Experienced attorney Geoffrey H. Garrett graduated from the University of California at Davis with his JD over four decades ago. He has practiced law in both Washington and California. Geoffrey “Geoff” Garrett serves as a financial advisor and coach, along with acting as a trust and estate attorney involved in everything from trust administration and estate planning to probate, also known as estate settlement.
In the state of Washington, probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a person who has passed away. During this process, someone is appointed by the court to wind up the affairs of the person who passed. The court-appointed individual is known as a personal representative and is generally someone who was close to the person who died, like a close family member or surviving spouse.
While probate is known for being a complicated and lengthy process, Washington has streamlined it as much as possible, and has one of the country’s simplest probate systems. The entire process takes about 6 months to a year if the person who passed has a will. In this document, the decedent names all their estate assets, beneficiaries, heirs, and property, along with information about how that property is to be distributed after their passing. As long as personal representatives have the information they need in the will, the process goes smoothly.
In the event that someone passes without a will, or that their heirs, beneficiaries, or other people who have an interest in the estate have a dispute, the probate process takes longer. Such situations necessitate a formal probate process, during which a Washington state court judge supervises the probate process and is involved in settling the estate of the decedent.
