Do I have to go through probate in Washington?

In Washington, estates worth $100,000 or less may qualify for a simplified small-estate procedure (personal property only). Estates above that generally require probate through the Superior Court.

How long do creditors have to make a claim in Washington?

The creditor claim period in Washington is generally 4 months. What starts that clock varies, so confirm which date applies before relying on it.

How long does probate take in Washington?

A typical Washington estate takes 6–18 months. Complications — a contested will, an unsold house, a late-surfacing creditor — extend it.

Does Washington have an estate or inheritance tax?

Washington has a state estate tax.

EstateMate › Probate by state › Washington

Settling an estate in Washington

An executor in Washington has to work through the Superior Court and a long list of tasks that have nothing to do with the court. This page sets out what Washington law actually requires at each step, with the section it comes from and the date we last read it.

Probate court: Superior Court
Small-estate shortcut: Estates of $100,000 or less may qualify for a simplified small-estate procedure (personal property only — it will not transfer real estate).
Creditor claim period: 4 months
Typical timeline: 6–18 months
State death tax: a state estate tax
Community property: Yes — this changes the answer, so characterise each asset before dividing anything.

Immediate

Obtain certified death certificates

Washington issues two different documents, and asking for the wrong one wastes a trip. Under RCW 70.58A.530 a full certification of death goes only to a listed relative: spouse or domestic partner, child, parent, stepparent, stepchild, sibling, grandparent, grandchild and further out. It also goes to the legal guardian immediately before the death, a legal or authorized representative, next of kin as specified in RCW 11.28.120, or a government agency or court acting officially. A funeral director or the person named on the record as having the right to control disposition may also obtain one, but only within twelve months of the death. There is also a short form certification that omits cause and manner of death and reaches a wider group, including anyone who demonstrates the copy is necessary to protect a personal or property right. Under RCW 70.58A.540 the records are otherwise confidential. Two practical notes. The funeral director usually orders the first batch as part of their service, so ask them how many they have already requested before you order more — families routinely pay twice. And order more than you think: banks, insurers and transfer agents often keep the copy you give them rather than returning it. Confirm the current fee on the state’s own page at the moment you order, because fees change without notice.

RCW 70.58A.530, 70.58A.540·last read 2026-08-25

Locate the will (or confirm there is none)

Washington gives two deadlines and the executor’s is the longer of the two, which surprises people. Under RCW 11.20.010 any person having custody or control of a will must, within thirty days of receiving knowledge of the death, deliver it either to the court having jurisdiction or to the person named in the will as executor. Then, separately, an executor who has custody or control of a will must within forty days of learning of the death deliver it to the court. So the will may lawfully pass from a custodian to the executor and then on to the court, with the executor getting ten extra days. Anyone who wilfully violates the section is liable to any aggrieved party for the damages sustained. If you are an heir and you believe someone is sitting on the will, do not wait to see whether the clock starts: here it is already running, and it started with the death or with their knowledge of it, not with anything you do. A written request is therefore not what creates the duty — it is what evidences the breach. Make it in writing anyway and keep a dated copy, because that is what turns a delay into something you can prove.

RCW 11.20.010·last read 2026-08-19

Short-term

Claim the family allowances you are entitled to

Washington gives the largest award of any state we cover, and it moves with the housing market. Under RCW 11.54.010 a surviving spouse, a surviving registered domestic partner, or the dependent children may petition for an award in lieu of homestead. Under RCW 11.54.020 the basic award is the greater of the value of the deceased’s property that was exempt from attachment under Title 6, the figure in RCW 6.13.030(1)(a), or an inflation-adjusted floor of $125,000 rounded to the nearest $1,000. RCW 6.13.030 in turn sets that figure as the greater of $125,000 or the county median sale price of a single-family home in the preceding calendar year. In an expensive county that puts the award into the hundreds of thousands. Where more than one person claims, the aggregate is capped at that same figure rather than multiplied by the number of claimants. Because the number turns on a county median that changes every year, look up the current figure for the county rather than relying on the $125,000 floor.

