Chelan County Superior Court Clerk Guide

Note: WASHINGTON'S PROBATE FILING FEE IS A FLAT, STATEWIDE, STATUTORY $290, WHATEVER THE ESTATE IS WORTH. It is not banded by estate value, not a percentage, not a probate tax, and not set by the county. RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) sets $200 for the first document in a probate proceeding, RCW 36.18.020(5)(c) adds a mandatory $40 judicial stabilization surcharge and RCW 36.18.020(6) adds a mandatory $50 surcharge, and every one of them is written as a duty to collect, so a county clerk has no instrument with which to vary them. THE $50 SURCHARGE IS NEW: it was added by 2025 c 357, effective 27 July 2025, so any source still quoting $240 predates it and any source quoting $200 has left both surcharges out. A petition contesting a will or seeking to admit a rejected will costs the same $290 under RCW 36.18.020(2)(g). RCW 36.18.025 and RCW 27.24.070 divide that money between the state and the county law library; they are destinations for the revenue, not extra charges, and must not be added. THERE IS NO STATEWIDE WASHINGTON JUDICIARY FEE SCHEDULE - RCW 36.18.080 instead makes posting the fees a per-county duty, so the statute IS the schedule and each county clerk republishes it. THIS COUNTY'S OWN SCHEDULE CONFIRMS IT: Read verbatim 2026-08-07: "Fee Schedule - Probate / Guardianship Effective 7/28/2025 ... $290.00 Probate Filing RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6) ... $5.00 Letters of Administration, Testamentary or Guardianship, Form K RCW 36.18.016(9) ... $290.00 Guardianship (Adult), Conservatorship, Protective Arrangement Filing (There is no fee on cases with assets less than $3,000.) ... $290.00 Petition Admitting Rejected Will, or Contesting Will, or Objecting to a Written Agreement or Memorandum". Two smaller amounts an executor meets early: RCW 36.18.016(9) charges $5 for a certificate of qualification issued with a certified copy of the letters, which is the document a bank asks for, and RCW 36.18.016(4)(a) charges $5 for the first page of a certified copy of a court document plus $1 for each additional page. Two $20 fees cover a will that is not going into a probate: RCW 36.18.012(7) for filing a will after death where no probate is contemplated, and RCW 36.18.016(27) for filing a will or codicil with the court before the testator dies under RCW 11.12.265. That subsection was (28) until 2026 c 33 renumbered the section effective 11 June 2026; the amount did not change, so a county schedule still citing (28) is not wrong about the money. NO GUARDIANSHIP FEE IS CHARGED where the petition alleges total assets under three thousand dollars, or for a minor guardianship where the proposed guardian is a relative and not a professional (RCW 11.130.170). A filer who cannot afford the $290 asks for a waiver on the statewide GR 34 form set. Confirm the current amount with the county clerk before filing. small_estate_affidavit IS NULL RATHER THAN ZERO, AND THE DIFFERENCE IS DELIBERATE. RCW 11.62.010 requires no court filing - the affidavit is presented to whoever holds the property - but Washington counties differ on whether the clerk will nevertheless accept one for filing and charge for it: Clallam and Lewis each charge $20 under RCW 36.18.050, while Grant and Franklin state on their own schedules that it is not filed with the clerk. This county's published schedule does not answer the question either way, so no number is asserted. Ask the county clerk.