How to Remove a Personal Representative in Washington
- matthew3563
- Jul 14
- 9 min read
Washington Probate Litigation Manual › Removing a Personal Representative
By Matthew Cunanan, DC Law Group (WSBA #42530) · A Washington litigation practice
Who this is for: Anyone watching a Washington estate be handled badly — heirs, beneficiaries, family members, creditors — and the newer lawyers helping them.
The 30-second version
There are two different ways the wrong person comes off an estate, and people mix them up constantly.
Disqualification means the law never let them serve in the first place (RCW 11.36.010). Removal means they were allowed to serve, but they're doing the job badly and a judge takes it away (RCW 11.28.250). Both usually travel through TEDRA, Washington's estate-dispute law (RCW 11.96A — see How Probate Fights Work in Washington).
Metaphor: Think of a driver's license. Disqualification is never being allowed behind the wheel. Removal is losing the license because of how you drove.
First, the words
Estate — everything a person owned when they died.
Personal representative (PR) — the person in charge of the estate. With a will, often called the executor; without one, the administrator.
Letters — the court's official paper handing them the job. "Revoking letters" just means taking the job back.
Fiduciary — someone legally required to act in your interest, not their own.
Metaphor: The PR is a house-sitter who's been handed the keys and the checkbook. The house isn't theirs. The money isn't theirs. They're holding it for the family — which is exactly why the law watches them so closely, and gives you ways to step in when they forget whose money it is.
Who is never allowed to serve
RCW 11.36.010 disqualifies:
Minors.
People of unsound mind.
Anyone convicted of a felony, or of a crime involving moral turpitude (the law's phrase for dishonesty-type offenses).
Anyone found, in the last 36 months, to have committed dishonesty, theft, or a breach of fiduciary duty — by a court or an administrative agency. (New as of June 11, 2026, and a real weapon: a fiduciary caught red-handed once can be barred from serving again.)
Anyone whose letters were revoked for cause under RCW 11.28.250 in the last 24 months. (Also new as of June 11, 2026.)
Corporations, LLCs, and LLPs — with narrow exceptions for entities authorized to act as fiduciaries, like banks and trust companies.
There's also a rule for people who live outside Washington. A nonresident can serve — but only by naming, in writing and filed with the court, a resident agent in the county or an attorney of record to accept legal papers. And unless the will waives it, they must post a bond. That bond requirement gets missed a lot, and it's leverage.
Why this matters: if the person in charge falls into one of these groups, you may be able to undo the appointment without proving they did anything wrong at all. The law simply never let them in the door.
Good reasons to remove someone
If they were qualified but are doing the job badly, RCW 11.28.250 — "Revocation of letters—Causes" — lets a judge take the job away. The statute names it plainly. A court may revoke letters where the PR has:
Wasted, embezzled, or mismanaged the estate's property — or is about to.
Committed a fraud on the estate — or is about to.
Become incompetent to act.
Permanently left the state.
Wrongfully neglected the estate.
Failed to perform the duties of the job.
And then the line that does the most work of any in this chapter — the court may also act:
"…or for any other cause or reason which to the court appears necessary."
Metaphor: That's the law's junk drawer. It's there on purpose, for the bad behavior nobody thought to name in advance. Judges use it.
And they really do. In In re Estate of Jones, 152 Wn.2d 1, 93 P.3d 147 (2004), a son serving as his mother's personal representative lived in the estate's house rent-free and ran his law practice out of it, deeded the property to himself, and commingled the estate's money with his own. The trial court removed him. The Court of Appeals put him back. The Washington Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and held the removal was proper — the unrecorded deed was void, he owed the estate for his years of rent-free use, the court ordered a final accounting, and attorney fees were awarded against him and in favor of the brothers who called it out.
Nonintervention powers are not a force field
Many Washington wills grant "nonintervention" powers — meaning the PR can run the estate without a judge looking over their shoulder. People treat this like immunity. It isn't.
And that isn't just my reading — it's the holding of Jones. The Court of Appeals had said the removal grounds in RCW 11.28.250 don't reach a nonintervention personal representative, and put the removed PR back in the job. The Washington Supreme Court reversed, holding that RCW 11.68.070 fully incorporates RCW 11.28.250 into the nonintervention scheme (In re Estate of Jones, 152 Wn.2d 1, 93 P.3d 147 (2004)). Every ground for removal — including that catch-all — reaches a nonintervention PR exactly as it reaches any other. The words in the will do not build a wall around them.
RCW 11.68.070 is titled, memorably, "Procedure when personal representative recreant to trust or subject to removal." If the court finds misconduct, it can order any remedy in law or equity it thinks appropriate — and the statute spells out a menu:
Money damages.
Surcharge the personal representative personally.
Restrict their powers (the court literally endorses the words "powers restricted" on the original order and on the letters).
Remove them and appoint a successor.
Award fees and costs under RCW 11.96A.150.
That is a much bigger hammer than most families realize they're holding.
Make them open the books
This is where most fights actually start, and where a lot of bad advice circulates. Get this part right.
The inventory. Under RCW 11.44.015, the PR must make and verify by affidavit a true inventory and appraisement of everything the estate owns — within three months of appointment.
⚠️ Here's the part people get wrong: that inventory does not have to be filed with the court. The statute says it "may, but need not be, filed in the probate cause." So do not go digging through the court file, find nothing, and conclude you have no rights. You do.
What you actually do is ask — in writing. On written request from an heir, legatee, or devisee — or an unpaid creditor who has actually filed a claim — the PR must furnish a copy within ten days. (Note the limit: a creditor who hasn't filed a claim has no right to demand it.) Put the request in writing, date it, keep a copy. That ten-day clock is yours.
