Simplified route
$100,000
Successor affidavit; usable 40 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsWashington estate administration
Washington probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $100,000
This guide explains probate in Washington: Washington provides a successor-affidavit route for qualifying personal property after a 40-day wait.
Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
Answer first
Washington simplified probate route
Up to $100,000; usable 40 days after death. Source: RCW 11.62.010.
Successor affidavitScreen a specific Washington estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
$290
1 published schedule, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: RCW 11.48.210.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
RCW 11.40.020(1) (Washington State Legislature; reviewed August 7, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Washington
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| RCW 11.62.010 | Washington subtracts the surviving spouse’s community property before applying the ceiling — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| RCW 11.48.210 | Washington pays the representative separately for lawyer’s work, and allows interim draws — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Washington decision map
The four facts that change the Washington route
Each Washington answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Washington answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Successor affidavit |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. |
| What is the amount screen? | $100,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 40 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | $290 is the recorded statewide amount. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- Solely owned real property counts toward the $100,000 limit but is not transferred by the affidavit. A separate proceeding is required for the house.
- The statute excludes a surviving spouse or domestic partner's community-property interest from the count. That figure is asked for separately, because characterising community property is a legal judgement this tool cannot make from an asset list. Until it is entered the route stays undecided rather than being resolved as though the interest were zero.
- The $290 total is the statewide statutory amount. County law library charges and certified copies are additional.
- Debts, funeral expenses, and expenses of last illness must be paid or provided for before the affidavit is used.
- Other successors generally must receive advance written notice.
Continue
What Washington courts publish
Every link is probed before each release.
- Forms indexWashington Courts forms indexWashington Courts
Limits on court material
- Washington publishes no statewide pattern form for the RCW 11.62.010 successor affidavit. The affidavit content is set by the statute itself, and the superior court clerk in the county of filing states local requirements.
Washington primary sources
- RCW 11.62.010 — Revised Code of Washington, Small Estates
- RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) — Revised Code of Washington, Superior Court Fees
- RCW 11.48.210 — Revised Code of Washington, Personal Representative Compensation
- RCW 11.40.020(1) — Revised Code of Washington, Notice to Creditors
- RCW 11.40.051(1) — Revised Code of Washington, Claims Against Decedent - Time Limits
Every quotation, edition label and machine check is on the Washington source record.
Washington record: 5/5 verified, 19 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction