How to Apply for Probate (WA)

WA Application Process

There are several steps you must take to obtain the court's permission to represent and manage a WA estate.

1. Probate Application: In Washington, if the estate will go through probate, start the process by submitting a petition to the probate court: see application details ↧
   • Submit a Petition for Probate if there is a will, a Petition for Letters of Administration if there is no will, or a Petition for Administration with Will Annexed if there is a will but it does not name you as a personal representative.
   • These petitions assume you want to apply for administration without court intervention so you can minimize legal costs and work (if that is not your wish, just delete those sections from the documents). To qualify for this nonintervention approach:
     • The will must not preclude nonintervention
     • The estate must be solvent (i.e., there must be enough assets to pay all debts)
     • You were not a creditor of the estate at the time of death
     • And either:
       • You must be named in the will as a personal representative,
       • Or you must be the surviving spouse, the decedent must have no living or gestating children, and the estate must consist entirely of community property,
       • Or you must have obtained a signed Consent from everyone who will inherit (or you officially provided advance notice of the probate hearing to everyone who will inherit if there is a will, and to everyone who would inherit without a will... see RCW § 11.68.041 for notice details).
     • See RCW § 11.68.011 et al for more details about nonintervention.
   • If there is a will, but you do not have a notarized "self-proving affidavit" signed by the witnesses to the will, it may simplify the process if you can attach a Declaration of Will Witness from each living witnesses to the original will (see RCW 11.20.020)
   • If there is no will, or the will does not name you as first choice among executors (still living), it will be helpful to attach a Consent of Potential Administrator from anyone with equal or higher priority (you may want to modify this slightly when dealing with a person nominated as executor in the will who does not want to serve).
   • If you do not reside in WA, if you are not related to the decedent be sure to specify in your petition the person who has agreed to serve as your agent in the county (see Task: Out-of-state executor).
   • Save $$: If there is no will, or the will does not address the requirement for a probate bond, you may wish to avoid probate bond costs by attaching a Consent from each person who will inherit (see Probate Bonds).
   • If you were named in the will as personal representative, include an Executor's Oath; otherwise include an Administrator's Oath.
   • Include for the court's signature an Order for Probate if there is a will, an Order for Administration if there is no will, or an Order for Administration with Will Annexed if there is a will but it does not name you as a personal representative.
   • Attach the original will (if there is one), and note that while a death certificate is no longer required, it may be helpful to have available if the judge asks to see it for some reason.
   • See also WA guide for opening a probate estate and How to make your initial probate filing.
2. Probate Hearing: The court will hold a hearing to officially consider and approve your application. Often this hearing is just a formality, and you may not need to attend at all.
3. Probate Bond: If required by the court, you must obtain a probate bond to protect the estate from any losses you may cause (up to a certain dollar amount). Requirements for such a bond can depend on jurisdiction, whether there is a will, size of estate, whether you reside in the same state, and other factors. See Probate Bonds for advice on how to potentially avoid the need fo such a bond.
4. Objections: Note that interested parties have the right to legally challenge your application (before your official appointment, or even afterwards).
5. Letters: Once the court approves your application, you will receive your "Letters", which are certified documents you can use to prove your authority to third parties. If you applied for "probate", you will officially be known as the "executor" of the estate. If instead you applied for "administration", you will be known as the "administrator". Many states also use the term "personal representative" to cover both cases, sometimes deprecating the uses of the more precise terms.

If you'd like, friendly and experienced EstateExec personnel can fill out your probate application forms for you: see Probate Form Service. If you just want answers to a few legal questions, you can talk to an experienced lawyer for a surprisingly modest fee – see Have a Question?

Court Location

It can sometimes be difficult to determine which court to use for a given estate. The particular type of court that oversees the probate process varies by state: it may be a dedicated probate court, a circuit court, a superior court, a general county court, or something else.

Note that real property must be probated in the state in which it is physically located, so you may need to go through probate in multiple states.

Next Steps

Once you have been officially appointed and granted your Letters, you can begin the bulk of the estate administration and settlement process, keeping in mind that you now have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the estate.

See our Complete Guide to Estate Settlement in WA for an overview of estate settlement in general, Probate for the court-supervised aspects of estate settlement in particular, and Timeline for an overview of tasks by time period.

If you are using EstateExec, it will automatically generate a list of detailed tasks for you to accomplish, based upon the particulars of your estate.

Additional Information

See also Becoming Estate Executor (i.e., Personal Representative).