Administering Assets Subject to a Community Property Agreement (“CPA”)

While use of a CPA should result in the avoidance of a probate of the estate of the first spouse to die, the surviving spouse will generally need to take the following steps regarding the property subject to the CPA:

  1. Real Property: To clear title to the real property:
    1. At the Auditor/Recorder Office in every county in which Decedent owned real property subject to the CPA:
      • Record a copy of Decedent’s death certificate.
      • Record a copy of the CPA if it has not already been recorded there.
      • Record an executed: Community Property Affidavit for Recordation (re Real Property) form

    On the one hand, title insurance companies have the reputation of wanting their insureds to use the form written and supplied by that title insurance company. On the other hand, WASHINGTON PROBATE has written a generic Community Property Affidavit for Title Insurance Company, submitted it to underwriting counsel for several of the major title insurance companies in the region, and received the following reply:

    1. At the Financial Institution, deliver an executed: Community Property Affidavit for Financial Accounts form
    1. At the corporation, transfer agent, or broker:
      • Deliver an executed: Community Property Affidavit for Securities form
      • Deliver an executed:Affidavit of Domicile re Transfer of Securities form
    2. Other property subject to your CPA: To clear title to it, deliver to its holder, registration agent, etc. an executed: Community Property Affidavit for Other Community Property form

    Washington (State) Probate

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “My dad passed away recently and his estate is just north of the small estate amount. I am doing the probate myself and your web site is an amazing resource. I’ve filed my initial petitions without a hitch and expect the rest to go as you’ve described. Thank you so very much for taking the time and effort to put the site together; it is a fabulous resource for those of us who are self-helpers.” – Yakima County

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “Thank you for saving me an enormous amount of aggravation and hassle. I’m getting ready to close a probate on Camano Island pretty much without any problems thanks to your great website.” – Island County

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “My mother died in February and the lawyer who had drafted her will had also died. While looking for another lawyer, I began researching what it entailed to probate a will and found your amazing site. I completed the forms on a Thursday night and went down to the King County Superior Court on a Friday morning and by lunchtime I had successfully completed the process.” – King County

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “My Dad died last month, and your site has provided me with a wealth of information. Even though I hired a Paralegal with a rusty background, your site has guided both of us through this uncertain territory and everything is going very well. Thank you for this service. You have made a world of difference for us. I just wanted you to know that what you are doing matters a great deal.” – Kitsap County

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “My wife and I have just finished the “walk it through the court” initiation of a probate of my mother-in-law’s estate. It went very well with the help of this site. We found the people at the King County courthouse in Seattle very helpful, too. We appreciate the resource for a process that was at first daunting. Armed with information and all the needed forms from your website, we were able to conduct our business in an hour of only mild confusion rather than being totally lost and frustrated.” – King County

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “My brother recently passed away leaving an intestate estate slightly in excess of $200K despite my frequent urging for a Will. Anticipating that this would occur, I had intended to handle the probate myself. Your website and some outstanding people at the King County Regional Justice Center, in Kent, were extremely helpful in allowing me to accomplish this with a minimum of lost effort. The capability to manipulate the on-line forms using a word processor was almost invaluable. Thank you very much for the tremendous effort you expended in developing the probate website.” – King County (Kent)

    VISITOR COMMENTS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

    “Thank you so very much for distributing the probate forms and basic information to help me navigate the probate path as a pro se litigant in a solvent testate estate. I have so far concluded the initial motion hearing and a second hearing to admit the Will to probate. I now have my Letters and am proceeding through the real work of fulfilling the requirements to close the probate in a few months. The real lesson I’ve learned from wa-probate.com is that I can learn the basics, and even the intermediate to advanced steps, by simply following the planned … stages of completion.” – King County (Kirkland)

    2021 - A Washington Non-Profit Corporation for Public Legal Education | Offering Nothing for Sale | Not affiliated with Everett Holumn, WSBA 700, or Washington Probate Services, Inc., of Tacoma, WA | Site Agreement | Forms | Site Map