As of June 11, 2026, House Bill 2455 has taken effect, and the “Act related to ending probates for profit” has modified several statutes pertaining to Probate and Trusts. As one may infer from the bill’s purpose stated above, the primary purpose of the bill is to modify about a dozen individual probate statutes in order to curtail the predatory practice of “probates for profit” schemes, wherein strangers with no prior relationship to a decedent would take control of a deceased person’s “unattended” estate if the estate was not being actively administered by family members or the provisions of a will. Inevitably, these strangers would divert substantial funds from the estate, usually through the sale of the decedent’s home, and pocket the proceeds that should have more properly been directed to the decedent’s heirs.
This was primarily accomplished through abuse of a provision of RCW 11.98.120, which specifies who is qualified to serve as the personal representative of an intestate estate, meaning a probate estate where the decedent dies without a valid and admissible will (or an estate in which all persons named to serve in a will are either unable or unwilling to serve). The statute provides a priority order for qualified persons, starting with the decedent’s spouse, if applicable, then passing to children, parents, siblings, nieces or nephews, a trustee of a pre-death trust, a beneficiary of an asset, the State of Washington’s department of revenue or department of social and health services (DSHS), or a creditor. See RCW 11.28.120(1). If no one more proximate heirs (e.g., spouse, children, niece or nephew) were available or willing to administer the estate, then, until this Bill 2455 modified the statute, “any suitable person” could petition to administer the estate 40 days after the decedent’s death. Unfortunately, some of these suitable persons were only suitable on paper, and instead siphoned the estate assets to their own benefit once they were appointed to administer the estate.
This “suitable person” loophole has now been modified by the legislature, and is replaced by a provision that a guardian ad litem, a specific role with more stringent fiduciary duties, and be appointed 60 days after a person’s death. A guardian ad litem, or “GAL,” is usually a person from a county registry that has already been vetted or trained to accomplish certain tasks on behalf of the court, functionally acting as a third party advocate for persons unable to represent themselves (typically children). Note that a “suitable person” has not been removed entirely—they may still be appointed 90 days after a decedent’s death if neither a GAL or other heirs are available, but they are now restricted by the ways in which they may be compensated from estate assets or receive estate proceeds. The new version of “suitable person” is also prohibited from being granted non-intervention powers (meaning that they must essentially be court-supervised) and from petitioning to administer more than two probates per year.
Changes Affecting All Estates, Whether Testate or Intestate
HB 2455 does more than simply modifying “suitable person” as described above—there are some changes that apply to all estates, whether testate or intestate. Testate estates are probate estates where the decedent died leaving behind a valid and admissible last will and testament. An intestate estate are probate estates without a valid and admissible last will and testament. Generally, the process and procedure for initiating and administering a testate estate, or one in which the decedent has left a Will, provide guidance for the appointment of a personal representative and disposition of property, is largely unchanged. If a person is listed as the personal representative in a decedent’s will, and is available and willing to serve, they may petition to be appointed in the ordinary fashion of Washington’s probate procedures. Although the initial petition process is unchanged for a testate estate, the personal representatives of any estate must note that there are new reporting requirements that affect them as well.
The requirement that a personal representative (of any estate) serve or mail Notice of Appointment to estate beneficiaries and heirs within 20 days of appointment (RCW 11.28.237) has been expanded to clarify that an attorney assisting the personal representative may accomplish this task. The statute has also been amended to clarify that proof of mailing of such notices may be made by affidavit “or declaration,” which simply amends the statute to reflect what is already permitted by RCW 5.50.030(1)(“[I]f a law of this state requires or permits use of a sworn declaration, an unsworn declaration meeting the requirements of this chapter has the same effect as a sworn declaration.”).
Perhaps most notably for all estates, RCW 11.76.010 is greatly expanded to add two additional reporting requirements to any estate: the obligation to file with the clerk a “report confirming notice to third parties” (RCW 11.76.010(1)), and the obligation to file with the clerk a report disclosing or describing any financial accounts opened by the personal representative (RCW 11.76.010(2)). The addition of these two reporting requirements may reflect the most substantial changes for attorneys that regularly assist with the administration of probates. Personal Representatives have long been expected to exercise reasonable diligence to ascertain the heirs and beneficiaries of an estate, but now there is a statutory requirement that a declaration detailing these efforts be disclosed to the court within 30 days of appointment. Similarly, Personal Representatives have had the ability to open new financial accounts to facilitate the administration of an estate, but now there is a statutory requirement to report the opening of the account(s) to the court along with a disclosure regarding the institution holding the account and the signatory on the account.
The prior version of RCW 11.76.010 required a personal representative to make an annual report regarding the affairs of the estate, and that is expanded in the updated statute. Now, in addition to making the report of the affairs of the estate, the statute permits the court “or any interested person” to request the personal representative make and file a report of affairs within 90 days of the request, regardless of date of appointment (and with the limitation that the personal representative need not file more than two status reports per year). If a personal representative fails to make such a report, “the court shall hold a formal proceeding in which the personal representative shall appear and provide sworn testimony regarding the facts that would be contained within the report.” Failure to appear at such a proceeding or otherwise comply with the reporting requirement may lead to sanctions and revocation of the personal representative’s letters. Therefore, the legislature provides beneficiaries a more defined right to request information from a personal representative with regard to the affairs of the estate.
