Skip to main content
Selling Inherited Property in Washington
Support GuideWashington21 min read

Selling Inherited Property in Washington

Selling inherited property in Washington rarely needs a court order. Nonintervention powers let the personal representative sign and record the deed.

By Settled Editorial

Most Washington estates sell inherited real estate without ever asking a judge for permission. A personal representative who holds nonintervention powers signs the deed under RCW 11.68.090(1)(c), the county treasurer stamps the excise tax affidavit, and the county auditor records the deed. Inheriting the property is outside the excise tax. Selling it is not.

That is a different sequence from what a probate guide written for another state will tell you, and getting it wrong costs weeks. This page walks the four questions a Washington sale actually turns on: who is allowed to sign, what the county wants before it will record, which taxes attach to which step, and what happens when the heirs disagree. Every rule below was read at the Revised Code of Washington on August 8, 2026, and each section is linked so you can check it. This page is general information. It is not legal advice. Have a licensed Washington attorney review any deed or estate sale that matters to you.

Who Signs the Deed

How the deceased owner held title decides whether a court is involved at all.

How the deceased held titleCourt involved?Who signs the deed
Sole name, will or no willOpening probate, then usually no further ordersThe personal representative under RCW 11.68.090
Community property agreement, RCW 26.16.120NoThe surviving spouse or domestic partner
Joint tenancy with express survivorship words, RCW 64.28.010NoThe surviving co-owner
Recorded transfer on death deed, chapter 64.80 RCWNoThe named beneficiary
Revocable living trustNoThe successor trustee

RCW 64.28.010 is the line that trips families up. Joint tenancy in Washington is created only by a written instrument that expressly declares the interest created to be a joint tenancy. Two names on a deed with no survivorship words is not joint tenancy, and that half stays in the estate.

Property that arrived through a Washington transfer on death deed never enters probate, and the beneficiary sells it as owner. The wider set of transfers that skip the court sits in how to avoid probate in Washington.

Need help with your probate case?

Answer a few questions to see whether Washington probate is required and which process applies.

Take the 2-minute assessment

Nonintervention Powers Do the Work

Washington's signature probate procedure is what keeps most estate sales out of court. RCW 11.68.011(1) lets a personal representative petition for nonintervention powers whether the decedent died testate or intestate. Subsection (2) then tells the court it shall grant them where the estate is solvent, counting probate and nonprobate assets, and where one of three conditions is met: the petitioner was named in the probated will, or the decedent died intestate leaving a surviving spouse or domestic partner with a community property only estate and no issue outside that marriage, or the petitioner was not a creditor of the decedent at death and nonintervention administration would be in the best interests of the beneficiaries and creditors. That last test carries a presumption in the petitioner's favor, which a person entitled to notice can rebut with evidence.

What those powers include is spelled out. RCW 11.68.090(1) gives the personal representative the power to mortgage, encumber, lease, sell, exchange, convey, assign, and otherwise transfer the decedent's real and personal property, together with the right to exercise that power without an order of the court and without notice to, direction from, approval by, confirmation by, or intervention of any court. Subsection (2)(b) removes the duty to follow chapter 11.56 RCW at all.

The provision buyers and lenders care about runs to a single sentence. RCW 11.68.140 says a party to a transaction with a personal representative holding nonintervention powers, and that party's successors in interest, are entitled to have it conclusively presumed that the transaction is necessary for the administration of the estate. A buyer does not have to prove the estate needed to sell. That single sentence is why a Washington estate sale closes like an ordinary sale.

A will can also supply the authority on its own. RCW 11.56.250 provides that when property is directed by will to be sold, or authority to sell is given in the will, the executor may sell without a court order, without notice, without application to the court and without confirmation.

Limits still apply. RCW 11.68.090(2)(c) requires the representative to exercise discretion in good faith, with honest judgment, and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the probated will and the interests of the beneficiaries, and subsection (4) lists the statutes no will may switch off. Selling the family home to yourself at a friendly price is still a breach. The fiduciary side of the job is covered in Washington executor duties, and the mechanics of the grant sit in Washington nonintervention powers.

The Court Route When There Are No Nonintervention Powers

Where the powers were never granted, chapter 11.56 RCW governs and the default flips. RCW 11.56.010 states that no sale, lease or mortgage of any property of an estate shall be made except under an order of the court, unless otherwise provided by law.

RCW 11.56.030, amended by 2026 c 204, sets out the petition. The personal representative describes the property of the estate and its character, the amount of the debts, expenses and obligations, and anything else that helps the court judge the need. The grounds are wider than debt alone: raising money to pay debts and obligations, expenses of administration, estate taxes, support of the family, to make distribution, or for such other purposes as the court may deem right and proper. Unless the court orders otherwise, no notice of the hearing is required beyond the special notice requests under RCW 11.28.240 and RCW 11.48.020.

Two sections close the loop for the buyer. RCW 11.56.115 makes confirmation of the sale absolutely conclusive as to the regularity of every proceeding leading up to it, and bars attack on the conveyance on any ground except fraud. RCW 11.56.120 then directs the personal representative to execute the conveyance, which passes all the estate, rights and interests the decedent held at death plus anything the estate acquired later.

