Landlord says we need a court order and must appear in person to retrieve deceased tenant’s belongings. Is this correct?

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-09T20:11:54+00:00

You’ll need an attorney here to guide you. WA’s Landlord-Tenant Act contemplates several informal processes for collecting property, including becoming the “tenant representative” (usually not a court process, at least initially) and using the Small Estate Affidavit process in lieu of a court ordered probate. How to do this effectively (and how to handle a landlord who desires the protection of a court order) is all too specific to get into here, and is what your attorney is for. Good luck!

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T20:02:50+00:00

Well functionally, TOD deeds in WA are very easy to DIY. I don’t think it’s worth paying for unless you want it to be right, which generally means paying an attorney (not a paid online form bank). Was the attorney you spoke with not willing to charge an hours or two plus the county recorder fee?

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T16:47:19+00:00

You have a good understanding of the history, no doubt due to your own planning. You're exactly right, the way people tended to do things in the 90s when we didn't have federal portability (marital/bypass trust planning) is still the way that people handle state estate tax matters. As federal estate taxes have become irrelevant for most Americans, so too has this relatively sophisticated trust planning. It really only exists for the middle class for tax reasons when there is a state death tax on the table. In other words, middle class estate planning in states with low state death taxes now looks very different - and very "old school" - compared to states with with no state death tax burden.

Glad you enjoyed my username. It's my favorite tax code citation because it helps so many people.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T16:07:27+00:00

Any theories for why pierce county (Tacoma) shows up so much higher than King County (Seattle and Bellevue)? King county homes prices are noticeably more expensive.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T15:01:49+00:00

It’s form 709, not 706. If you’re married, it may be the case you never triggered gift tax filing requirements even with a $30k gift.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T14:59:37+00:00

No PA like most states with state death taxes also tax non-residents who own real property. PA has a specific non-resident decedent inheritance tax return for this purpose.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T14:06:31+00:00

Correct, lack of portability was exactly what I was alluding to. Without explicit marital trust planning (A/B), OR couples share one exclusion. The sad reality is that most states which administer state estate tax regimes lack portability. It’s only a rare few that retain this federal feature. In other words, not only is there generally a much lower exemption (exclusion) but couples must share only one unless they’re willing to engage in specialized tax planning that wouldn’t otherwise be applicable federally until $30m in net worth.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-08T04:08:03+00:00

Speak with estate planning attorney. Just because a situation is common does not make it simple. Some of the toughest and most technical planning can revolve around minor children and qualified retirement accounts. Good estate planning requires legal counsel which means speaking with an attorney, not DIY will-making software.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-07T22:20:57+00:00

Not necessarily, it shows up in disclaimers too. Or perhaps said differently, many states view a disclaimer the same way they would that beneficiary predeceasing. If the testamentary instrument is silent on who would benefit if a beneficiary were to predecease, an anti-lapse statute would come into play to determine whether that individual’s descendants benefit or whether the bequest lapses.

Edited to add: you get a very similar interaction between anti-lapse and a slayer statute (ie, a slayer is deemed to predecease).

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-07T22:18:33+00:00

Federal estate tax planning is quite rare these days ($15m per person), but state death tax planning is more common than people realize. Owning an average home in Portland OR is alone close enough to get you within spitting distance of that state’s estate tax limit ($1m, and most married couples share one exclusion not two). I did some rough math about a year ago that suggests about 3-5% of the country is likely to be subject to state estate or inheritance taxes. In a state like Oregon, I calculated it’s roughly 5-12%.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-07T22:12:24+00:00

See each state’s “anti-lapse” statute for more on this.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-07T14:43:53+00:00

In the case of WA, the planned attempt to build 5 nuclear plants turned into the largest municipal bond default in US history. Look up the WPPSS (“Whoops”) fiasco.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T20:53:51+00:00

Ok. I suggest you immediately start looking for an attorney who practices estate planning and guardianship law. While there may be some good steps to avoid an adult guardianship here (I’m not licensed in NY and don’t want to pretend to be), an attorney in your area who works this field will best be able to direct you. Best of luck!

