This article explains how to draft a Washington probate in which two or more people will serve together as the Decedent’s representatives. In a testate probate they serve as Co-Personal Representatives. In an intestate probate they serve as Co-Administrators.
Co-Personal Representatives and Co-Administrators are supported in the Opening Package, the Post Appointment Package and the Closing Package. Each section below covers what is the same in testate and intestate probates first, followed by what differs.
Opening Package
In the Opening Package, Co-Personal Representatives and Co-Administrators are set up on the Client Information tab and entered on the Petitioner Information tab. The Bond & Nonintervention Powers tab then addresses bond for each of them.
Client Information Tab
The workflow begins with this question on the Client Information tab:
Will the Client serve as the sole Personal Representative?
In an intestate probate the question reads Will the Client serve as the sole Administrator? Answering No has two effects:
- The Client becomes the first-named Petitioner and is listed first in every document.
- An Other Co-Personal Representatives section (Other Co-Administrators in an intestate probate) is added to the Petitioner Information tab. In the other packages, a separate Co-Personal Representatives (or Co-Administrators) tab appears instead.
A note under the question explains that the other Co-Personal Representatives are added on the Petitioner Information tab, and that any of them who is also an heir or beneficiary should first be entered on the Children and Grandchildren or Other Parties tab. For more detail on the rest of this tab, see this article (for testate probates) or this article (for intestate probates).
Petitioner Information Tab
When more than one person will serve, the Petitioner Information tab is divided into three sections, in this order: The Client, Other Co-Personal Representatives (Other Co-Administrators in an intestate probate) and All Petitioners. The Client’s qualifications are addressed at the end of the tab under Client’s Qualifications, and each other Petitioner’s qualifications are addressed in that person’s own entry.
In the Other Co-Personal Representatives section, select a party you have already entered or add a new one. For each person or entity, the section asks for:
- Entity type (entities only): Whether the entity is a bank, a trust company, or neither.
- Qualifications (individuals only): The four qualification questions under RCW 11.36.010 that are asked of the Client. If any answer is Yes, the section displays a warning that the person is not qualified to serve, with the reason.
- Resident Agent: If the person’s address is outside Washington, the section asks who will serve as that person’s Resident Agent: the attorney of record, or another person who lives in the county where the estate is being probated. Each nonresident Petitioner requires a Resident Agent, even when the Client lives in Washington.
Enter heirs and beneficiaries on the party tabs first The Petitioner Information tab comes after Assign Roles to Parties. A person added as a new party on the Petitioner Information tab is therefore never offered heir or beneficiary roles, and will be omitted from Exhibit A and from the notice mailings. Add a new party here only for a person or entity who is not an heir or beneficiary (not an heir, in an intestate probate). Enter an heir or beneficiary on the Children and Grandchildren or Other Parties tab, assign their roles, and then select them here.
Testate Probate
The Client: Indicate whether the Client is named as a Personal Representative in the Will (or a Codicil). The same question is asked for each other Co-Personal Representative in that person’s entry.
All Petitioners: When the Client is named in the Will, the level of priority is answered once for all the Co-Personal Representatives. Co-Personal Representatives must be named at the same level to serve together.
When the Petitioners are named as the initial Personal Representatives, the section also asks:
Did the Decedent name anyone else to serve with the Petitioners as Co-Personal Representative who will not be serving?
Answer Yes only if the Will names a person to serve with the Petitioners who is not petitioning. For example, the Will names A, B and C to serve together, and only A and B are petitioning. Do not include the Client or anyone listed in the Other Co-Personal Representatives section. Answering Yes displays a list in which you enter each person who will not be serving and the reason (declining, deceased or disqualified). The Petition names each person and states the reason, and a Declination to Serve is drafted for each person who is declining.
Some Petitioners named in the Will and some not If some Petitioners are named in the Will as Personal Representatives and others are not, the tab displays a warning. The paragraph of the Petition and Order describing the Petitioners’ authority to serve is marked ACTION REQUIRED and must be completed by hand.
