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Foreign Estate Proceeding (FEP)

How do I open an estate to handle assets in D.C. for a person whose primary estate is open elsewhere?

• General Information

For people who died after December 31, 1980, domiciled outside the District of Columbia but owning assets in the District of Columbia at the time of death, the person appointed personal representative in the other jurisdiction must file the documents required to open a foreign estate proceeding in the District of Columbia before that person will have authority to collect and distribute any of the assets located in the District of Columbia. Because the primary estate is not being opened in the District of Columbia, the estate is called a foreign estate proceeding (FEP), no personal representative is appointed in D.C., and no letters of administration are issued. The filing of a foreign estate proceeding is governed by D.C. Code, secs. 20-341 through 20-344 (2001 ed.) and Superior Court, Probate Division Rule 427. The District of Columbia Code may be found here.

• Items Needed to Open a Foreign Estate Proceeding

The following items are required to open a foreign estate proceeding in the District of Columbia. The documents submitted must show that the personal representative is currently appointed in another jurisdiction before a foreign estate can be opened.

1. If the estate has been opened in the United States, copies of the documents filed in the other jurisdiction, including the petition, the will (if any), the order of appointment, and letters of administration, authenticated pursuant to 28 U.S. Code, sec. 1738. Such authentication is commonly referred to as a "triple-sealed" or "exemplified" copy. Certified copies are not acceptable.

If the estate has been opened in another country, the same documents are required and must be authenticated in accordance with the provisions of Superior Court, Civil Division Rule 44(a)(2), which requires that a certificate known as an apostille be affixed or attached to the document. For countries belonging to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, foreign documents certified by an apostille are entitled to recognition without further authentication.

2. One Appointment of Agent to Accept Service of Process form with the original signature of each personal representative and an original signature of the agent located in the District of Columbia.

3. Two Notice of Appointment of Foreign Personal Representative and Notice to Creditors forms with the original signature of each personal representative. The information on this form must match the information on the triple-sealed copies exactly. For example, if the decedent's name in the other jurisdiction did not include a middle initial, the middle initial should not be included on this form. Note that the filer must choose the two publications in which the notice will be published. One must be a daily legal publication (currently, the Daily Washington Law Reporter is the only such publication in the District of Columbia), and one must be a newspaper of general circulation in the District of Columbia.

4. A check or money order payable to "Register of Wills" or cash in the amount of $25.00.

• Filing the Documents

The items listed above will be reviewed by a member of the Probate Division’s Legal Branch. If the documents are accepted for filing and the filing fee is paid, the filer can also request a Preliminary Certificate, which costs $1.00. The Preliminary Certificate verifies that the authenticated papers have been filed and a foreign estate has been opened. When the documents are accepted for filing, the Probate Division will send the Notice of Appointment of Foreign Personal Representative to the two publications chosen by the filer. The publications will bill the filer directly. The notice is published concurrently once a week for three consecutive weeks in the two publications. The filer is responsible for checking the proofs of publication before they are filed with the Probate Division to ensure that the publication occurred as directed.

If no claims are filed, upon request and the payment of a $10.00 fee, the Probate Division will issue a Final Certificate (also known as a "Certificate of No Claims") after the six-month period set forth in the notice and the filing of the original proofs of publication with the Probate Division. D.C. assets ordinarily cannot be removed or transferred until after the six-month notice period has expired, the proofs of publication have been filed, and a Final Certificate has been obtained unless bond has been posted. D.C. Code, sec. 20-343 sets forth special requirements for transferring assets before the six-month period has expired.

Guardianship of Minors' Estates (GDN)

How do I establish a guardianship for a minor’s estate?

Guardianship of Minor’s Estates (GDN) are opened for children under the age of 18 who live in the District of Columbia and who are entitled to receive assets

• General Information

A proceeding to establish a guardianship for the assets of a minor is begun by the filing of a package of five documents with the Office of the Register of Wills:

(1) A petition for appointment as guardian of the estate of the minor,

(2) A bond,

(3) Consents from the minor’s parents (if they do not both sign the petition for appointment),

(4) A proposed order, and

(5) A consent to the appointment of the guardian signed by the minor if the minor is age 14 or older.

When the documents are ready to be filed, the petitioner (ordinarily, the person asking to be appointed as guardian), the minor, and counsel of record, if any, must appear before an Assistant Deputy Register of Wills for a brief interview.

• Guardianship proceedings are governed by Chapter I of Title 21 of the 2001 edition of the District of Columbia Code. Superior Court Probate Division Rules 108, 221-223, and 225 also apply to guardianships. The District of Columbia Code may be found here. The Probate Division Rules may be found here.

• Please be advised that neither the Register of Wills nor any member of her staff is permitted to give legal advice with respect to any guardianship proceeding. Should help be needed to prepare or complete petitions for letters of guardianship or any other pleadings or papers to be filed in the Probate Division, consult an attorney.

IN RE ALIENA: In the affair or business of another; in the property of another.

ALIENA RES: The property of another.

CIVIL DEATH: The extinction of all civil rights, such as occurred at common law upon a person being banished, abjuring the realm, or entering a religious order, and to a certain extent upon conviction of any felony. It has been held in the United States that the doctrine of civil death does not apply unless provided for by statute, but has also been held that the common-law consequences of a conviction, including civil death, continue until abrogated by statute. 21 Am J2d Crim L § 626.

CIVIL REMEDY: A Remedy sought in the prosecution of a suit or action by or at the instance of a Private person for the assertion of a Private Right. People ex ref. Raster v Healy, 230 Ill 280, 82 NE 599.