The reports. Separately, RCW 11.76.010 requires the PR to file a verified report of the affairs of the estate at least annually. And you don't have to wait for the calendar or go through a judge: any interested person can request a report, and the PR must file it within 90 days (no more than two such requests a year). So you have a standing annual right and an on-demand one. (The 90-day-on-request right is current as of the June 11, 2026 amendments.)
Metaphor: It's a group trip where one friend is holding everyone's cash. The very least they can do is keep the receipts.
And when they stall — that is the case. Refusing to open the books isn't a side issue you have to get past on the way to your real argument. Under RCW 11.28.250, wrongful neglect and failure to perform are removal grounds in their own right. People with nothing to hide don't hide the books, and judges know it.
Getting the money back
A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for real work. But they are a fiduciary holding money that was never theirs — and when they breach that duty, the court's remedial powers under RCW 11.68.070 are broad: damages, surcharge, and fees and costs assessed against them.
Whether fees already taken must be handed back turns on the facts and on the judge. But the instinct is the right one: it's hard to argue you earned a fee for mismanaging money that belonged to somebody else.
Step by step: how you actually ask the court
Your facts and your county will change the details, but the skeleton is consistent:
Gather proof. Bank records, emails, the will, and a simple dated timeline of what went wrong. Timelines win these cases.
Demand the records — in writing. The inventory (ten-day clock, RCW 11.44.015) and the annual report (RCW 11.76.010). If they stall, that refusal becomes evidence.
File a TEDRA petition. A written request to the court, backed by a sworn declaration, laying out the facts and exactly what you want — removal, a successor, an accounting, the money back.
Give everyone notice. All parties must be served or mailed notice at least 20 days before the hearing (RCW 11.96A.110) — and you file proof you did it. Blowing notice is an unforced error that costs you the hearing.
Expect mediation. Any party can force it (RCW 11.96A.300). Many of these resolve here.
Hearing. The judge decides what's best for the estate.
The order. It only counts when it's signed and entered — not when somebody says they won.
What happens after
If the judge agrees, the PR's letters are revoked — the job is over — and the court appoints someone to finish the estate. The removed PR typically must hand over all money, property, and records, and file a final accounting. They can be held responsible for losses they caused, surcharged personally, and made to pay fees.
Official forms and where to get them
Use official sources. We don't host fill-in forms — handing you one would be practicing law for you:
Washington Courts forms portal — statewide: www.courts.wa.gov/forms
WashingtonLawHelp.org — free plain-language legal-aid guides: www.washingtonlawhelp.org
Your county superior court clerk — local rules, fees, cover sheets. Always check the county where the estate is filed.
Most TEDRA removal petitions are custom-drafted, not fill-in-the-blank, because they have to lay out your specific facts.
What it costs
Filing fee: roughly $240 in most Washington counties (counties set their own — check your clerk). Can't afford it? Ask for a fee waiver.
Service of process: typically $50–$100+ per person.
Mediation: commonly a few hundred dollars an hour, usually split.
Lawyers: usually hourly for litigation.
The good news: where the PR behaved badly, a court can shift fees — including against them personally (RCW 11.96A.150). Ask for fees in your petition. You don't get what you don't request.
Common questions
What's the difference between disqualification and removal?
Disqualification means the law never allowed them to serve (RCW 11.36.010) — a minor, someone of unsound mind, a convicted felon, and, as of June 11, 2026, anyone a court or agency found committed dishonesty, theft, or breach of fiduciary duty in the last 36 months, or whose letters were revoked for cause in the last 24 months. Removal means a judge takes the job away for how they've handled it (RCW 11.28.250).
Do I have to prove wrongdoing to disqualify someone?
Not necessarily. If they fall into a disqualified category, the point isn't that they behaved badly — it's that the law never let them in.
Can I make them show me where the money went?
Yes — but ask in writing. The inventory doesn't have to be in the court file. On written request from an heir, legatee, devisee, or an unpaid creditor who has filed a claim, you get a copy within ten days (RCW 11.44.015). And since June 11, 2026 there's a second, stronger tool: any interested person can demand a report, and the personal representative must file it within 90 days — on top of the standing annual report duty (RCW 11.76.010). They can't be made to file more than two of these a year, so use it deliberately.
The will gave them nonintervention powers. Am I stuck?
No. RCW 11.68.070 lets a court restrict their powers, remove them, surcharge them, and award fees. Nonintervention is not immunity.
Can I do this without a lawyer?
People do. The forms above are free and the steps are here. But the notice rules are technical and the deadlines are unforgiving — and if there's real money missing, the other side will have counsel.
When to call a lawyer
Money is missing, or the numbers don't add up.
There's a house, a business, or serious money in the estate.
You're the one being accused as PR or trustee.
The other side has a lawyer.
A deadline is close.
Need help with a Washington estate fight?
I'm Matthew Cunanan of DC Law Group — a Washington litigation practice. We help families remove the wrong person from an estate, force the books open, and get the money back. We appear by video in every county in the state, and in person for the hearings that need it.
Call 206-745-2823 or visit DC Law Group.
About the author — Matthew Cunanan is the founder of DC Law Group, a Washington litigation practice (WSBA #42530). He handles probate, trust, and estate disputes in superior courts across Washington State.
This chapter is general information about Washington law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every situation is different — for advice about your case, talk to a lawyer. Statutes cited were verified against the official text at leg.wa.gov on July 14, 2026.