The Office in Washington, DC that oversees probate of estates of decedents is the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia at 500 Indiana, Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC  20001.  Within the Probate Division, the Register of Wills administers probating all estates.

Estates can be probated regardless of whether the decedent died leaving a Will or died without a Will (which is known as dying “intestate”).  The Probate Division has jurisdiction to administer estates of persons who were “domiciled” in Washington, DC at the time of their death.  “Domicile” means living in Washington, DC and having no current intention of residing in some other location.

Wills do not become effective until the decedent dies.  There is nothing to do with a Will until that time, except to place it in a location where someone can take possession of the Will and file it in the Probate Division after the decedent’s death.  In fact, anyone with possession of a Will who willfully neglects to deliver the Will to the Probate Court or the personal representative who is named in the Will for 90 days after the death of the decedent may be subject to a fine of up to $500 by the Court.

Whether or not there is a Will, a petition must be filed in the Probate Division to appoint a personal representative (who is frequently known as an “executor” in other jurisdictions) in connection with starting probate proceedings.  The Court appoints the personal representative and allows the probate process to begin.  There are three categories of probate in Washington, DC:  (1) standard probate; (2) abbreviated probate; and (3) small estates.  Standard probate requires more notice, in the form of newspaper classified ads, to interested persons and potential creditors than abbreviated probate.  Otherwise, standard probate and abbreviated probate are very similar.  Small estates probate is available to estates with a value of no more than $40,000.  Small estates probate requires the personal representative to conduct fewer formalities than either standard probate or abbreviated probate.

In addition to the categories of estates, the personal representative for an estate may be either supervised or unsupervised.  If the personal representative is supervised, he must obtain court approval of items such as the inventory of the estate assets and the accounting for assets, expenses, and income of the estate.  A Will may specify that the estate be either supervised or unsupervised, and an unsupervised estate may be ordered by the Court to become supervised in cases where good cause exists for the Court to supervise the estate.

Among other things, the personal representative of an estate must do the following:  (1) ensure that there is proper notice of the probate of an estate that is furnished to close relatives and creditors of the decedent; (2) ensure that property appraisals are obtained; (3) conduct an inventory of the assets of the estate; (4) prepare required accountings of the disposition of assets, expenses of administering the estate, and income earned by the estate; and (5) ensure that the required tax filings and other tax matters of the decedent are wrapped up.  The personal representative of an estate in Washington, DC also must pay or contest claims of creditors that are made against the estate.

Once all matters of administering the estate have been addressed and all claims against the estate have been resolved, the personal representative may file a Certificate of Completion, which is a request to close the estate.  Once the Court approves the Certificate, the personal representative is relieved of his obligations and the estate is closed.  It is not unusual for the entire process of probating an estate in Washington, DC to take well over six months.