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Washington source record

Every source behind the Washington guide

5 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 19 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The Washington guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

RCW 11.62.010

Washington State Legislature · Section history through 2008 c 6 s 923 · Verified August 7, 2026

(c) That the value of the decedent's entire estate subject to probate, not including the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest in any assets which are subject to probate in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars; (d) That forty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent;

What was published from this source

  • smallEstate.threshold = 100000
  • smallEstate.waitingDays = 40
  • smallEstate.valueBasis = net-of-liens

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • $100,000 ceiling
  • 40-day wait
  • less liens and encumbrances
  • surviving spouse community-property interest excluded from the count

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Court cost rule

RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)

Washington State Legislature · Section history through 2025 c 357 s 1 · Verified August 7, 2026

(f) In probate proceedings, the party instituting such proceedings, shall pay at the time of filing the first document therein, a fee of $200.

What was published from this source

  • filingFee.amount = 290 (200 base + 40 + 50 mandatory surcharges)
  • components = 200 base, 40 subsection (5)(c) surcharge, 50 subsection (6) surcharge

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • $200 probate base fee, in the probate clause itself
  • $40 surcharge applies to all fees except (2)(b), (d), (h)
  • $50 surcharge lists subsection (2)(f) expressly

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Executor compensation rule

RCW 11.48.210

Washington State Legislature · Section history through 2026 c 204 s 7 · Verified August 7, 2026

The personal representative, when no compensation is provided in the will, when he or she renounces all claim to the compensation provided in the will, or when he or she administers an intestate estate, shall be allowed such compensation for his or her services as the court shall deem just and reasonable.

What was published from this source

  • executorCompensation.kind = reasonable

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity is RCW 11.48.210 compensation
  • just and reasonable standard
  • personal representative subject
  • court sets the amount

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Creditor deadline rule

RCW 11.40.020(1)

Washington State Legislature · Section history through 2005 c 97 s 4 · Verified August 7, 2026

(b) The personal representative shall cause the notice to be published once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county in which the estate is being administered; (c) The personal representative may, at any time during the probate proceeding, give actual notice to creditors who become known to the personal representative by serving the notice on the creditor or mailing the notice to the creditor at the creditor's last known address, by regular first-class mail, postage prepaid;

What was published from this source

  • creditorClaims.publication = notice published once each week for three successive weeks
  • creditorClaims.actualNotice trigger = actual notice served or mailed to a known creditor

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • notice follows appointment and requires claims within RCW 11.40.051
  • published once each week for three successive weeks
  • actual notice option to known creditors by service or mailing

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Creditor deadline rule

RCW 11.40.051(1)

Washington State Legislature · Section history through 2005 c 97 s 6 · Verified August 7, 2026

(a) If the personal representative provided notice under RCW 11.40.020 and the creditor was given actual notice as provided in RCW 11.40.020 (1)(c), the creditor must present the claim within the later of: (i) Thirty days after the personal representative's service or mailing of notice to the creditor; and (ii) four months after the date of first publication of the notice; (b) If the personal representative provided notice under RCW 11.40.020 and the creditor was not given actual notice as provided in RCW 11.40.020 (1)(c): (i) If the creditor was not reasonably ascertainable, as defined in RCW 11.40.040 , the creditor must present the claim within four months after the date of first publication of notice; (ii) If the creditor was reasonably ascertainable, as defined in RCW 11.40.040 , the creditor must present the claim within twenty-four months after the decedent's date of death; and (c) If notice was not provided under this chapter or chapter 11.42 RCW, the creditor must present the claim within twenty-four months after the decedent's date of death.

What was published from this source

  • creditorClaims.actualNotice = later of 30 days after actual notice and four months after first publication
  • creditorClaims.publication = four months after first publication when not reasonably ascertainable or given no actual notice
  • creditorClaims.outerLimit = 24 months after death when reasonably ascertainable but no actual notice, or no notice given under the chapter

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • actual notice: later of 30 days after service or mailing and four months after first publication
  • not reasonably ascertainable: four months after first publication
  • reasonably ascertainable but no actual notice: 24 months after death
  • no notice under chapter 11.40 or 11.42: 24 months after death
  • bar reaches both probate and nonprobate assets

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Statutes read in full for Washington

These are the Washington provisions read end to end on the enacting state’s own site, rather than summarised from a secondary source. The middle column is what reading each one actually established for Washington — not a restatement of the topic — and the last column records the date the wording was read, so a later amendment can be spotted by comparing dates.

CitationWhat reading it establishedRead on
RCW 11.62.010Washington subtracts the surviving spouse’s community property before applying the ceiling — small estate route note2026-09-17
RCW 11.48.210Washington pays the representative separately for lawyer’s work, and allows interim draws — representative pay note2026-09-17

Washington source decision map

How the Washington records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the Washington procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

QuestionRecorded Washington answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Successor affidavitConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$100,000Establish community-property interest before treating the screen as decided.
What is the time or deadline record?40 days after death; Washington keeps the creditor clocks separate: a creditor given actual notice is barred on the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after first publication; a creditor given no actual notice who is not reasonably ascertainable at four months after first publication; and a reasonably ascertainable creditor given no actual notice — or any creditor where no notice issues — at 24 months after death (RCW 11.40.020, 11.40.051).Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$290 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?The court determines compensation that is just and reasonable. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Decision boundary

What the Washington source set does not silently decide

The Washington records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Washington amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Washington ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Washington figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Washington counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Washington ceilingWhat it does not decide
$75,000Below $100,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$125,000Above $100,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official 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.

Source trail

Records used by this Washington map

  • RCW 11.62.010Revised Code of Washington, Small Estates; reviewed August 7, 2026
  • RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)Revised Code of Washington, Superior Court Fees; reviewed August 7, 2026
  • RCW 11.48.210Revised Code of Washington, Personal Representative Compensation; reviewed August 7, 2026
  • RCW 11.40.020(1)Revised Code of Washington, Notice to Creditors; reviewed August 7, 2026
  • RCW 11.40.051(1)Revised Code of Washington, Claims Against Decedent - Time Limits; reviewed August 7, 2026

What Washington courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

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.

Checking these Washington records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for Washington. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the Washington estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected