In re the Estate of Burks

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Armstrong, J.

Two payable-on-death account beneficiaries appeal a superior court ruling that the payable-on-death accounts were probate assets to be distributed under the decedent’s will rather than to the beneficiaries named on the accounts. The death beneficiaries argue that the decedent failed to comply with RCW 11.11.020, which allows a person to change the beneficiaries of payable-on-death accounts by specifically referring to the accounts and specifically naming the new beneficiaries. We agree that Catherine Burks failed to meet the specific requirements of the statute and,…