Recording Runs Through the County Auditor

Washington keeps land records at the county auditor. RCW 36.22.010(1) makes the auditor the recorder of deeds and other instruments in writing which by law are to be filed and recorded in and for the county, and RCW 65.04.030(1) lists deeds, grants and transfers of real property, mortgages and releases, instruments relating to community or separate property, powers of attorney to convey real estate, and leases among the documents the auditor must record.

The deed itself has a short statutory test. RCW 64.04.020 requires every deed to be in writing, signed by the party bound by it, and acknowledged before a person authorized to take acknowledgments. No witnesses.

Recording money is where the surprise sits, because the page fee is trivial and the surcharges are not.

ChargeStatuteAmount
First page, then each additional pageRCW 36.18.010(1)$5, then $1
Document recording surchargeRCW 36.22.250(1)$183 per instrument
Covenant homeownership program assessmentRCW 36.22.185(1)$100 per document
Preservation of historical documentsRCW 36.22.170(1)(a)$5 per instrument

Counties add and exempt items differently, so the posted schedule governs. RCW 36.18.080 requires every county officer who collects fees from the public to keep a plain and legible statement of the fees allowed by law posted in the office, on pain of a one hundred dollar fine. Find the right office through the Washington probate court directory, then confirm the recording total with that county's auditor before the closing.

Inheriting Is Outside the Excise Tax, Selling Is Not

Washington charges a real estate excise tax on the sale of real property, and the answer for an inherited house depends on which transfer you are looking at.

The transfer from the decedent to the heirs is outside the tax entirely. RCW 82.45.010(3) states that the term sale does not include a transfer by gift, devise, or inheritance at (3)(a), and does not include a transfer by transfer on death deed at (3)(b), so long as the deed transfer is not in satisfaction of a contractual obligation the decedent owed the recipient. WAC 458-61A-202(1) adds that it makes no difference whether the property was encumbered by underlying debt when it was inherited.

Exempt does not mean invisible. WAC 458-61A-303(2)(g) requires an excise tax affidavit for a transfer to an heir in the settlement of an estate, and subsection (2)(m) requires one when a transfer on death beneficiary perfects title by recording a certified copy of the death certificate.

RCW 82.45.197(1) then tells you exactly what to hand the county treasurer, and the list is route by route:

  • Community property agreement: a copy of the recorded agreement and a certified copy of the death certificate.
  • Trust: a certified copy of the death certificate and the portion of the trust instrument showing the grantor's authority.
  • Probated will or intestate administration: a certified copy of the letters testamentary or letters of administration showing the grantor is the court appointed executor, executrix or administrator.
  • Joint tenants with right of survivorship, and remainder interests: a certified copy of the death certificate.
  • Court order: a certified copy of the order requiring the transfer and confirming the grantor must make it.
  • Surviving spouse or domestic partner taking the decedent's community property interest with none of the above: a certified copy of the death certificate and a signed lack of probate affidavit.
  • Heirs taking by operation of law, or under an unprobated will, with none of the above: a certified copy of the death certificate and a signed lack of probate affidavit.
  • Transfer on death deed: a certified copy of the death certificate.

RCW 82.45.197(2) requires the documentation given to the treasurer to be recorded with the county auditor as well, and RCW 82.45.197(3)(b) lists the six things the lack of probate affidavit has to say.

One rule saves families who want to divide rather than split every parcel. WAC 458-61A-202(4) makes a nonpro rata distribution by a personal representative free of excise tax where the transfer is authorized under the nonintervention powers of RCW 11.68.090 and no consideration goes to the representative. Three siblings inheriting a house, a cabin and cash can take one asset each rather than a third of each, without triggering tax on the swap.

The Sale Itself

A sale for consideration is a sale. The state rate is graduated, and the Department of Revenue publishes the current table for the state portion, effective January 1, 2023:

Sale price thresholdState rate
$525,000 or less1.10%
$525,000.01 to $1,525,0001.28%
$1,525,000.01 to $3,025,0002.75%
$3,025,000.01 or more3%

RCW 82.45.060(1)(c) holds land classified as timberland or agricultural land at a flat 1.28 percent instead. RCW 82.46.010(2) lets a county or city add up to 0.25 percent of the selling price, and subsection (3) allows an additional 0.5 percent in lieu of the RCW 82.14.030(2) sales tax, so the number on your closing statement is higher than the state table alone. The Department of Revenue posts the combined local rates by jurisdiction and warns that the local portion must be calculated and added to the graduated state rate.

Who writes the check is settled by statute. RCW 82.45.080(1) makes the tax the obligation of the seller, and the Department may enforce it by an action of debt or by foreclosing like a mortgage. The order of operations at the courthouse comes from RCW 82.45.090(1): the treasurer collects the tax and affixes a verification of payment to the instrument before it is recorded, and no instrument evidencing a taxable sale may be accepted by the auditor for filing or recording until that happens. Where no tax is due, the treasurer notes that fact on the instrument instead.

