Washington Small Estate Affidavit and the $100,000 Limit

Washington caps its affidavit route at $100,000 and reaches personal property and debts only. The affidavit is handed to whoever holds the asset rather than filed with a court, so a qualifying estate pays the county clerk nothing.

Based on RCW 11.62.010

By Settled Estate EditorialPublished: January 15, 2026Updated: May 31, 2026

Does Washington Have a Small Estate Affidavit?

Yes, and it is a real affidavit rather than a lighter court case. RCW 11.62.010 lets a claiming successor present proof of death and a sworn affidavit to whoever owes the decedent money or holds the decedent's personal property, and that person must then pay or deliver. Nothing is filed, no clerk is involved, and no case number exists, which is why this route costs nothing while opening a Washington probate costs $290.

Do you qualify?

Qualifying threshold: $100,000, measured on the value of the decedent's entire estate subject to probate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and leaving out the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest in assets subject to probate (RCW 11.62.010(2)(c)).The measure is the Washington-specific part, and flattening it into a household net-worth question misroutes married readers. Washington is a community property state: RCW 11.02.070 confirms one half of the community estate to the surviving spouse or domestic partner at the death, and RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) then subtracts that confirmed half before applying the ceiling, after which liens and encumbrances come off as well. A couple holding $180,000 of community personal property can leave a probate estate of about $90,000, which qualifies. Property that passes by survivorship, by beneficiary designation, or through a trust is outside the probate estate and never counted.
Waiting period: Forty days after the death, plus a second clock most summaries drop. RCW 11.62.010(1) allows the affidavit only after 40 days have elapsed, and RCW 11.62.010(2)(h) makes the claiming successor swear that written notice of the claim was served on or mailed to every other successor at least 10 days earlier. Serve the other successors first and the two periods overlap; leave it to the end and the 10 days run after day 40.
Court filing fee: $0. Nothing is filed with a court, so no fee in RCW 36.18.020 or RCW 36.18.016 can attach. RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) charges the party instituting probate proceedings at the time of filing the first document, and this route has no first document. The saving is real: an ordinary Washington probate costs $290 to open. Budget instead for certified copies of the death certificate and, where a securities transfer agent or a licensing agency is involved, for whatever that holder charges to reissue a certificate.
Attorney: Not typically neededNo statutory requirement, and the affidavit is designed to be sworn by the successor rather than drafted by counsel. Counsel earns its cost where the community-property arithmetic is close to the $100,000 line, where debts approach the assets, where another successor disputes the claim, or where a bank refuses the affidavit
Real estate: Not covered by this procedureWashington real estate closes this route at any value. RCW 11.62.010(1) reaches indebtedness owed to the decedent and personal property belonging to the decedent, and nothing in the section transfers land, so real property is a disqualifier rather than a valuation question. Washington offers three other answers instead. A transfer on death deed under chapter 64.80 RCW passes the property outside probate if it was recorded with the county auditor before the death, though RCW 64.80.120 leaves the beneficiary answerable for allowed claims and the statutory family awards. Where the deed route was never used, an adjudication of testacy or intestacy and heirship under RCW 11.28.340 can establish who owns the land without appointing anyone. And RCW 82.45.197 supplies the lack of probate affidavit, a real estate excise tax documentation step recorded with the county auditor on a certified death certificate, which supports the inheritance exemption rather than acting as a title-transfer statute on its own.

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Main Requirements

A Probate Estate of $100,000 or Less, Measured the Washington Way

RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) sets the ceiling on the value of the decedent's entire estate subject to probate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and excluding the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest in assets subject to probate. Read every clause: the exclusion and the lien deduction routinely bring a married estate under the line when the household total is well above it.

Personal Property and Debts Only

RCW 11.62.010(1) speaks of indebtedness owed to the decedent and personal property belonging to the decedent. Bank accounts, wages, vehicles, securities and belongings are in. Washington real property is out at any value, and no amount of paperwork inside this section moves it.

Forty Days Since the Death, and Ten Days Since Notice

The 40-day wait is in RCW 11.62.010(1) and repeated as a sworn statement in (2)(d). The 10-day notice period to all other successors is in (2)(h) and is a separate requirement, not an alternative.

No Personal Representative Appointed or Pending Anywhere

RCW 11.62.010(2)(e) requires that no application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction. Opening a probate, even in another state, closes this route.

Debts Paid or Provided For

RCW 11.62.010(2)(f) covers all debts of the decedent including funeral and burial expenses. The affidavit is sworn, and the successor who takes assets while a real debt sits unpaid is the person the creditor looks to, so settle or fund the debts first.

A Copy to the Office of Financial Recovery

RCW 11.62.010(5) requires a copy of the affidavit, including the decedent's social security number, to be mailed to the Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Financial Recovery. It costs a stamp, it is easy to overlook, and it exists so the state can pursue Medicaid estate recovery where it applies.

