In this third edition, Mark Reutlinger, Professor Emeritus of Law, Seattle University School of Law, takes a fresh look at the changes in the legal landscape of probate law, where "spouses" now includes "registered domestic partners" and the "slayer statute" now applies to "abusers" as well as slayers. He has updated citations and explained reinterpretations or clarifications of the law by Washington courts since publication of the 2006 second edition.