children and Grandchildren tab	Complete only when the decedent died intestate and children or grandchildren are heirs-at-law who must appear in the affidavit, or when the decedent had a Will and children or grandchildren are named beneficiaries. In a simple CPA matter where the spouse takes everything and there are no competing heirs or Will beneficiaries, this tab can be skipped.
Other Parties tab	Complete only when there are heirs or Will beneficiaries beyond those already entered on prior tabs — such as parents, siblings, charities, trusts, or unrelated individuals. In most CPA matters, answer No and move on.
Assign Roles tab	Always complete. In most CPA matters the only party who needs a role is the surviving spouse as CP Agreement Beneficiary. When there are heirs or Will beneficiaries, assign each the appropriate role so they appear in the affidavit.

In most CPA matters — nontaxable estate, house and brokerage accounts, spouse takes everything — only the Decedent's Spouse tab and the Assign Roles tab need substantive completion. The Children and Grandchildren and Other Parties tabs are only needed when there are parties beyond the spouse who must appear in the affidavit.

Locate the Package

1. Go to Library.
2. Select Washington Probate.
3. Select Nonprobate Estate Administration Packages.
4. Select CPA Administration Package.

Before You Begin Drafting

When you open the package you will arrive at the drafting interview. Before entering information, consider whether you have an existing answer file to load.

If you have previously drafted documents for this client — for example, under the Nonprobate Notice to Creditors package — click Load Answers and select the saved answer file. Client, decedent, spouse, and party information will populate automatically.

Once the interview is open, work through the tabs in order. Earlier tabs establish the facts that drive content in the affidavit and letters.

Complete the Drafting Interview

Welcome

Sets context. Confirms this package covers community property only and points to other packages for separate property probate and creditor notice.

Client Information

The client is the person the attorney represents — typically the surviving spouse. The client is also the affiant on the Affidavit for Lack of Probate, the person who executes the affidavit under oath. It can also be an adult child or other individual assisting the spouse, in which case they sign the affidavit in their own name with no additional designation.

If the client is a corporate entity acting as attorney-in-fact for an incapacitated surviving spouse, the signature block will need manual editing. The system does not currently generate an "Attorney-in-Fact for [Spouse Name]" designation for entity clients.

Decedent Information

Standard decedent information. This tab also asks whether the estate consists entirely of community property or includes both community and separate property. If the estate has separate property, a flag will appear on the Document Selection tab reminding you that a separate probate package may be needed for those assets.

Decedent Spouse Information

If the client is not the surviving spouse, this tab captures the surviving spouse's information. 

Children and Grandchildren

See the parties guidance above. Complete this tab only when the decedent's children or grandchildren need to appear in the affidavit as heirs-at-law or Will beneficiaries. Skip this tab if all assets pass to the surviving spouse and no children or grandchildren appear in the affidavit.

Other Parties

See the parties guidance above. In most CPA matters, answer No and move on. Complete this tab only when there are heirs or Will beneficiaries who are not the spouse, children, or grandchildren already entered on prior tabs.

Assign Roles

Assign a role to each interested party. The role assigned determines both which parties appear in the affidavit and how they are described.

CP Agreement Beneficiary	The surviving spouse. Assign this role in every CPA matter.
Probate Estate Beneficiary	Will beneficiaries, when the decedent had a Will. These parties appear in the heirs and beneficiaries table in the affidavit.
Heir	Heirs-at-law, when the decedent died intestate. These parties appear in the heirs and beneficiaries table in the affidavit.

Case Details

Captures estate-level facts that affect both the affidavit and the client letters:

• Did the decedent have a Will? If yes: was it probated? If probated: which court county and what is the cause number?
• Federal estate tax exposure
• Washington state estate tax exposure
• Washington state assistance (DSHS) liability

Community Property Agreement

Captures the CPA-specific information needed to populate the affidavit:

• Does the CPA have a valid vesting-at-death clause (the third prong)?
• Does the CPA maintain any separate property?
• CPA execution date
• Whether the CPA was recorded — and if so, the recording date, number, and county
• Whether an Affidavit for Lack of Probate is needed

If the CPA was used to convert separate property to community property, the deed or CPA recording details for the specific property are entered on the Real Property tab, not here.

Real Property

Complete this tab only if there is real property to transfer. The affidavit covers one property — if there are multiple properties with different acquisition histories, run the package separately for each.

The key question on this tab is how the property became community property:

Acquired as community property	The property was always community property. Enter the deed date, recording number, and county.
Converted by deed	Separate property converted to community property by a separate deed. Enter the conversion deed date, recording number, and county.
Converted by the CPA itself	Separate property converted to community property by the CPA. The system uses the CPA recording details already entered on the Community Property Agreement tab — no additional deed information is needed.

This tab also includes a rich text field for the legal description of the property — paste this directly from the deed. An optional field for title insurance company involvement adds an inducement paragraph to the affidavit when a title company requires it.

Separate property real estate
This tab covers community property real estate only. For separate property real estate, use the Lack of Probate Affidavits package instead.

Document Selection

Choose which documents to generate. Click Select Recommended Documents to auto-check the appropriate documents based on your answers. If the decedent had separate property, a warning appears reminding you that documents in this package cover community property only.

Client Correspondence

Select letterhead, date format, delivery method, and the attorney who will sign the client letters.

Pleading Formatting

Enter the notary state and county for the affidavit signature block.

Known Limitations

Separate property	This package does not handle separate property. If the decedent had separate property assets requiring transfer, use a probate package or the Lack of Probate Affidavits package for separate property real estate.
Multiple properties	The affidavit covers one property. Run the package separately for each property with a different acquisition history.
Corporate attorney-in-fact	If the client is a corporate entity acting as attorney-in-fact for an incapacitated surviving spouse, the signature block will need manual editing. The system does not currently generate an "Attorney-in-Fact for [Spouse Name]" designation for entity clients.
Nonprobate Notice to Creditors	Handled by the Nonprobate Creditors and Claims Package, not this one. Client and decedent data is shared so no re-entry is required.

Assemble Your Documents

Once you have completed the interview and confirmed your document selections, proceed to Assemble Documents to generate the final documents. For detailed instructions, see this article.