State lawmakers in Olympia are moving to clamp down on so-called “probates for profit” after a lawsuit by the Washington Attorney General alleged that a Tacoma man and his associates turned third-party probate appointments into a sprawling real-estate pipeline that sold at least 90 homes and generated more than $28 million. House Bill 2445, introduced Jan. 13, would tighten who can be appointed as a personal representative and speed up notice to heirs. The bill follows a consumer-protection complaint and a series of court actions that spotlight a broad “suitable person” rule prosecutors say was pushed far past its intended use.
AG complaint says hundreds of probates were filed
The Attorney General’s Office says the defendants filed more than 200…..