ESTATE OF DECEASED PERSON: Broadly speaking, such an estate may be deemed to exist only from the death of the decedent until it is finally wound up by an order of the court having jurisdiction of it. After the property of the decedent's estate has been paid out or otherwise distributed to those entitled thereto in accordance with the court's orders, and thereupon the estate has been declared closed, it can no longer be said to exist. State ex rel. Petters & Co. v District Court, 76 Mont 143, 245 P 529. See administration; administrator; descent; executor; heirs, PROBATE; residuary estate.

The Probate Forms are included as part of the Rules of Probate Procedure in Chapter 7 of the IOWA Court Rules, rule 7.11.

WILL: Volition, purpose; desire. An instrument by which a person makes a disposition of his property, to take effect after his decease. Barney v Hayes, 11 Mont 571, 29 P 282. An instrument executed by a competent person, in the manner prescribed by statute, whereby he makes a disposition of his property to take effect on and after his death, such disposition remaining ambulatory and revocable during his lifetime. A legal declaration of a man's intention, which he wills to be performed after his death; the just sentence of the testator's wishes concerning what he would have done after his death. 57 Am J1st Wills § 2. The term includes every kind of testamentary act taking effect from the mind of the testator and manifested by an instrument in writing executed and attested in conformity to the statute. In fact, in some jurisdictions, there is a recognized privilege of nuncupation under which, subject to certain conditions and restrictions, a will may be made without the execution of a written instrument by the testator. 57 Am J1st Wills § 2.

HOLOGRAPH: A writing which is wholly in the handwriting of the ostensible author. A holographic will.

HOLOGRAPHIC WILL: A will that is entirely written and signed by the testator in his own handwriting. 57 Am J1st Wills § 632.The requirement of attestation is not imposed in the case of a holographic will, since a successful counterfeit of another's handwriting is exceedingly difficult and the requirement that the instrument be in the testator's own handwriting is a sufficient protection against forgery. If a date is required, as it is in some jurisdictions by statute, the date must also be in the handwriting of the testator. 57 Am J1st Wills § 632.

OSTENSIBLE AGENCY: An agency created by a course of conduct, for example, the agency of a wife to make purchases on the credit of the husband, arising from his acquiescence on many occasions in her thus binding him. 26 Am J1st H & W § 237. An agency existing when the principal intentionally, or by want of ordinary care, causes or allows a third person to believe another to be his agent. Armstrong v Barceloux, 34 Cal App 433, 167 P 895.

OSTENSIBLE AUTHORITY: Apparent authority, for example, such authority as an insurance company permits its agent to exercise, or which it holds him out to the public as possessing. 29 Am J Rev ed Ins § 146. Such authority as a principal, either intentionally or by want of ordinary care, causes or allows a third person to believe the agent to possess. Henry Cowell Lime & Cement Co. v Santa Cruz Nat. Bank, 82 Cal App 519, 255 P 881.

OSTENSIBLE PARTNER: ONE made known to the world as a member of a partnership and who in reality is a PARTNER. Dins v Lonsdale, 49 Ind 521, 529. ONE who, although not a partner by contract or agreement with the other member or members of the firm, is charged with liability as a PARTNER because he has held himself out, or permitted himself to be held out, as being a member of the FIRM. 40 Am J1st Partn § 71.

INCONTESTABILITY PROVISION: A provision in a life insurance policy to the effect that the policy shall be incontestable from date or incontestable after a specified period, sometimes subject to express reservation of enumerated specific circumstances under which the provision shall not be operative, the effect of such a provision being to preclude the insurer from contesting the validity of the contract as such, the truthfulness of the answers to questions propounded to the applicant, and other matters ordinarily constituting defenses, such preclusion, of course, being subject to the terms of the provision and the reservations contained therein. 29A Am J Rev ed Ins §§ 1107 et seq.

PARTNERSHIP ASSOCIATION: A business organization exclusively a creature of statute; a type of Artificial Person standing halfway between a limited partnership and a corporation. 40 Am J1st Partn § 518. An association in the form of a kind of partnership but departing from a general partnership characterized by unlimited liability of partners, all partners being special partners. 40 Am J1st Partn § 504. An association organized under laws making the CAPITAL subscribed alone responsible for the debts of the association; a corporation for the purposes of an adjudication in bankruptcy. 11 USC § 1(8); Bankruptcy Act § 1(8).

SPECIAL PARTNER: A Partner in a limited partnership protected against general liability for the FIRM Debts. 40 Am J1st Partn § 511.

ALIEN PROPERTY CUSTODIAN: An officer, appointed pursuant to the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 and amendments thereto, to take custody, at the direction of the President of the United States, of the property, corporeal and incorporeal, of an enemy alien not licensed to retain control of his property. 56 Am J1st War § 85.

ALIEN REGISTRATION ACT: A federal statute constituting a part of the comprehensive SCHEME for the Regulation of Aliens, requiring the registration and fingerprinting of all aliens in the country, those over 14 years of age on their own application and those under 14 years of age on the application of parent or guardian. 8 USC §§ 1301, 1302; 3 Am J2d Aliens § 112.

SCHEME: A plan or artifice; a Plot.

SCHEME TO DEFRAUD: A plan designed or concocted for perpetrating a fraud. As the term is used in the Federal statutes making criminal the use of the mails for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud, if the scheme or artifice in its necessary consequence is one which is calculated to injure another, to deprive him of his property wrongfully, then it is to defraud within the meaning of the statute. See Horman v United States (CA6 Ohio) 116 F 350.

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