Welcome back to our DC probate series brought to you by the Gormley Law Firm! Check out part 6 for more on the basics of large estate proceedings, or use our handy index for a list of all of the articles in our series on opening a probate case in Washington, DC. Call us today at 1.240.514.2358 for a free consultation!
If you’ve determined that you must file a large estate case in the Probate Division, you’ll next need to determine which petition to file. There are two: abbreviated and standard. The petition you use depends on the party filing for appointment as personal representative.
If the person requesting appointment as personal representative has priority under the statute an abbreviated probate petition is filed.
Abbreviated probate requires publication of the Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice To Unknown Heirs once a week for three consecutive weeks in two newspapers of general circulation in the District of Columbia, one of which must be a legal newspaper.
The only legal newspaper in Washington DC is the Washington Law Reporter. The petitioner must determine the second newspaper to be used. The Probate Division will transmit the Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs to those newspapers by email after the personal representative is appointed. The newspapers bill the personal representative directly.
You’ll also be asked to pay a filing fee, which depends on the value of the estate assets. Court costs are set forth in Superior Court, Probate Division Rules 125 and 425. Go here to see filing fees for the DC Probate Division.
Probate, Estate Planning and Real Estate AttorneyBrian Gormley, Esq. is an attorney licensed in Maryland and the District of Columbia specializing in real estate, probate, estate litigation and other matters. If you need assistance, please use the Contact Feature at the bottom of this page.