No Tax Release Is Required First

RCW 11.62.010(4) says no release from any Washington state or local taxing authority may be required before assets or debts are paid or delivered to a successor under this section. A holder that insists on a tax clearance is asking for something the statute says it may not require.

Available Small-Estate Options

Small Estate Affidavit, RCW 11.62.010 (no statewide form; draft to the nine statements in subsection (2))

Limit: $100,000 or less on the decedent's entire estate subject to probate, net of liens and encumbrances and excluding the surviving spouse's or domestic partner's community property interest. Personal property and debts only
Real Estate: Not included
Timeline: Usually 2 to 3 months, floored by the 40-day wait and the 10-day notice to the other successors
Typical Fee: $0. There is no court filing, so no clerk fee attaches

Nonintervention Administration, RCW 11.68.011

Limit: No dollar threshold. The gate is solvency plus one of the three qualifying conditions in RCW 11.68.011(2), and the absence of a will provision directing that the powers not be granted
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Usually 6 to 12 months
Typical Fee: $290 to open, from RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) plus the (5)(c) and (6) surcharges, and very little in court charges afterwards because the estate is not returning to court for routine steps

Supervised Administration, chapter 11.76 RCW

Limit: No threshold. This is what happens where nonintervention powers are not sought, are refused, or are later restricted, for example on the insolvency of the estate under RCW 11.68.080
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Commonly 12 to 24 months. RCW 11.76.030(2), added by 2026 c 204, lets the court presume an estate is ready to close 24 months after the appointment
Typical Fee: $290 to open, plus the cost of the final report, the published and mailed hearing notice, and the decree of distribution

Adjudication of Testacy or Intestacy and Heirship, RCW 11.28.340

Limit: No dollar threshold. Available where nobody needs to be appointed to act and the only task is to establish who owns what, on an application that does not seek a personal representative
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Usually 4 to 6 months. Four months after entry of the order and the RCW 11.28.330 notice, absent a challenge, the order is treated as the equivalent of a final decree of distribution as to those who waived or received notice
Typical Fee: $290 to open, and the rights of creditors and of anyone entitled to a homestead award or family allowance survive the order

Transfer on Death Deed, chapter 64.80 RCW

Limit: Planning done during life rather than a route after a death. The deed is revocable, transfers nothing while the owner lives, and must be recorded with the county auditor before the death (RCW 64.80.060(3))
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: The interest passes at the death with no probate step, provided the beneficiary survives the transferor
Typical Fee: County auditor recording, about $296 to $298 for a single page once the statutory surcharges in RCW 36.22.250 and RCW 36.22.185 are added, and $1 for each additional page. Not a court charge

The affidavit is sworn, and the community-property arithmetic is where people go wrong

Two Washington specifics decide whether this route is safe. The first is the measure: RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) counts the decedent's estate subject to probate net of liens and without the surviving spouse's or domestic partner's community property half, so swearing to a figure worked out from the household balance sheet is how an honest successor swears to a wrong number. The second is debts. The successor swears that all debts including funeral and burial expenses have been paid or provided for, and the creditor bar in RCW 11.40.051 runs 24 months from the death where no notice to creditors was ever published, which is the ordinary case in a route with no probate in it. Talk to a Washington probate attorney where the value sits near $100,000, where the estate is or may be insolvent, where another successor will not consent, or where the decedent received Medicaid-funded long-term care and the Office of Financial Recovery is likely to look at the estate.

Step-by-Step Process

Wait Forty Days From the Date of Death

Covered in the "Do you qualify?" checklist at the top of this page.

Work Out the Decedent's Probate Share, Net of Liens

Add up only what is subject to probate, wherever it sits. Take out the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest, because RCW 11.02.070 confirms that half to them and RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) excludes it from the count. Subtract liens and encumbrances. Leave out survivorship property, beneficiary-designated life insurance and retirement accounts, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, and anything in a trust. The result has to come in at $100,000 or less.

Confirm the Estate Holds No Washington Real Property

The route reaches personal property and debts only. Land held in the decedent name alone stops it regardless of value, and the answer is a different mechanism rather than a bigger affidavit: a recorded transfer on death deed under chapter 64.80 RCW, an adjudication of heirship under RCW 11.28.340, or a full administration.

Pay or Provide For the Debts, and Confirm Nobody Has Been Appointed

RCW 11.62.010(2)(f) requires a sworn statement that all debts of the decedent, including funeral and burial expenses, have been paid or provided for. Provided for is enough, so a known debt with money set aside for it does not close the route. RCW 11.62.010(2)(e) separately requires that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending, or has been granted, in any jurisdiction.

Give the Other Successors Ten Days of Written Notice

RCW 11.62.010(2)(h) requires written notice of the claim, by personal service or mail, to all other successors, with at least 10 days elapsed since that service or mailing. Under RCW 11.62.010(2)(i) the claiming successor must also swear either that they are personally entitled to full payment or delivery, or that they take on behalf of and with the written authority of all other successors who have an interest.

