Estate of Nowell - Administrator Appointment Dispute
Summary
The Court of Appeals of Washington, Division One, affirmed the denial of Deborah Osborne's petition to be appointed administrator of her deceased sister Angela Nowell's estate. The court held that Angela's husband El-Fatih Nowell was properly appointed administrator in Pierce County and no valid basis existed to vacate his appointment or appoint a second administrator.
What changed
The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the King County Superior Court's denial of Deborah Osborne's motion for revision of a commissioner order that rejected her petition to be appointed administrator of her deceased sister Angela Nowell's estate. Angela died intestate on November 6, 2020, and her husband Nowell had already been properly appointed administrator in Pierce County proceedings. The court rejected Osborne's arguments that the King County probate was improperly ignored and that Nowell unlawfully filed for appointment in Pierce County.
The ruling has no practical implications for regulated entities as this is a routine estate dispute resolution. Parties involved in similar probate matters should understand that once an administrator is properly appointed in one county, a subsequent petition in another county seeking to appoint a different administrator will generally fail unless grounds exist to vacate the original appointment. The linked Pierce County appeal (No. 88154-0-I) reached the same conclusion on substantially identical arguments.
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April 6, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note
In Re The Estate Of: Angela E. Nowell
Court of Appeals of Washington
- Citations: None known
- Docket Number: 88386-1
Precedential Status: Non-Precedential
Lead Opinion
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
In the Matter of the Estate of:
No. 88386-1-I
ANGELA ELAINE NOWELL,
Deceased, DIVISION ONE
DEBORAH OSBORNE,
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Appellant,
v.
EL-FATIH PAUL NOWELL,
Respondent.
CHUNG, J. — Deborah Osborne appeals from an order denying her motion
for revision of a King County court commissioner’s order denying her petition to
be appointed as administrator of the estate of her deceased sister Angela
Nowell. We affirm.
Angela, 1 a resident of King County, died intestate on November 6, 2020.
On May 23, 2024, Osborne, representing herself, filed a petition in King County
Superior Court to be appointed the administrator of Angela’s estate. A King
County court commissioner denied Osborne’s petition because Angela’s
husband Nowell had already been appointed administrator of the estate in Pierce
County and “[t]his court cannot modify that order and cannot appoint a ‘second’
1 For clarity, we refer to Angela Nowell by her first name as she shares a last name with
her surviving spouse, El-Fatih, whom we refer to as Nowell.
No. 88386-1-I/2
administrator.’ ” Osborne separately appealed from the Pierce County Superior
Court’s January 10, 2025, order denying her motion to revise the Pierce County
court’s commissioner’s order denying her motion to vacate Nowell’s letters of
administration. A commissioner of this court linked the appeals for review by the
same panel. 2
In this appeal, Osborne argues that the King County Superior Court erred
because she had already opened probate in King County and no motion to
change venue to Pierce County Superior Court was filed in that action. She
further argues that Nowell unlawfully filed for appointment in Pierce County and
the King County court commissioner should have compelled him to respond to
her petition instead of denying it.
In the linked appeal (“Pierce County appeal”), we rejected essentially
identical arguments and held that Osborne offered no tenable basis to vacate
Nowell’s appointment in Pierce County. See In re Estate of Nowell, No. 88154-0-
I, slip op. at 1 (Wash. Ct. App. April 6, 2026) (unpublished). Because no letters of
administration had been granted in the King County probate and the appointment
of Nowell as administrator of his wife’s estate in Pierce County was otherwise
proper, no change of venue from King County to Pierce County was required. Id.
at 5-6. We adopt the facts and reasoning from our opinion in the Pierce County
appeal and hold that the King County Superior Court did not err in denying
Osborne’s motion to revise the commissioner’s order denying her petition.
2 The background facts are set out in greater detail in our opinion in the linked appeal, In
re Estate of Nowell, No. 88154-0-I (Wash. Ct. App. April 6, 2026) (unpublished).
2
No. 88386-1-I/3
Osborne also alleges “procedural disparities and due process concerns”
regarding this court’s rulings on motions filed by both parties. We considered and
rejected the same arguments in numerous motions Osborne filed in the Pierce
County appeal. Nowell, No. 88154-0-I, slip op. at 7-10. Consistent with our
opinion in that matter, the same motions and arguments raised in this matter are
also denied.
Nowell requests reasonable attorney fees and costs on appeal under RAP
18.1(a) and RCW 11.96A.150. We exercise our discretion and award reasonable
attorney fees and costs to Nowell under RCW 11.96A.150 subject to compliance
with RAP 18.1. Osborne’s request for an award of sanctions against Nowell
under RAP 18.9(a) is denied.
Affirmed.
WE CONCUR:
3
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