Use the affidavit version that matches your date of sale. The Department of Revenue publishes a separate real estate excise tax affidavit for each rate period and states plainly that using the wrong form may cause the tax to be calculated incorrectly and be rejected by the county.

Washington Taxes the Gain Differently Than You Expect

Two answers here run against what a national article will tell you.

The state capital gains excise tax does not touch the house. RCW 82.87.040(1) imposes 7 percent on the sale or exchange of long term capital assets, plus an additional 2.90 percent since January 1, 2025 on the portion of an individual's Washington capital gains above $1,000,000. RCW 82.87.050(1) then exempts all real estate transferred by deed, real estate contract, judgment, or other lawful instruments that transfer title to real property and are filed as a public record with the counties where the real property is located. Selling an inherited Washington house is outside that tax.

Income tax is the part that has changed. The Department of Revenue's own income tax page states that the Washington state legislature recently enacted an income tax on individuals with an annual adjusted gross income of $1,000,000 or more. Almost every third party page on this topic still says Washington has no income tax at all. A large gain in a single year can put an heir into that band, so confirm your position with the Department of Revenue or a Washington CPA rather than relying on the old rule of thumb.

Federal law is where the real relief sits. Under 26 U.S.C. 1014(a)(1), the basis of property acquired from a decedent is the fair market value at the date of death, so the appreciation during the owner's lifetime never shows up as gain. 26 U.S.C. 1223(9) treats that property as held for more than one year even where the heir sells within twelve months of the death, so the gain is long term no matter how fast you move.

Community property gives Washington an advantage a separate property state does not have. Section 1014(b)(6) reaches the surviving spouse's own one half share of community property held by the decedent and the survivor, where at least one half of the whole community interest was includible in the decedent's gross estate. Both halves are revalued at the first death rather than one. The arithmetic and the records you need to prove it sit in step-up in basis in Washington, and the ownership rules behind it are in Washington community property.

Keep the valuation evidence. RCW 11.44.015(1) requires the personal representative, within three months of appointment, to make and verify a true inventory and appraisement listing real property by legal description and stating the fair net value of each item as of the date of death. That filing is the cheapest date of death valuation record most estates will ever have.

When the Heirs Cannot Agree

Washington adopted the uniform partition of heirs property act in 2023, and it changes the result in exactly the situation where a family home ends up split among cousins.

RCW 7.54.010(5) defines heirs property as real property held in tenancy in common where there is no record agreement binding all cotenants on partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and either 20 percent or more of the interests are held by cotenants who are relatives, or 20 percent or more of the interests are held by an individual who acquired title from a relative, or 20 percent or more of the cotenants are relatives.

RCW 7.54.120 applies the chapter to partition actions filed on or after July 23, 2023, requires the court to decide whether the property is heirs property in any chapter 7.52 RCW partition action, and displaces inconsistent parts of the older statute.

What follows is a sequence designed to stop a forced auction:

  • A court determined value. RCW 7.54.040 orders an appraisal by a disinterested licensed Washington appraiser unless every cotenant agrees on a value or the cost of an appraisal outweighs its evidentiary worth.
  • A buyout window. RCW 7.54.050 gives any cotenant who did not request a sale 45 days to elect to buy out the ones who did, priced at the whole parcel value multiplied by that cotenant's fractional share, with 60 days after the election to pay into court.
  • A preference for dividing rather than selling. RCW 7.54.060(1) orders partition in kind unless that would result in great prejudice to the cotenants as a group.
  • An open market sale if it comes to that. RCW 7.54.080(1) requires an open market sale unless sealed bids or an auction would be more economically advantageous, and subsection (2) has a licensed broker list the property at a price no lower than the court determined value.

A cousin who wants out no longer forces a courthouse auction at a fraction of market value. Ask about this early, because the protection attaches to the partition action and not to a private agreement made before anyone files.

Debts, Liens and Timing

Selling early is common and rarely a problem, but two clocks are worth knowing.

Creditor claims run on their own schedule. RCW 11.40.051(1) bars a claim whether or not notice was published, and it sets four different windows. A creditor given actual notice has the later of thirty days from that notice and four months from first publication. A creditor who was not reasonably ascertainable has four months from first publication. A reasonably ascertainable creditor who never got actual notice has twenty four months from the date of death, and so does every creditor where no notice was published at all. The detail sits in Washington creditor claims.

Washington estate tax attaches to the property itself. RCW 83.100.110(1) makes any unpaid tax a lien on the property subject to it for ten years from the date of the transfer. Two carve outs protect a sale: property used to pay court allowed claims or administration expenses is divested of the lien, and property sold to a bona fide purchaser is divested with the lien transferring to the sale proceeds. RCW 83.100.080 has the Department issue a release once the tax is paid, and all property subject to the tax is then free of any state claim for it. Whether a return is due at all turns on the applicable exclusion amount for the date of death under RCW 83.100.020, which moved four times between 2018 and 2026, and that sits in Washington estate tax.

If nobody ever opened a probate and the title is stuck, start with the Washington probate guide and check whether the estate qualifies for the Washington small estate affidavit for the personal property side. The affidavit will not move the house, so do not plan a sale around it.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of August 8, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Washington can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

All Washington guides← Back to all articles