Chapter N. Escheat

JurisdictionWashington
N. ESCHEAT

It has always been the express policy of the state to avoid when possible absorbing private property if the legal heirs of the owner can be discovered.130 The burden of proving a lack of heirs historically was placed upon the state, and only upon satisfaction of that burden (as through a diligent search for heirs) was the burden placed upon individual claimants to prove their heirship.131 The escheat statutes have undergone considerable change over the years, and although it arguably is easier today for property to escheat to the state, at least the circumstances under which this occurs are now more certain and explicit.

As indicated above,132 the Washington intestate succession statute133 provides for distribution of an intestate's property only as far as the issue of grandparents. Beyond this point, if no such issue or closer kindred survive the intestate, the property escheats to the state rather than passing to more remote relatives. If, for example, the intestate is survived by no relatives whatsoever except great-grandparents and several second cousins,134 the legislative judgment has been to prefer the state over those somewhat remote relations, a decision against the so-called "laughing heirs."135

Escheat is governed by Chapter 11.08 RCW. The statutory provisions apply to all property of a decedent who is not survived by a person entitled to take under the laws of the state.136 The decedent need not have been a resident of the state at the time of death, and the property need only have been subject to the state's "jurisdiction."137 With respect to personal property located in Washington, it has been held that the state does have jurisdiction over it for purposes of escheat, even if the decedent was domiciled

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in another state at the time of death.138 The court declined to apply here the general principle, applicable to estate administration when there are surviving heirs, that the situs of personal property is determined by the domicile of the decedent (mobilia sequuntur personam: movables follow the person), considering this fiction to be less useful in the administration of an estate to which the only claimants were two state governments.139

Title to escheat property (including intangible personalty) vests in the state at the time of death of the owner.140 The Department of Revenue (DOR) is given supervision of and jurisdiction over escheat property and has responsibility for the prosecution of proceedings necessary to protect and preserve it.141 Escheat...

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