Washington timeline
The simplified route starts 40 days after death.
That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in Washington they are set out below against the event each one runs from.
Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
The successor affidavit route requires 40 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.
(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;RCW 11.62.010 — Washington State Legislature; Section history through 2008 c 6 s 923.
Washington does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.
How these combine. Washington runs the clocks separately and bars a claim on whichever one fits that creditor. A creditor given actual notice has the LATER of 30 days after service or mailing and four months after first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)). A creditor given no actual notice who was not reasonably ascertainable has four months after first publication; one who was reasonably ascertainable has 24 months after death; and where no notice issues under chapter 11.40 or 11.42 RCW, 24 months after death (RCW 11.40.051(1)(b)-(c)). Publication itself is once each week for three successive weeks (RCW 11.40.020(1)(b)). The bar reaches both the decedent's probate and nonprobate assets.
(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;RCW 11.40.020(1) — Washington State Legislature; Section history through 2005 c 97 s 4.
(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.RCW 11.40.051(1) — Washington State Legislature; Section history through 2005 c 97 s 6.
Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Superior Court before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.
Washington timeline decision map
The Washington waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.
| Question | Recorded Washington answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Successor affidavit | Confirm 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? | $100,000 | Establish 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. |
Clock ledger
The Washington record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.
| Clock starts with | Recorded period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Publication of notice | After appointment the personal representative may publish notice once each week for three successive weeks (RCW 11.40.020(1)(b)). A creditor who is not reasonably ascertainable, or who is given no actual notice, is barred four months after the date of first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(b)(i)). | RCW 11.40.051(1) |
| Actual notice to a known creditor | A known creditor given actual notice by service or mailing must present the claim within the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after the date of first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)). (30 days) | RCW 11.40.051(1) |
| Outer limit from death | A creditor who was reasonably ascertainable but received no actual notice, and any creditor where no notice is given under chapter 11.40 or 11.42 RCW, is barred 24 months after the decedent's date of death (RCW 11.40.051(1)(b)(ii), (1)(c)). | RCW 11.40.051(1) |
How the periods combine: Washington runs the clocks separately and bars a claim on whichever one fits that creditor. A creditor given actual notice has the LATER of 30 days after service or mailing and four months after first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)). A creditor given no actual notice who was not reasonably ascertainable has four months after first publication; one who was reasonably ascertainable has 24 months after death; and where no notice issues under chapter 11.40 or 11.42 RCW, 24 months after death (RCW 11.40.051(1)(b)-(c)). Publication itself is once each week for three successive weeks (RCW 11.40.020(1)(b)). The bar reaches both the decedent's probate and nonprobate assets.
Case-file context
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Washington descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Washington provides a successor-affidavit route for qualifying personal property after a 40-day wait.
The decedent's entire estate subject to probate, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000. The affidavit itself only collects personal property, so solely owned real property counts toward the limit but does not transfer under this procedure.
Formal probate costs $290 statewide: a $200 base fee plus $40 and $50 surcharges that the same section makes mandatory for probate filings.
$290 is the recorded statewide amount.
The court determines compensation that is just and reasonable.
The court determines compensation that is just and reasonable. The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Court-material note: 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.
Arithmetic illustration
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 amount | Comparison to the Washington ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $75,000 | Below $100,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $125,000 | Above $100,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
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
The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.
What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the Washington periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.