How long does probate take in Washington?

Updated 2026-10-16 · Expert review in progress

The short answer

No law sets a total length for probate. Washington's deadlines set the floor: most creditors have four months from the first published notice, a will contest can be filed for four months, and estate tax returns, when required, are due nine months after death. Selling a house or a family dispute adds more.

If you are settling a parent's estate, you probably want to know when it will be over. If you are planning your own, you may want to know how long the people you love will be tied up. Both are fair questions.

The honest answer is that no statute sets a total length. What the law does set is a series of deadlines, and those tell you the shortest path. This page lays out Washington's, with the statute for each. For the full job, step by step, see our guide to the executor of an estate.

Why is there no single answer?

Probate is a court process, but the court doesn't run it on a fixed calendar. The personal representative (Washington's term for an executor) moves it forward. They are a fiduciary, meaning legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says. Washington tells them to settle the estate "as rapidly and as quickly as possible, without sacrifice to the probate or nonprobate estate" (RCW 11.48.010).

So the length depends on the estate and the person doing the work. A tidy estate with a few accounts moves differently from one with a house to sell and a basement to clear. We won't guess at a "typical" length, because every estate is different and the law gives none.

Washington's probate deadlines, in order

Here are the dates the law actually sets, from the first week to the close.

Deadline	What happens	Source
30 days after learning of the death	Anyone holding the will delivers it to the court or the named executor	RCW 11.20.010
20 days after appointment	Notice of the probate goes to heirs and beneficiaries	RCW 11.28.237
3 months after appointment	Sworn inventory of the estate completed, unless the court allows longer	RCW 11.44.015
4 months after first publication	The creditor period ends for most creditors	RCW 11.40.051
4 months after the will is admitted	Last day to contest the will	RCW 11.24.010
9 months after death	Washington and federal estate tax returns due, if required	Washington DOR, IRS
30 days after a declaration of completion is filed	Window for anyone to object before the estate is closed	RCW 11.68.110
24 months after death	Outer limit for creditors who weren't properly notified	RCW 11.40.051

The sections below explain the ones that shape the calendar most.

The four-month creditor period

This is the deadline that sets the floor for most estates. The personal representative may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three weeks in a legal newspaper (RCW 11.40.020). Known creditors can also be mailed the notice directly. Our executor checklist puts this step in order with the rest.

Once notice is published, most creditors have four months from the first publication to come forward. For a creditor who was mailed notice, the deadline is the later of 30 days after mailing or four months after first publication (RCW 11.40.051).

If no notice is given at all, creditors have 24 months from the death (RCW 11.40.051). That is why many personal representatives publish early. It puts a firm end date on the debts.

The four-month window to contest the will

In Washington, a challenge to the will must be filed within four months after it is admitted to probate. If nobody files, the probate "shall be binding and final" (RCW 11.24.010).

This window often runs alongside the creditor period. When the will is admitted and notice published in the same few weeks, both end at about the same time.

The nine-month tax deadlines

Most estates owe no estate tax. But the ones that do have a firm date.

Washington estate tax. For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, Washington's exclusion amount is $3,000,000. For deaths from January 1 to June 30, 2026, it was $3,076,000. The return, or an extension request, is due nine months after death, and a six-month extension to file is available (Washington Department of Revenue).
Federal estate tax. For deaths in 2026, Form 706 is required when the gross estate plus certain gifts is more than $15,000,000. It is due nine months after death, and Form 4768 gives an automatic six-month extension to file (IRS Instructions for Form 706).

An extension gives more time to file, not to pay. Washington charges daily interest on tax unpaid after nine months (Washington Department of Revenue). An estate that must file usually stays open at least until the return is in.

How the estate closes

Washington offers a short way to finish. A personal representative with nonintervention powers can file a declaration of completion instead of asking the court for a final decree (RCW 11.68.110).

Copies go to anyone who hasn't received their full share. If nobody petitions the court within 30 days of filing, the declaration works like a final decree, and the personal representative is discharged. If everyone entitled to notice waives it in writing, the discharge happens on the filing date.

Nonintervention powers matter for speed too. The court must grant them to an executor named in the will if the estate is solvent, unless the will says otherwise (RCW 11.68.011). Without them, more steps need a judge's approval.

What makes probate take longer

The deadlines above are the floor. These are the things that push an estate past it.

A house to sell. Clearing it, repairing it and finding a buyer runs on its own schedule.
Missing records. Accounts nobody knew about, mail that keeps arriving, a safe deposit box with no key.
An estate tax return. Valuing everything carefully for a nine-month filing takes time.
Disagreement. A will contest or a family dispute can hold everything up.
No notice to creditors. Without published notice, the creditor window stays open for 24 months.
A personal representative far away or overwhelmed. The work moves only as fast as the person doing it.

What makes it shorter, or unnecessary

Some estates never need probate at all. In Washington, if the probate estate is $100,000 or less after liens, a successor can collect property by affidavit. They must wait 40 days after the death and give other successors notice at least 10 days before (RCW 11.62.010).

Property that passes outside probate isn't held up by it. Washington's list of nonprobate assets includes payable-on-death and survivorship accounts, transfer-on-death deeds, IRAs and assets in a revocable trust that becomes irrevocable at death (RCW 11.02.005).

A few habits also help:

Name beneficiaries on accounts, and keep the forms current.
Keep a short list of accounts, documents and passwords where the right person can find it.
Name an executor who can actually do the work, and a backup in every role.
Consider a funded revocable trust. Our post on will vs trust compares the two.

Our post on how to avoid probate covers each method in detail. For the stages in order, see the probate process, step by step.

Probate time vs the whole job

Probate is only part of settling an estate. There are also the funeral, the final income tax return, closing utilities and finding a home for the cat. Our post on how long it takes to settle an estate covers the whole job, not just the court part.

If the person you would name lives far away, or is busy with their own family, the calendar can stretch. That is one reason some people name a professional executor, often as backup. In Washington, trust companies organized under state law may serve as personal representative (RCW 11.36.010). Our guide to choosing professional help compares the options.

Common questions

How long does probate take in Washington?

No statute sets a total length. The deadlines set a floor. Most creditors have four months from the first published notice, and a will contest can be filed for four months. Estates that owe estate tax have returns due nine months after death.

What is the creditor period in Washington probate?

Once the personal representative publishes notice, most creditors have four months from the first publication to come forward. A creditor mailed notice has the later of 30 days after mailing or four months after publication. Without any notice, creditors have 24 months from the death.

Can an estate be closed before four months?

Not safely, if notice to creditors was published, because the creditor period is still open. The four-month window for contesting the will usually runs at the same time. Closing early risks a debt or a challenge arriving after the money is gone.

When are estate taxes due in Washington?

Nine months after death, for estates over Washington's exclusion amount, which is $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026. A six-month extension to file is available, but interest runs on tax unpaid after nine months.

Is there a faster option for small estates?

Yes. In Washington, a probate estate of $100,000 or less can often be collected by affidavit, starting 40 days after the death. The successor must give other successors notice at least 10 days before and meet the statute's other conditions.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

Keep reading

Executors and settling an estateHow to avoid probate: the simplest ways that workHow to avoid probate in Washington: beneficiary forms, payable-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death deeds and a funded living trust, with the catch for each.Executors and settling an estateThe probate process, step by stepThe probate process in Washington, step by step: delivering the will, the court petition, letters, notices, creditors, the inventory and closing the estate.Executors and settling an estateExecutor of an estate: the job, start to finishWhat an executor of an estate actually does, step by step: opening probate, notifying heirs and creditors, paying debts and taxes, and closing the estate.