Washington Small Estate Affidavit

Washington lets a successor collect a decedent's personal property with a sworn affidavit instead of a probate case. RCW 11.62.010 opens that route forty days after the death, and only when the estate subject to probate, less liens and less the surviving spouse's community half, stays at or under $100,000.

The route is narrower than its name suggests. It moves cash, accounts, securities and other personal property. It does not move Washington real estate, and no version of it does. Here is what the statute demands, what it reaches, how the $100,000 gets measured against community property, and when the full Washington probate process turns out to be the cheaper answer. This page is general information about Washington law, not advice about your estate. Confirm anything time sensitive with the Superior Court in the decedent's county or a licensed Washington attorney.

The Affidavit Never Reaches a Judge

RCW 11.62.010 creates a duty for private parties, not a court proceeding. A person who owes the decedent money, or who holds personal property belonging to the decedent, has to pay or deliver it to a claiming successor once that successor hands over proof of death and an affidavit meeting subsection (2).

So the affidavit goes to the bank, the credit union, the transfer agent or the employer. Nothing goes to the County Clerk. No filing fee attaches, because nothing is filed. RCW 11.62.010(2)(e) requires the successor to swear that no application or petition for a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction, which is what keeps the affidavit and a probate from running at the same time.

Two smaller rules ride along. RCW 11.62.010(4) forbids anyone from demanding a release from a Washington state or local taxing authority before assets or debts change hands. 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. That mailing is not optional, and it means the affidavit does not keep the estate out of the state's view.

Washington Publishes No Form For This

Search for a Washington small estate affidavit and the results are form vendors. The Washington Courts statewide forms index carries no probate or decedent estate category at all, and the only Title 11 forms it publishes are guardianship and conservatorship forms. A statewide small estate affidavit does not exist.

What that means for you: the affidavit is a document the successor prepares. Its content comes from RCW 11.62.010(2), and a vendor's template is one drafter's reading of that subsection. Read the subsection against whatever you sign.

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Forty Days And One Hundred Thousand Dollars

RCW 11.62.010(1) sets the wait: "At any time after forty days from the date of a decedent's death." Subsection (2)(d) turns it into a sworn statement, so the successor attests that forty days have elapsed.

The cap sits in subsection (2)(c) and Washington writes it out in words rather than numerals, as "one hundred thousand dollars". Searching the statute for a dollar sign returns nothing, which is why some summaries claim the section has no threshold.

What Counts Toward The $100,000

The sworn statement is precise, and every clause in it does work:

That the value of the decedent's entire estate subject to probate, not including the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest in any assets which are subject to probate in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars.

Four readings follow from that sentence.

The measure is the whole probate estate, not the account you are claiming. A successor asking a bank for a $9,000 balance still swears to the value of everything subject to probate.
Location does not shrink it. Property outside Washington counts if it is subject to probate in the decedent's estate.
Liens and encumbrances come off before the comparison.
Assets that are not subject to probate stay out of the count. Property that passes by beneficiary designation, by survivorship, by a transfer on death deed under chapter 64.80 RCW, by a community property agreement under RCW 26.16.120, or through a living trust is not part of the estate subject to probate, so it does not push the estate over the cap.

How Community Property Is Counted

Washington is a community property state, and the arithmetic here is where readers go wrong.

RCW 11.02.070 does two things at once. It confirms one half of the community property to the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner, and it still subjects the whole of the community property to probate administration for paying community obligations and debts, the award in lieu of homestead and the allowance for family support.

RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) then carves the survivor's community property interest back out of the $100,000 count. Work through a couple whose only probate asset is $150,000 in community bank accounts. The whole $150,000 sits inside the probate administration under RCW 11.02.070, the survivor's one half is excluded by RCW 11.62.010(2)(c), and $75,000 is what the cap is tested against. The affidavit works.

The survivor is not a bystander in that transaction either. RCW 11.62.005(2)(a)(ii) makes the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner a successor to the extent of the undivided one half community interest, so the survivor can claim in that capacity. Washington's intestate succession rules settle who the other successors are.

What The Affidavit Reaches

RCW 11.62.005(1) defines personal property broadly: tangible personal property, any instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, chose in action, license or ownership, any debt, and any other intangible property.

RCW 11.62.010(3) adds two duties that make the affidavit useful beyond a bank counter. A transfer agent has to change the registered ownership of a claimed security from the decedent to the successor. Any governmental agency required to issue certificates of ownership or of license registration for personal property has to issue a new certificate to the successor.

Vehicles run on a parallel track worth knowing about. WAC 308-56A-335 governs a deceased vehicle owner and lists what the Department of Licensing accepts for an estate that has not been administered: a copy of the death certificate plus an affidavit of inheritance or an affidavit of succession. Walk that route on the page for transferring a vehicle rather than assuming the RCW 11.62.010 affidavit is the only door.

Credit unions get their own small rule. RCW 11.62.030 lets a credit union pay a surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner the deceased member's deposits where the amount does not exceed one thousand dollars, on an affidavit that the member died and no executor or administrator has been appointed. The survivor then has to account for that money to a personal representative if one is later appointed.

Real Estate Closes This Door

The catchline of RCW 11.62.010 names personal property, debts and proof of death. Land appears nowhere in the section, and nowhere in the RCW 11.62.005(1) definition of personal property. A Washington house cannot ride on this affidavit.

What happens to the house instead starts with RCW 11.04.250. Title vests in the heirs or devisees instantly upon death, subject to the decedent's debts, family allowance, expenses of administration and other charges the real estate is liable for. The section adds a limit that matters: no person is deemed a devisee until the will has been probated, and the personal representative's claim outranks the heirs' possession.