For more detail on the rest of this tab, see this article.
Intestate Probate
The Client: Enter the basis for the Client’s priority under RCW 11.28.120 (statutory priority, or designation by the surviving spouse) as you would for a sole Administrator. Each other Co-Administrator’s relationship to the Decedent is taken from that person’s party entry.
All Petitioners: When you list persons with higher or equal priority who are not petitioning to be Co-Administrators, do not include any Co-Administrator. If one is included, the tab displays a warning asking you to remove that person.
For more detail on the rest of this tab, see this article.
Bond & Nonintervention Powers Tab
Bond exemptions under RCW 11.28.185 are personal. An exemption that applies to one Petitioner, such as a surviving spouse who takes the entire estate, or a bank or trust company, does not exempt the others. When only some of the Petitioners are exempt, the bond questions are divided into the same sections as the Petitioner Information tab:
- The exempt Petitioner’s section: A note confirms that the Petitioner is exempt under RCW 11.28.185 and that the Petition states the exemption. Nothing further is asked for that Petitioner.
- The other section: How do you want to address bond for the Petitioners who are not exempt? The choices are Ask the Court to waive bond and Ask the Court to set a bond amount.
When there are exactly two Petitioners, the Petition’s reason for waiving bond is that the Petitioner who is not exempt cannot act for the estate without the exempt Petitioner, so no reason is requested. When there are three or more, a majority can act without the exempt Petitioner, so the tab requests a reason.
If you ask the Court to waive bond, the tab then asks If the Court will not waive bond for the Petitioners who are not exempt, do you want to propose a bond amount? Answering Yes prompts for the amount and the reason. The Petition and Order name the Petitioners who will give the bond.
Any bond is a single bond, given jointly and severally by every Petitioner who must give bond. The exempt Petitioner is not included. Each Petitioner on the bond is a full applicant with the surety, which generally requires financial information, a credit check and an indemnity agreement.
If you choose to obtain consents to bond, the consent names the Petitioners and the Co-Personal Representatives or Co-Administrators who are not exempt. A Petitioner other than the surviving spouse who is also an heir still signs a Non-Spouse Waiver as an heir.
Testate Probate
The first bond question, under All Petitioners, is Does the Will say the Personal Representatives may serve without bond? A waiver of bond in the Will applies to every Co-Personal Representative, so answering Yes ends the bond questions.
Intestate Probate
There is no Will to waive bond, so the question about the Will is not asked.
Opening Documents
In both testate and intestate probates, the Opening Package documents:
- Use the titles Co-Personal Representatives or Co-Administrators throughout, including in the titles of the Petition and Order.
- Identify the surviving spouse when the spouse is one of the Petitioners.
- State residency and qualification for each Petitioner. Each nonresident Petitioner is given a separate Resident Agent, and an Appointment of Resident Agent is drafted for that Petitioner.
- Include a separate verification of the Petition for each Petitioner. In an intestate probate, each Petitioner verifies by oath before a notary, with a separate notary block. In a testate probate, the verification is either a declaration under penalty of perjury, showing each Petitioner’s own city and state of signing, or a verification by oath, with a separate notary block for each Petitioner, as selected on the Pleading Formatting and Execution tab.
- Include one Oath for each Petitioner, each with its own notary block.
- Include one Authorization for Firm to Access Decedent’s Information (titled Authorization to Release Information), signed by every Petitioner, each with a notary block.
- Place the Client on Line 7a of IRS Form SS-4 and “and see attached statement” on Line 3, with a separate statement listing every Petitioner to attach.
Intestate Probate
In addition, the intestate documents:
- Request nonintervention powers under RCW 11.68.011(2)(c), with notice to heirs or their waivers, whenever any Co-Administrator is not the surviving spouse.
- Claim the major-asset exemption under RCW 11.28.110(3) only if every Co-Administrator qualifies for it.
Post Appointment Package
Under RCW 11.68.095 and RCW 11.98.016, Co-Personal Representatives and Co-Administrators with nonintervention powers act as follows, unless the Will or a court order provides otherwise:
- Two serving: Both must act together.
- Three or more serving: A majority may act.
- One acting alone: Only under a signed, written delegation from the others, with the consent of the person receiving the powers. A power that the Will gives to only one named Personal Representative cannot be delegated.
Two documents in the Post Appointment Package support these rules. Select them on the Document Selection tab. For the rest of the package, see this article (for testate probates) or this article (for intestate probates).
Delegation Among Co-PRs
Selecting Delegation Among Co-PRs (Delegation Among Co-Administrators in an intestate probate) adds a Delegation tab. On that tab, choose who will receive the delegated powers, then select the powers being delegated:
- Banking and investment accounts (open, close and sign on Estate accounts, and designate signers)
- Communicate with asset holders and creditors
- Direct attorneys, accountants and other professionals
- Communicate with beneficiaries (testate) or heirs (intestate)
- Other powers, described in your own words
Every Co-Personal Representative or Co-Administrator signs the Delegation before a notary, and the person receiving the powers signs the Receipt. The Delegation states that each signer remains a Co-Personal Representative or Co-Administrator and remains responsible for attempting to prevent a breach of fiduciary duty.
Affidavit Confirming PR Authority
The Affidavit Confirming PR Authority is drafted once for each Co-Personal Representative or Co-Administrator. Each Affidavit names the others and states how they may act.
Selecting the Affidavit Confirming PR Authority also adds the Delegation tab. If a Delegation has already been signed, answer Yes to Have the Co-Personal Representatives already signed a Delegation to one of them?, enter the date it was signed and delivered, and choose who received the powers and which powers were delegated. The Affidavits then refer to the signed Delegation. A new Delegation is still drafted if Delegation Among Co-PRs is selected on the Document Selection tab, so deselect it when the Delegation has already been signed.
Closing Package
In both testate and intestate probates, the Closing Package documents are prepared as follows:
- Declaration of Completion: Names every Co-Personal Representative or Co-Administrator, uses plural wording throughout, and includes a signature line for each. It is signed as a declaration, not before a notary.
- Notice of Filing Declaration of Completion: Includes a signature line for each.
- Letter to Client re Declaration of Completion and Letter to Client re Completion of Administration: One letter is addressed to all of them together, with each person’s address.
- Notice letters to heirs and beneficiaries: A Co-Personal Representative or Co-Administrator receives a notice letter only if that person also has the Heir, Estate Beneficiary or Special Notice role, and the letter is worded accordingly. A person with none of those roles receives no notice letter and is not listed on the Declaration of Mailing. For example, in an estate that is entirely community property, the surviving spouse is the only heir, so a child serving with the spouse is not sent notice.
Known Limitations
In the following situations, edit the assembled documents by hand.
| Some Petitioners are named in the Will and some are not (testate) | Complete the paragraph marked ACTION REQUIRED in the Petition and Order. |
| Petitioners have different priority under the Will (testate) | The interview takes one priority answer for all Petitioners. For example, if the Will names A and B, and names C to serve if either cannot, and B and C are petitioning, edit the paragraph describing the Petitioners’ authority to serve. |
| The Will or a court order changes how the Petitioners may act | Edit the sentence in each Affidavit Confirming PR Authority that states how they may act. |
| A Petitioner will not sign | Every Petitioner is given a signature block. With three or more Petitioners, a majority is sufficient. If one will not sign, edit the document. |
| A signer lives outside Washington and Oregon | Each notary block uses the notary state and county entered on the Pleading Formatting and Execution tab. If the signer will sign before a notary in their own state, have that notary complete their own certificate, or edit the block. A signer whose address is in Washington or Oregon, but not in the matter’s notary state, receives that state’s notary block with the county left blank. |
| The Client will sign a testate Petition’s verification by oath before a notary in another state | The notary block on the Client’s verification uses the notary state and county entered on the Pleading Formatting and Execution tab. Edit that notary block. |
Assemble Your Documents
When the interview is complete, assemble your documents as usual. See this article for details.