(1) A beneficiary may not disclaim an interest if:

Need help with a review of a will?
Have it reviewed by a lawyer, get answers to your questions and move forward with confidence.
Connect with a lawyer now

Terms Used In Washington Code 11.86.051

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
(a) The beneficiary has accepted the interest or a benefit thereunder;
(b) The beneficiary has assigned, conveyed, encumbered, pledged, or otherwise transferred the interest, or has contracted therefor;
(c) The interest has been sold or otherwise disposed of pursuant to judicial process; or
(d) The beneficiary has waived the right to disclaim in writing. The written waiver of the right to disclaim also is binding upon all persons claiming through or under the beneficiary.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1)(a) through (c) of this section, a beneficiary’s receipt of a benefit from property shall not necessarily bar such beneficiary’s disclaimer of an interest in the same property when, prior to the date of the transfer of the interest to be disclaimed, the beneficiary already owned an interest in such property in joint tenancy, as community property, or otherwise. Any such receipt, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, shall be presumed to be an enjoyment or use of the interest the beneficiary already owned, and only after such interest and any benefit from such interest have been exhausted, shall the beneficiary be deemed to have received or accepted any part of the interest to be disclaimed.