Title 20 — Probate and Administration of Decedents’ Estates. [Enacted title]

This chapter applies to the opening of an estate which begins with the filing of a petition for probate by an interested person as provided in section 20-304 and results in the probate of a will or the determination of a decedent’s intestacy and the appointment of a personal repr…

(a) A will is ineffective to transfer property or to nominate a personal representative unless it is admitted to probate or recorded as provided in section 20-341 (b). (b) Except for foreign personal representatives, no person shall exercise the powers or assume the duties of a p…

(1) The Court shall, except as provided in subsections (b) and (d), appoint personal representatives, successor personal representatives, and special administrators according to the following order of priority, with all persons in any one of the following paragraphs considered as…

The petition for probate shall contain all knowledge or information of the petitioner with respect to: (1) the name, domicile, and place and date of death of the decedent; (2) the petitioner’s name, address, age, citizenship, relationship to the decedent, interest in the estate, …

Except as provided in section 20-353(b) , any person may file a verified complaint to contest the validity of a will within 6 months following notice by publication of the appointment or reappointment of a personal representative under section 20-704 . The person filing the compl…

(a) An abbreviated probate proceeding is a proceeding for the probate of a will or a determination of a decedent’s intestacy and for the appointment of a personal representative. This proceeding is instituted when an interested person files a petition for an abbreviated probate p…

Upon a request for abbreviated probate filed in accordance with section 20-304, the Court shall appoint one or more personal representatives, except as provided in section 20-322. The appointment of a personal representative shall constitute an Order for unsupervised administrati…

A standard probate proceeding is a proceeding for the probate of a will or a determination of the decedent’s intestacy, particularly when due execution of a will cannot be presumed under section 20-312 , and for the appointment of a personal representative. This proceeding is ins…

A proceeding for standard probate shall be instituted: (a) if, at any time before abbreviated probate, (1) an interested person or creditor makes a request; or (2) it appears to the Court that the petition for abbreviated probate is materially incomplete or incorrect in any respe…

A person filing a petition for standard probate shall promptly give notice to all known interested persons. In addition, the petitioner shall publish a notice once a week for 2 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the District of Columbia and in any other pub…

In a standard probate proceeding: (1) Proof of due execution shall be made by affidavit of the witnesses as provided in paragraph (3) of this section unless the Court orders otherwise. (2) After proof of due execution, the Court shall enter an order admitting the will to probate …

(a) An abbreviated probate proceeding shall be set aside if, within 6 months after notice of the appointment of the personal representative pursuant to section 20-704, an interested person makes a request for a standard probate proceeding. (b) A standard probate proceeding may be…

(a) A foreign personal representative of a nondomiciliary shall not be required to obtain letters in the District of Columbia for any purpose. (b) A foreign personal representative administering an estate which has property located in the District of Columbia shall file with the …

A foreign personal representative may exercise all the powers of such office and may sue and be sued in the District of Columbia, subject to any statute or rule relating to nonresidents.

A foreign personal representative of a decedent who owned any property located in the District of Columbia shall publish once a week for 3 successive weeks a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the District of Columbia and any other publication as the Court may provid…

In the event a foreign personal representative fails to transfer the title to real or leasehold property located in the District of Columbia to the person or persons legally entitled to such property, within a reasonable time, the Court may direct the transfer of title to such pe…

If the property of a decedent subject to administration in the District of Columbia has a value of $40,000 or less, the property may be administered as a small estate in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter.

Any person eligible for appointment as the personal representative of an estate pursuant to section 20-303 may file a verified petition for administration of a small estate. Such petition shall contain, in addition to the information required by section 20-304 : (a) A statement t…

If the Court finds that the petition and any additional information filed under this subchapter is accurate, it shall: (1) appoint a personal representative of the small estate; (2) direct the immediate payment of the allowable funeral expenses as provided in section 20-906 and t…

No person appointed as a personal representative in accordance with section 20-353 shall be required to be represented by an attorney or to give bond or be entitled to receive any commission for the performance of duties as personal representative. If notice is required and 30 da…

The personal representative shall report to the Court immediately, by verified supplemental petition, any property of the decedent discovered after the filing of the petition. If the after-discovered property increases the value of all property of the decedent to an amount greate…

Except to the extent inconsistent with this subchapter, all the other provisions of this title shall apply to small estates.

If the only property of a decedent is not more than 2 motor vehicles, the Mayor may transfer title to the motor vehicles in accordance with section 50-1501.02(d) . If title is transferred under this section, administration of the estate of the decedent is not necessary.