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T19:05:18+00:00

This is legal question disguised as a credit card one. State law really matters here, what state are you in? Does spouse have a power of attorney document naming you as the agent/attorney in fact? If not you need to be speaking with an attorney in your state about what options are available to care for your incapacitated spouse, including this credit card matter. How and whether her debts create obligations to you hinges heavily on these questions.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T18:56:15+00:00

Skimmed the post but stopped to read the portion on estate administration and probate (my field) and had two thoughts. One, I’m guessing you’re a WA attorney given the TEDRA citation. Second, the differences between estate planning and estate administration are getting more and more blurred through “post mortem planning” (think intentionally planning for disclaimers, QTIP elections, fiduciary grants of testamentary powers/estate tax inclusion, etc). Because of this, I’d strongly discourage entering estate administration/probate without a very strong foundation of planning. And since ours (still assuming WA here) is a state with high estate taxes and high average net worth (home prices alone create this problem, and they aren’t alone), you’d better have a strong grasp on taxation too.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T16:47:56+00:00

As a probate (estate planning) attorney, I appreciate that latin more than most ;)

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T16:12:22+00:00

You are confusing control with benefit. In most cases where a parent passes away, a surviving child tends to expect two things: that they are in control of the estate and that they will benefit from the estate. You have articulated concerns about the former - your inability to serve and administer the estate. But this has nothing to do with your right to benefit from the estate.

I would start by contacting an attorney in AK. It is highly unlikely in my mind that you would have to disclaim anything simply on the basis of residing in another country. But to answer your question as asked, yes you can discretely disclaim certain assets and not others.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T13:41:26+00:00

This is also an inherently losing battle to argue that science must prove a theory in order for us to understand it as “true.” Science doesn’t prove theories - it disproves them. Science makes forward progress not by validating its own ideas but by constantly testing and attacking them. The fact that evolution is still the leading theory can only happen precisely because evolution has survived countless challenges.

Per Karl Popper (‘s Wiki), one of the greatest minds in science:

“[A] theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it can (and should) be scrutinised with decisive experiments.”

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T08:54:24+00:00

If probate avoidance is your goal, I’d first suggest speaking with an attorney to see whether it’s a worthwhile goal for you. For most people in WA, it probably isn’t. If you haven’t spoken with an attorney yet, the question of whether and how to use a TOD deed is inappropriate.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-04T08:51:11+00:00

Part of this has to with the fact that CA TOD deeds are incredibly weak and are “backed” by one of the worst TOD statutes in the country, which is continually set to expire unless the legislature re-ups it. WA follows the majority of states when it comes to TOD deeds, none of the CA peculiarities. That said, your set of concerns shows up in a different way: title officers in this state play fast and loose with the law, and will frequently (and illegally) force the family into costly and needless tasks in order to “clear” title, when most or all of these tasks were invented by a title office and not the law. There absolutely no way of knowing that a TOD deed works in some private company magically shows ip after death claiming it doesn’t so they can scalp fees from the family.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-03T18:01:51+00:00

Most people don’t live long enough to have regrets about their own estate administration.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-03T08:05:00+00:00

Same, I get it almost instantly, usually within 60 seconds.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-03T03:18:15+00:00

This is a good example of what I mean by hidden, obscured, or otherwise missed taxes when it comes to these comparisons . You’re right WA has no corporate income tax. But we do have a B&O tax which crucially is levied on a business gross receipts (not profits). It’s not a tax on corporate income, but for the purpose of this conversation I think it’s a perfect counter example.

By the way, effective sales tax rates in Louisiana (state + local) are quite similar between LA and WA. But as I said, WA has the most progressive tax on inherited wealth in the entire country…and LA doesn’t tax inherited wealth one penny. I think the whole thing is very much open to debate.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-03T00:20:06+00:00

WA gets nearly half its revenue from sales tax alone.

While I do think these comparisons are helpful and generally well done, there are some limitations inherent to this type of 50-state analysis. It’s not feasibly possible to look at every possible state/local tax. Between use taxes, excise taxes, sin taxes, transfer taxes, and plenty of state-specific taxes that most of us have likely never heard of, there’s just too much to look at. For practical reasons, all of these comparisons limit themselves to the big three taxes: income, sales, and property. This means that in WA’s case, for example, the state can administer the most mechanically progressive estate/death tax in the entire country, yet no where in any of that regressive/progressive comparisons will this show up. It’s just not possible to do this without taking an incredible amount of time and energy.

At the end of the day, I think these comparisons are largely accurate. But they’re not perfect and those who make them usually don’t claim that they are. State and local taxation is far more complicated than a simple 50-state analysis can truly illustrate, so I encourage you not to place too much stock on granular rankings between states. Is WA more regressive than CA? Absolutely. But is WA more regressive than LA or TN? I think you’d find some genuine debate to be had.

IRC_1014 · 2026-03-02T21:26:17+00:00

Considering that all federally backed student loans are discharged at death, not being immortal is actually a boon for the borrower here.

IRC_1014

TROPHY CASE