RCW 11.54.010, 11.54.020, 6.13.030·last read 2026-08-20

Notify beneficiaries and keep them informed

Washington gives you twenty days and then requires you to prove you did it — this is the closest parallel to the filing that trips people up in Virginia. Under RCW 11.28.237 the personal representative (or the attorney acting for the estate) must, within 20 days of appointment, serve personally or mail written notice of the appointment and of the pendency of the probate to each heir, legatee and devisee. Washington then adds a group almost no other state we cover does: each beneficiary or transferee of a nonprobate asset — payable-on-death accounts, survivorship property and the like — whose name and address you reasonably know. Proof of that mailing or service must be made by affidavit or declaration and filed in the cause. Where a trust is the recipient, notice to the trustee is enough. Getting this wrong rarely costs money directly — it stalls the case. An estate that cannot show notice was properly given can be held open, and the appointment itself can be reopened, so keep proof of what you sent, to whom, and on what date. BEFORE YOU USE THE SMALL-ESTATE AFFIDAVIT YOU MUST TELL THE OTHERS FIRST. Washington requires written notice, by personal service or by mail, to every other successor, identifying what you claim and describing the property, and at least ten days must pass after you send it before the affidavit can be presented.

RCW 11.28.237·last read 2026-09-14

Determine if probate is required

Washington’s affidavit is more generous than the $100,000 sounds, because of what is left out of the count. Under RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) the test is the value of the decedent’s entire estate subject to probate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances — but not including the surviving spouse’s or domestic partner’s community property interest in those assets. Washington is a community property state, so that subtraction is often half the estate. Real-property equity does count toward the $100,000, though the affidavit itself moves only personal property and debts — a house will still need its own process. Three conditions people miss: 40 days must have passed; all debts including funeral and burial must already be paid or provided for; and you must give written notice to all other successors, describing what you claim, at least ten days before presenting the affidavit. That last one is a genuine notice requirement inside what looks like a paperwork shortcut.

RCW 11.62.010·last read 2026-08-18

Legal Process

File a petition with the probate court

You begin by applying to the court. Under RCW 11.20.020 an application for probate of the will and for letters testamentary is made to the judge of the court having jurisdiction. The court may hear the proofs immediately and enter an order admitting the will — an order that is conclusive except on a contest. But Washington’s defining feature is what you ask for at that moment: nonintervention powers. Under RCW 11.68.011 the court shall grant them to a personal representative who petitions for them if it finds the estate solvent and one of three further conditions is met. Solvency is measured across both probate and nonprobate assets, and it is an absolute requirement. The usual further condition is that you were named in the will that has been probated. With those powers you administer the estate with almost no further court involvement: no ongoing supervision, and no court approval for ordinary steps. Most solvent Washington estates qualify, and it makes the process dramatically lighter than in states without it. Ask for nonintervention powers in the petition rather than afterwards — the statute is built around a petition for them, so it is not something the court supplies unprompted.

RCW 11.20.020; RCW 11.68.011·last read 2026-08-19

Inventory all assets and debts

Washington gives you three months and asks for net values rather than gross, which is a real difference. Under RCW 11.44.015 every personal representative must within three months of appointment make and verify by affidavit a true inventory and appraisement of all estate property passing under the will or by intestacy that has come into their possession or knowledge. It must include a statement of every encumbrance, lien or secured charge. The court may allow longer. You must then determine the fair net value of each item as at the date of death, after deducting those charges. The property must be classified into set categories: real property by legal description; stocks and bonds; mortgages, notes and other written evidence of debt; bank accounts and money; furniture and household goods; and all other personal property accurately identified. Two things that apply everywhere. Values are as of the date of death, not today — a house that has risen since is still listed at what it was worth then. And the inventory is the document everything else is measured against: fees, bond, and every later distribution. It is also what beneficiaries most often challenge, so take the time to get it right rather than filing a rough figure you intend to fix later.

RCW 11.44.015·last read 2026-08-18

Publish notice to creditors

Washington bars claims whether or not you ever give notice, which makes it unusually forgiving of an estate that never published — but the timings depend entirely on what you did. Under RCW 11.40.051 a creditor who was given actual notice must present the claim within the later of thirty days after you served or mailed it and four months after the first publication. A creditor who was not given actual notice, and who was not reasonably ascertainable, is on a different and shorter footing; where no notice was given at all the outer limit is measured in years rather than months. The practical rule: giving notice properly is what collapses a multi-year exposure into four months, so it is worth doing even though claims are barred eventually either way. Two things to hold on to. Publication is what starts the clock in most states, so an estate where nobody published can stay exposed to claims far longer than the family expects. And a known creditor usually has to be told directly — publication alone does not bind someone whose name and address you could reasonably have found.

