By Matthew Cunanan, DC Law Group This is the short version. For the full step-by-step guide — with the law, the procedure, and court forms — read our complete guide: Removing or Disqualifying a Personal Representative in Washington. The quick version: When someone dies, a court puts a person in charge of their money and property. The legal name for that person is the “personal representative” — you may also hear “executor” or “administrator.” If that person is doing a bad job — losing money, hiding what they’re doing, or helping themselves — you can ask a judge to take them off the job. A Washington law, RCW 11.28.250, lets the judge do that. Most of these cases go through another Washington law nicknamed TEDRA, RCW 11.96A. And if that person paid themselves out of the estate while doing a bad job, the judge can make them give the money back. Here’s an easy way to picture it. The person in charge is like a house-sitter who gets the keys and the checkbook. The house and the money are not theirs. They’re just holding it for the family. So the law keeps a close eye on them — and gives you ways to step in if they go too far.
Who is allowed to speak up?
Anyone who has something to lose. If you were going to inherit, your name is in the will, or you’re also helping run the estate, you can ask the court to step in. In plain words: if their bad job costs your family money, you get a say.
What is a good enough reason to remove them?
You can’t remove someone just because you don’t like them. The judge needs a real reason. The law (RCW 11.28.250) lists the big ones: wasting the money, stealing it, being careless with it, lying, or simply not doing the job. It also adds a catch-all line for “any other good reason.” Think of that part as the law’s junk drawer — it’s there for bad behavior that doesn’t fit the other boxes. The main idea is simple. This person is handling money that isn’t theirs, so the law expects them to be honest and careful with it. If they cheat and take money for themselves, a judge can even say they don’t get paid at all. A court explained this in Waits v. Hamlin, which points back to an older case, Tucker v. Brown. And judges really do this. In one Washington case, In re Estate of Jones, the state’s highest court agreed to remove a man who signed the family home over to himself, mixed the estate’s money with his own, and used its property like it was his. In another, In re Estate of Reugh, the court removed two people in charge who tried to twist the will to pay themselves. Different stories, same ending: take what isn’t yours, and you can lose the job.
Make them show the books
You have a right to know what the estate owns and where the money is going. The person in charge must make a list of everything the estate owns — a Washington law, RCW 11.44.015, requires it — and a judge can order them to show exactly where the money went, under RCW 11.76.010. If they keep dodging, that alone helps your case to remove them. People with nothing to hide don’t hide the books.
Getting the money back
The person in charge can be paid a fair amount for the work — but not if they broke the rules. If they wasted the estate or quietly paid themselves while everyone else lost out, a judge can make them return the money. It’s like being told to hand back a paycheck you didn’t earn.
How does this actually work?
Most of these cases use TEDRA, RCW 11.96A, the Washington law for estate fights. The steps usually look like this: collect your proof (bank records, emails, and a simple timeline of what went wrong), ask for the list of property and the money records, and then ask the court — in writing — to remove the person, put someone better in charge, and make them pay back what the estate lost. The judge decides based on what is best for the estate and the family. One helpful point: even if the will let this person handle things on their own without checking in with a judge, the court can still step in and remove them, under RCW 11.68.070.
Talk to a Spokane estate lawyer
At DC Law Group, we help families deal with a person in charge of an estate who has gone too far. We’ll help you gather the proof, file the right paperwork, and protect what your family is supposed to receive. Call us at 206-677-9630.
Quick answers
What is a good reason to remove the person in charge of an estate?
Wasting or stealing the money, being careless with it, lying, hiding the records, or simply not doing the job. It’s all in the law, RCW 11.28.250.
Can I make them show me where the money went?
Yes. They must make a list of everything the estate owns (RCW 11.44.015), and a judge can order them to show exactly where the money went (RCW 11.76.010).
Can a person who did a bad job still get paid?
Often not. If they broke the rules, a judge can make them give the money back — because it was never their money to keep. This article gives general information about Washington law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not make us your lawyers.
About the author: Matthew Cunanan is the founder of DC Law Group, a Spokane law firm. He has helped families and individuals with Washington estate and court cases for years. (Washington State Bar #42530.)