If the Probate Division copies a will for you, it will cost 50¢ per page. If you wish to visit the Probate Division to copy the will yourself, you may do so at the public copier at a cost of 25¢ per page.

Letters of Administration are the formal document issued by the Court after a petition for probate is filed and the Court issues an order opening the estate and appointing a personal representative. When a personal representative is appointed in a large estate proceeding, 12 original Letters of Administration are included in the materials sent to the personal representative or counsel for use in administering the estate. Additional Letters may be ordered by the personal representative or counsel at a cost of $1.00 each.

Once a will has been accepted for filing, it can be released only by order of the Court. To get such an order, file a verified petition for release of the will and a proposed order authorizing transfer of the will.

If a nominated personal representative does not wish to serve, they can file a Renunciation.

The Superior Court does not appoint a personal representative in a foreign estate and does not issue letters of administration. Rather, it recognizes the appointment made in the other state.

The law in the District of Columbia requires that the will be filed even if there is no estate. Whether an estate needs to be opened or is solvent is a separate issue.

You should file the Notice of Action Taken on Claim form indicating whether you are going to pay the claim in full, deny the claim, or pay the claim in part. Please be advised that in its decision on Estate of Francisco Coll Monge, 2000 FEP 108, the DC Court of Appeals determined that all creditors known to a personal representative have the same rights established under DC Code, sec.

The following pleadings must be verified to be filed in the Probate Division:

1. All Petitions - SCR-PD 2(b) and 3
2. Complaints filed in Probate Matters - SCR-PD 107(a), and 208(a)
3. Accounts - DC Code 20-721
4. Inventories - DC Code 20-711
5. Guardian Reports - SCR-PD 328
6. Assignments - SCR-PD 120 and 420
7. Claims - DC Code 20-905(a)
8. Affidavits of Mailing and Non-Mailing in Standard Probate - SCR-PD 403(a)(8)
9. Any Affidavit - SCR-CIV 9
10. Verification and Certificate of Notice - SCR-PD 403(b)(3)

Please click on https://www.dccourts.gov/sites/default/files/rules-superior-court/Probate%20Rule%20125.%20Court%20Costs.pdf and https://efiledcsuperiorcourt.gov/faq-page/ for information on eFiling fees.

The personal representative is the person appointed by the Court to administer a decedent’s estate. It can be the person nominated in the decedent’s will. If the decedent died without a will, it can be the decedent’s next of kin. In some situations, a creditor of the decedent can be the personal representative.