RCW 11.40.051·last read 2026-08-18

Administration

Identify and close digital accounts

Washington names the small-estate affidavit, so avoiding probate does not shut you out of the accounts. Under RCW 11.120.070 the content of electronic communications is disclosed only where the deceased person consented or a court directs it. The personal representative must then give the custodian a written request, a certified copy of the death certificate, and a certified copy of the letter of appointment — or a small estate affidavit or court order. Unless the person used the provider’s online tool, they must also give a copy of the will, trust or power of attorney evidencing consent. The custodian may additionally ask for an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the person, or a finding by the court. That last route is worth knowing. Among the findings a court can make is that disclosure is reasonably necessary for the administration of the estate, which is the answer where consent was never recorded anywhere. The rule to hold on to everywhere: without consent you generally get only the catalogue — who was contacted, when, and at what address — not what was actually said. “The executor can get into the accounts” is not what these laws do. And if you are advising someone still living, the provider’s own online tool is where this should be set, because it beats the will.

RCW 11.120.070·last read 2026-08-25

Financial Settlement

Pay valid debts and expenses

Washington states its order generally rather than only for insolvent estates, and it opens with an important qualification: the whole order is subject to federal preemption and to the priorities that secured creditors and lienholders already have. Subject to that, RCW 11.76.110 ranks. (1) Expenses of administration. (2) Funeral expenses in such amount as the court orders — or as a personal representative with nonintervention powers determines to be reasonable. (3) Expenses of the last sickness, on the same basis. (4) Wages for labour performed in the 60 days before the death. (5) Exemptions and awards under chapter 11.54 RCW. (6) All other enforceable demands. Note how much turns on nonintervention powers: with them, you set what is reasonable; without them, the court does. Paying a lower-ranked debt before a higher-ranked one can leave you personally liable for the difference. So where the estate may not cover everything, stop before paying anything beyond the funeral and administration costs, and take advice.

RCW 11.76.110·last read 2026-08-27

File required tax returns

Washington has no state income tax, so there is no Washington fiduciary income tax return — but it does have an estate tax, and the exemption is lower than most people assume. Both the threshold and the rate moved recently, on different schedules, so read them against the date of death. On the threshold: for deaths from 1 January to 30 June 2026 the filing threshold and exclusion is $3,076,000; for deaths on or after 1 July 2026 it is $3,000,000. On the rate, and this is the part that catches people, RCW 83.100.040 sets the top marginal rate at 35% for deaths between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, dropping back to 20% for deaths on or after 1 July 2026. So a death in the first half of 2026 carries both the higher exclusion and the higher top rate. Do not assume the two changes moved together: the rate stepped up on 1 July 2025 and back down on 1 July 2026, while the threshold steps down on 1 July 2026 only. Different dates, different directions. From calendar year 2027 the threshold starts moving again: RCW 83.100.020(1)(a)(xi) multiplies the $3,000,000 by the growth in the October consumer price index over October 2024, rounds to the nearest $1,000, and makes no adjustment in any year where the result would be the same or lower. And where the estate holds property outside Washington, RCW 83.100.040(2)(b) prorates the tax by the fraction of the gross estate located in Washington. The threshold sits far below the federal one either way, so a Washington estate can owe state estate tax while owing nothing federally, and a family home in the Seattle area can put an otherwise ordinary estate within range.

