Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

RCW 11.40.040

"Reasonably ascertainable" creditor—Definition—Reasonable diligence—Presumptions—Petition for order.

Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case In Re Estate of Black (2004)

Most recently applied in Fitzgerald v. Mountain-West Resources, Inc. (October 2012)

1999 c 42 s 607; 1997 c 252 s 10; 1994 c 221 s 28; 1974 ex.s. c 117 s 36; 1965 c 145 s 11.40.040

How often courts cite this section

20042010201220
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) For purposes of RCW 11.40.051, a "reasonably ascertainable" creditor of the decedent is one that the personal representative would discover upon exercise of reasonable diligence. The personal representative is deemed to have exercised reasonable diligence upon conducting a reasonable review of the decedent's correspondence, including correspondence received after the date of death, and financial records, including personal financial statements, loan documents, checkbooks, bank statements, and income tax returns, that are in the possession of or reasonably available to the personal representative.

(2) If the personal representative conducts the review, the personal representative is presumed to have exercised reasonable diligence to ascertain creditors of the decedent and any creditor not ascertained in the review is presumed not reasonably ascertainable within the meaning of RCW 11.40.051. These presumptions may be rebutted only by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence.

(3) The personal representative may evidence the review and resulting presumption by filing with the court an affidavit regarding the facts referred to in this section. The personal representative may petition the court for an order declaring that the personal representative has made a review and that any creditors not known to the personal representative are not reasonably ascertainable. The petition must be filed under RCW 11.96A.080 and the notice specified under RCW 11.96A.110 must also be given by publication.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.