Swear the Affidavit, Present It, and Copy the Office of Financial Recovery

Draft the affidavit to cover the nine statements RCW 11.62.010(2) lists, since Washington publishes no form, and present it with proof of death to whoever holds the asset. RCW 11.62.010(3) makes the same showing work on a securities transfer agent and on any governmental agency that issues certificates of ownership or license registration. Then do the step people miss: RCW 11.62.010(5) requires a copy of the affidavit, including the decedent's social security number, to be mailed to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Financial Recovery.

County Note: The affidavit itself goes to a bank, an employer, a transfer agent or a licensing agency rather than to any county office, so there is no county to choose and no packet to collect. County practice matters only if the estate falls out of the route: a Washington probate is opened in the superior court of the county where the decedent lived, the county clerk of that court is the filing counter, and the $290 opening total is identical in all 39 counties because RCW 36.18.020 tells every clerk they shall collect it. Asset holders set their own paperwork rules on top of the statute, so ask the bank or agency what it wants to see before you swear anything.

FAQ: Washington Small Estate Options

Does Washington have a small estate affidavit?

Yes. RCW 11.62.010 is a genuine out-of-court affidavit: a claiming successor presents proof of death and a sworn affidavit to whoever is indebted to the decedent or holds the decedent's personal property, and that person must pay or deliver. RCW 11.62.020 then discharges and releases the payer to the same extent as if they had dealt with a court-appointed personal representative, which is what makes banks willing to honour it. Washington publishes no statewide form for it, so the nine statements listed in RCW 11.62.010(2) are the drafting checklist.

What is the Washington small estate limit?

$100,000, but not measured the way most people assume. RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) values the decedent's entire estate subject to probate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and excludes the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest in assets subject to probate. Washington is a community property state, so for a married decedent the excluded half is often the larger half. The figure has been $100,000 since June 7, 2006 and is not indexed to inflation, so a source quoting $60,000 predates 2006 c 360.

How much does a Washington small estate affidavit cost?

Nothing at the courthouse. There is no petition, no clerk and no case, so none of the charges in RCW 36.18.020 or RCW 36.18.016 attach. Compare that with $290 to open an ordinary Washington probate, made up of the $200 fee in RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) plus a $40 surcharge under (5)(c) and a $50 surcharge under (6). Real costs still exist outside the statute: certified death certificates, postage for the notices, and whatever a transfer agent charges to reissue a security.

Can a Washington small estate affidavit transfer a house?

No. RCW 11.62.010 reaches personal property and debts, and real property disqualifies the route at any value. Washington answers real property separately. A transfer on death deed under chapter 64.80 RCW moves it outside probate if it was recorded with the county auditor before the death. An adjudication of testacy or intestacy and heirship under RCW 11.28.340 can establish ownership without appointing anyone. And RCW 82.45.197 provides the lack of probate affidavit that supports the real estate excise tax inheritance exemption when the deed is recorded.

How long do you have to wait to use the affidavit in Washington?

Forty days from the date of death under RCW 11.62.010(1), and separately at least 10 days from written notice of the claim to all other successors under RCW 11.62.010(2)(h). Both are sworn statements in the affidavit itself. Sending the successor notices in the first week means the two periods run together and the affidavit can be presented on day 40.

What happens if a bank refuses the affidavit in Washington?

RCW 11.62.020 is titled to cover exactly that, including the discharge and release of a person who pays or delivers and the consequences of a refusal to pay or deliver. In practical terms the holder is protected when it complies, so a refusal usually means the affidavit is missing one of the nine statements or the holder wants its own paperwork alongside it. Ask what is missing before escalating, and be ready to open a probate if the asset is large enough to justify the $290.

Official Forms, Sources, and VerificationOfficial references used for this page

RCW 11.62.010, Disposition of personal property, debts by affidavit, proof of death - Contents of affidavitWashington State Legislature (Revised Code of Washington). Current official statute text, accessed August 7, 2026.
RCW 11.62.020, Effect of affidavit and proof of death - Discharge and release of transferorWashington State Legislature (Revised Code of Washington). Current official statute text, accessed August 7, 2026.
RCW 36.18.020, Clerk's fees, surchargesWashington State Legislature (Revised Code of Washington). Current official statute text, accessed August 7, 2026.
RCW 11.02.070, Community property - Disposition - Probate administration ofWashington State Legislature (Revised Code of Washington). Current official statute text, accessed August 7, 2026.
RCW 82.45.197, Exemptions - Inheritance - Documents requiredWashington State Legislature (Revised Code of Washington). Current official statute text, accessed August 7, 2026.
Washington State Courts - Court FormsWashington Courts (Administrative Office of the Courts). Current statewide forms index, accessed August 7, 2026.

Information current as of May 31, 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.