RCW 83.100.020(1)(a), 83.100.040·last read 2026-09-09

Distribution

Distribute assets to heirs

Washington is a community property state, so characterising each asset as community or separate comes before dividing anything. RCW 11.04.015 then gives the shares, and it recognises a state registered domestic partner alongside a spouse throughout. The survivor takes all of the decedent’s share of the net community estate — so community property ends up wholly with them. Of the separate estate they take one half if the decedent left issue; three quarters if there is no issue but a parent, or a parent’s issue, survives; and all of it if there is no issue, no parent and no issue of a parent. Whatever does not pass to the survivor goes to the others in the statutory order. One tax consequence worth knowing: all community property receives a step-up in basis on the first spouse’s death, not just the deceased’s half, which can substantially reduce capital gains if the survivor later sells. Two people can be cut out entirely, and the second category is one a growing number of states now have rather than a Washington peculiarity — California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania all disqualify an elder abuser alongside a slayer, though the trigger differs: Washington needs no conviction, while Florida, Illinois and Michigan key theirs to one. RCW 11.84.020 says no slayer or abuser shall in any way acquire property or receive any benefit as a result of the death. A slayer is someone who participates, as principal or accessory before the fact, in the wilful and unlawful killing. An ABUSER is someone who participates the same way in the wilful and unlawful FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF A VULNERABLE ADULT, with both terms taking their meaning from RCW 74.34.020 — and for this chapter the deceased person includes anyone who, while a vulnerable adult, was the victim of that exploitation. The 2016 amendment that added it is known as Carol’s law. So in Washington a relative who took financial advantage of an elderly parent can lose their inheritance without anyone alleging violence. Washington has no desertion or abandonment bar: chapter 11.04 contains none, and a separated spouse who never divorced is still the surviving spouse. Washington answers the marital-status question in a single sentence and leaves no conditions attached. RCW 11.04.081: “For the purpose of inheritance to, through, and from any child, the effects and treatment of the parent-child relationship shall not depend upon whether or not the parents have been married.” There is no list of ways to prove paternity in that section and no deadline in it, which is a real difference from states that make the same child clear three evidential hurdles. Adoption is handled outside the probate title, in RCW 26.33.260(1): a decree divests “any parent or alleged father who is not married to the adoptive parent or who has not joined in the petition for adoption” of all legal rights in respect to the adoptee. The stepparent case is covered by that wording rather than by a separate exception — the birth parent married to the adopting spouse is simply not divested. The adoptee becomes “the child, legal heir, and lawful issue of the adoptive parent”, with the right of inheritance and the right to take under a will. The probate title states the other half of that itself: RCW 11.04.085 says a lawfully adopted child “shall not be considered an ‘heir’ of his or her natural parents for purposes of this title”. And Washington does let a stepchild inherit in one narrow case, which is easy to miss because it sits under a heading about escheat. Under RCW 11.04.095 the case is this. Someone dies leaving a surviving spouse or domestic partner and issue by a FORMER spouse or partner, and their property passes to that survivor by will or by an earlier conveyance. The survivor then dies intestate and without heirs, so the property would escheat. The first decedent’s issue take it instead of the state. And RCW 11.02.005 defines “issue” to include all lawfully adopted children, so the word carries them wherever it appears in the title.

RCW 11.04.015, 11.04.081, 11.04.085, 11.04.095, 11.02.005, 11.84.010, 11.84.020; RCW 26.33.260·last read 2026-09-09

Close Estate

File a final accounting and close the estate

Washington’s nonintervention estates close without any court decree, which is why probate there has a reputation for being light. Under RCW 11.68.110, a personal representative who has nonintervention powers and does not ask the court for a final decree must, once administration is complete, file a Declaration of Completion of Probate. It states the date and place of death, and whether there was a will and when it was admitted. Then the substantive part: that every creditor’s claim justly due and properly presented has been paid or otherwise disposed of by agreement with the creditor, and that the taxes assessable against the estate have been dealt with. Notice goes to the beneficiaries, who may waive it. Filing it is what discharges you. Closing is what ends your exposure, so do not simply stop when the money runs out — an estate left open leaves the representative personally on the hook. And filing a closing statement is not the same as being discharged. In several states the appointment only terminates some months later, if nobody objects. Keep the file, the receipts and the proof of what you sent until then.

RCW 11.68.110·last read 2026-08-18

Work through this as a checklist

The free Washington checklist tracks where you are across every step, keeps your documents in one place, and tells you what is due next. No payment, no card.

Open the free Washington checklist

EstateMate is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Every note above cites the section it came from and the date it was last read, so you can check it yourself. Statutes change, and the right answer can turn on facts specific to your family — when something looks close to the line, talk to a Washington probate attorney.