The probate process, step by step

The probate process can look like a wall of legal steps. In practice it is a sequence, and each step has a reason. If you know the order, you know what to do next.

Here is the whole process, start to finish, using Washington's statutes as the worked example. Other states follow a similar outline with their own rules. For the executor's job as a whole, including the personal side, see our guide to the executor of an estate.

Before probate: is it even needed?

Probate covers property in the person's name only, with no beneficiary or surviving co-owner. Accounts with beneficiaries, survivorship accounts, transfer-on-death deeds and trust property pass outside it (RCW 11.02.005).

If what's left in the person's name is small, there may be no court case at all. In Washington, a probate estate of $100,000 or less after liens can often be collected by affidavit after 40 days (RCW 11.62.010). Our post on how to avoid probate covers when that works.

Step 1: Deliver the will

Anyone holding the original will must deliver it within 30 days of learning of the death. It goes to the court or to the person named as executor. An executor who holds the will must deliver it to the court within 40 days (RCW 11.20.010).

The first week also brings personal tasks that come before any court filing. Our checklist on what to do when someone dies covers those.

Step 2: Petition the superior court

The named executor applies to the superior court to admit the will and to receive letters. The court may hear the proof right away and enter an order admitting the will or rejecting it. That order is conclusive unless someone contests it (RCW 11.20.020).

Witnesses don't usually need to come to court. If they signed a sworn affidavit, often attached to the will when it was signed, the court accepts it in place of live testimony (RCW 11.20.020). Opening the case has a filing fee, covered in our post on probate fees.

Step 3: Bond and letters testamentary

Once the will is admitted, the court appoints the personal representative and issues "letters testamentary" (RCW 11.28.010). This is the paper banks and title companies ask to see.

The court may require a bond, a guarantee that the job will be done faithfully. No bond is needed when the will says so, or when a bank or trust company serves (RCW 11.28.185). If a bond is required, it must be in place before letters issue.

Step 4: Nonintervention powers

In the same petition, the executor usually asks for nonintervention powers. These let them settle the estate without coming back to court for each sale or payment. 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).

This is the single biggest reason Washington probate is often lighter than its reputation. Most of the steps below then happen without a hearing.

Step 5: Notify heirs and beneficiaries

Within 20 days of appointment, the personal representative must give notice of the probate. It goes by mail or personal service to each heir and beneficiary whose address is reasonably known, including beneficiaries of nonprobate assets (RCW 11.28.237). Proof of mailing is filed in the case.

If notice to creditors hasn't been given within 30 days of appointment, the personal representative must also notify the state's Office of Financial Recovery (RCW 11.28.237).

Step 6: Give notice to creditors

Notice to creditors is optional in Washington, but it is usually wise. The personal representative files the notice with the court and publishes it once a week for three weeks in a legal newspaper. A copy goes to the Office of Financial Recovery (RCW 11.40.020).

Most creditors then have four months from the first publication to come forward. A creditor mailed notice has the later of 30 days after mailing or those four months. Without any notice, creditors have 24 months from the death (RCW 11.40.051).

Step 7: Make the inventory

Within three months of appointment, unless the court allows longer, the personal representative prepares a sworn inventory. Each item is valued as of the date of death, net of mortgages and liens (RCW 11.44.015).

The inventory doesn't have to be filed with the court. But an heir or beneficiary can ask for a copy, and it must be provided within ten days (RCW 11.44.015).

Step 8: Manage the estate, pay debts and taxes

This is the longest stretch. The personal representative collects what was owed to the person, pays valid debts and keeps the property safe. Washington tells them to settle the estate "as rapidly and as quickly as possible" without sacrificing its value (RCW 11.48.010).

Taxes come here too:

• Final income tax return. Report income up to the date of death, as you would for a living person (IRS).
• Washington estate tax. For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, the exclusion is $3,000,000. The return or an extension request is due nine months after death (Washington Department of Revenue).
• Federal estate tax. For deaths in 2026, Form 706 is required above $15,000,000 and is due nine months after death (IRS Instructions for Form 706).

If a year passes without a report, a beneficiary who hasn't been paid in full can ask the court to order one (RCW 11.68.065).

Step 9: Wait out the contest period

A challenge to the will must be filed within four months after it is admitted to probate. The person challenging it must also serve the personal representative within 90 days of filing. If nobody does, the probate becomes binding and final (RCW 11.24.010).

Step 10: Distribute and close

When debts and taxes are settled, the personal representative distributes what is left as the will directs. With nonintervention powers, they then file a declaration of completion. It lists the fees paid to the personal representative, lawyers, appraisers and accountants (RCW 11.68.110).

A copy goes to anyone who hasn't received their full share. If nobody petitions within 30 days, the declaration works like a final decree and the personal representative is discharged (RCW 11.68.110). The personal representative can instead ask the court for a final decree after notice and a hearing (RCW 11.68.100).

The whole process at a glance

No statute sets a total length for the whole process. Our post on how long probate takes covers what stretches it.

Who does all this?

Every step above falls to the personal representative, who is a fiduciary, meaning legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says. They can hire a lawyer, whose reasonable fees are paid from the estate (RCW 11.48.210). The personal representative may be paid from the estate, which our post on how much an executor gets paid explains.

If you are choosing your own executor, picture this list landing on them. Kinly members can name Trella Trust Company as executor, first or as backup to a person they choose. There is more on how it works.

Common questions

What are the steps of probate in Washington?

Deliver the will, petition the superior court, receive letters, and notify heirs within 20 days. Then publish notice to creditors, prepare an inventory within three months, and pay debts and taxes. Finally, distribute what is left and close with a declaration of completion or a court decree.

Do you have to go to court for probate in Washington?

Usually only at the start. With nonintervention powers, which the court must grant to a named executor of a solvent estate unless the will says otherwise, most steps happen without a hearing. Closing can be done by filing a declaration.

Is publishing notice to creditors required?

No, Washington says the personal representative "may" give it. Without it, though, creditors have 24 months from the death instead of four months from the first publication. That is why most personal representatives publish.

Does the inventory have to be filed with the court?

No. Washington doesn't require filing it, which keeps it out of the public court file. Heirs and beneficiaries can ask for a copy, and the personal representative must provide it within ten days.

Sources

• RCW 11.02.005: Definitions, including nonprobate asset (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.20.010: Duty of custodian of will (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.20.020: Application for probate (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.24.010: Contest of probate (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.28.010: Letters to executors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.28.185: Bond of personal representative (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.28.237: Notice of appointment (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.40.020: Notice to creditors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.40.051: Time limits for creditors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.44.015: Inventory and appraisement (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.48.010: General powers and duties of personal representatives (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.48.210: Compensation of personal representative and attorney (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.62.010: Small estate affidavit (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.68.011: Nonintervention powers (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.68.065: Report of affairs of estate on beneficiary's petition (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.68.100: Closing of estate, alternative decrees (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.68.110: Declaration of completion of probate (Washington State Legislature)
• File the final income tax returns of a deceased person (IRS)
• Instructions for Form 706 (IRS)
• Estate tax (Washington State Department of Revenue)