Also impacting all estates, RCW 11.76.030 now establishes a presumption that an estate is “ready to be closed 24 months after the personal representative’s date of appointment.” If an estate is not functionally closed within two years of appointment, the court or any interested person may request an order for “the final report and petition for distribution to be submitted by a date certain….” That is, if an estate is not closed within two years, the court or an interested party may demand or impose a deadline to close the estate (although “showing of good cause” can move that date). Therefore, the law now expects that most estates should be concluded within two years, subject to good cause for delay.
Changes Applicable to Intestate Estates
Most changes to the administration of intestate estates, meaning estates without a will, in the new law derive from the already-described primary modification to RCW 11.98.120 regarding “suitable persons.” However, there is an important addition to the form of the Petition to initiate an intestate estate, regardless of the petitioner’s relationship to the decedent (e.g., spouse, child, or “suitable person”). RCW 11.28.110 has been expanded to now require the applicant to verify their petition by oath, rather than simple signature. The petition should confirm that the decedent died without a will and explain the basis of the applicant’s knowledge, it should list the names, ages, and addresses of the heirs and describe details of the applicant’s reasonable search for heirs, and it should provide “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….” Additionally, the applicant must verify that they are qualified to serve. In summary, the formal requirements for a Petition to administer any intestate estate have expanded to require more proactive disclosure of a description of estate property and efforts to locate heirs and beneficiaries.
More restrictions have been placed upon the already-mentioned “suitable person” who administers an estate by appointment under the now-updated RCW 11.28.120(3): when such a person is issued Letters of Administration, they will be ineligible to receive non-intervention powers (see RCW 11.28.120(3)), they shall be required to have a bond “in an amount commensurate with the major probate assets” identified in the petition (see RCW 11.28.185), they cannot be a principal or agent of a person or entity “likely to be involved in the sale, purchase, repair, or transfer of a major probate asset” (see RCW 11.36.010(1)(g)), they cannot purchase or acquire an interest in an estate asset or its proceeds without heir/beneficiary approval (see RCW 11.48.020(2)), and they may not receive any compensation in connection with the administration of the estate from any person or entity other than the estate (see RCW 11.48.210). Additionally, a “suitable person” may only petition the court for letters of administration in the county in which the decedent resided at the time of their death—in contrast, personal representatives of testate estates, meaning with wills admitted to probate, or direct relations of the decedent (e.g., surviving spouse, children, nieces or nephews) may continue to petition to probate the estate of a Washington resident in any Washington county, regardless of the decedent’s county of residence (see RCW 11.96A.050(4)). Similarly, a spouse, child, or other direct relation described by RCW 11.28.120(2) are still permitted to administer an estate without a will, an intestate estate, without bond and with non-intervention powers—the above restrictions apply specifically to unrelated “suitable persons.”
Additional Disclosures Arising from Purchase of a Beneficiary or Heir’s Interest in an Estate
Finally, HB 2455 adds two sections to Chapter 11.56 RCW that address the purchase or acquisition of an interest in an estate. These new sections appear to be intended to address when third parties acquire or purchase a beneficiary’s interest in an estate, and exchanges between beneficiaries/heirs of the same decedent are generally exempted (e.g. when Brother purchases Sister’s interest in Estate of Mother’s real estate). In cases where a non-heir, non-beneficiary (or an heir finder) acquires or purchases an interest in an estate, such an agreement is only effective if the agreement is in writing signed by the beneficiary and transferee, the agreement is in at least 10 point type and “in the same language principally used in any discussion or negotiation leading to the agreement,” and the agreement is filed with the court and served upon the personal representative (along with an affidavit or declaration that the formalities of Chapter 11.56 RCW have been followed). The agreement must disclose the amount of consideration paid to the beneficiary, describe (and estimate the value) of the beneficial interest, and list all costs and fees charged to the beneficiary resulting from the transfer of interest.
Overall, the addition of these sections to Chapter 11.56 RCW appears to be intended to protect heirs and beneficiaries from improper or exploitative schemes to acquire an heir’s interest through unfair or misleading practices.
Conclusion
While the amendments applied to Washington’s probate laws by HB 2455 may be some of the most significant modifications of recent years, the new statutes can be distilled to three broad changes: 1) additional requirements for the personal representative of any estate to report their efforts to locate heirs and disclose financial accounts opened for the estate, 2) increased detail in petitions for intestate probates (estates without wills) to identify heirs, describe probate assets, and verify the petition by oath, and 3) added restrictions upon non-relative “suitable persons” who administer estates that require such persons to serve with bond and with court intervention. In combination with the addition of sections to Chapter 11.56 RCW to require more disclosure with regard to the purchase of beneficiary interests of estates, the now-effective provisions of HB 2455 should serve to curtail the most egregious and predatory “probate for profits” schemes that were able to operate within Washington State.