So the realistic paths for Washington land are these. Open a probate and petition for nonintervention powers under RCW 11.68.011, which is the ordinary answer for a solvent estate. Or the property already passes outside probate because of a transfer on death deed under chapter 64.80 RCW, a community property agreement under RCW 26.16.120, or a survivorship interest.

One document causes recurring confusion here. RCW 82.45.197 lists what the county treasurer needs before granting the inheritance exemption from real estate excise tax, and subsections (1)(f) and (1)(g) accept a certified death certificate plus a signed lack of probate affidavit from the heirs. Subsection (2) requires that documentation to be recorded with the county auditor. That affidavit is excise tax documentation. It does not adjudicate who owns the land, and it is not a substitute for RCW 11.62.010 or for a probate.

The Nine Statements The Affidavit Has To Make

RCW 11.62.010(2) lists what the successor swears to. Miss one and the holder of the property is entitled to refuse.

RCW 11.62.010(2)	The successor states
(a)	The claiming successor's name and address, and that the claimant is a successor as defined in RCW 11.62.005
(b)	The decedent was a resident of the state of Washington on the date of death
(c)	The decedent's entire estate subject to probate, excluding the surviving spouse's or domestic partner's community property interest, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars
(d)	Forty days have elapsed since the death
(e)	No application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction
(f)	All debts of the decedent, including funeral and burial expenses, have been paid or provided for
(g)	A description of the personal property and the portion claimed, with a statement that the property is subject to probate
(h)	Written notice of the claim and a description of the property went to all other successors by personal service or mail, and at least ten days have elapsed since that service or mailing
(i)	The claiming successor is personally entitled to full payment or delivery, or is entitled to it on behalf of and with the written authority of all other interested successors

Subsection (h) is the one people skip. Ten days have to pass between notifying the other successors and making the claim, which stretches the real waiting period past forty days whenever more than one person inherits.

Subsection (f) is the one that carries risk. Signing it means the debts are handled, and Washington's creditor claim rules decide when that is actually true.

What Happens After You Hand It Over

RCW 11.62.020 sets out the consequences, and they cut in two directions.

The party paying or delivering is discharged and released to the same extent as if it had dealt with a personal representative, unless it had actual knowledge that a required statement was false. It has no duty to see to the application of the property, to inquire into the truth of anything in the affidavit, or to check on estate tax liability. Where an organization is involved, knowledge counts only once it reaches the individual making the transfer.

A refusal is not the end of the road. Property can be recovered, or its transfer compelled, in a proceeding brought by or on behalf of the people entitled to it. Where two affidavits arrive for the same property, the holder may respond to the first one received or pay the property into court.

The successor carries the exposure. Anyone who receives property under RCW 11.62.010 is answerable and accountable for it to any personal representative of the estate later appointed, and to any other person with a superior right.

The Affidavit Does Not Close The Creditor Window

RCW 11.62.010(2)(f) makes the successor swear that all debts, funeral and burial expenses included, are paid or provided for. Nothing in chapter 11.62 RCW shortens a creditor's time to come forward.

RCW 11.40.051 sets those limits, and the bar applies whether or not notice was given. Where no notice was provided under chapter 11.40 or chapter 11.42 RCW, a creditor has twenty four months after the date of death to present a claim, and that bar reaches both probate and nonprobate assets. Where a personal representative does publish notice, a creditor who was not reasonably ascertainable is cut off four months after first publication.

Read those two together and the trade becomes visible. The affidavit costs nothing and leaves a twenty four month tail. A probate with published notice costs money and closes most of the exposure in four months.

Affidavit Or Nonintervention Powers

Washington's signature procedure is settlement without court intervention. RCW 11.68.011 requires the court to grant nonintervention powers to a personal representative who petitions for them, where the decedent's will does not forbid it and the court finds the estate solvent counting probate and nonprobate assets, provided the petitioner was named in the probated will, or is the surviving spouse or domestic partner of an intestate decedent whose estate is all community property and who left no outside issue, or was not a creditor and would serve the beneficiaries' and creditors' best interests.

RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) sets the statutory entry price: the party instituting a probate proceeding pays a fee of $200 at the time of filing the first document. Two surcharges in the same section attach to that filing and are equally mandatory, $40 under RCW 36.18.020(5)(c) and $50 under RCW 36.18.020(6), so the county clerk collects $290 to open a Washington probate. The $50 surcharge arrived with 2025 c 357 effective July 27, 2025, which is why older sources quote $240 and why a source quoting $200 has dropped both surcharges. Even $290 is only the entry price, not the whole cost of an administration. Compare the two routes on what they actually deliver.

	RCW 11.62.010 affidavit	Nonintervention powers (RCW 11.68.011)
Court involvement	None	Petition, then almost none afterward
Statutory filing fee	None, nothing is filed	$290: $200 under RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) plus the mandatory $40 and $50 surcharges at (5)(c) and (6)
Value ceiling	$100,000, measured under RCW 11.62.010(2)(c)	None; the test is solvency
Waiting period	40 days, plus 10 days after notice to other successors	None fixed by RCW 11.68.011
Real estate	Cannot reach it	Can convey it
Creditor cut-off	None; RCW 11.40.051 still allows 24 months absent notice	Four months from first publication for creditors who were not reasonably ascertainable
Who is exposed	The claiming successor, under RCW 11.62.020	The personal representative, under court-granted authority
Debt condition	All debts already paid or provided for	Debts get paid during administration

A one-account estate with a single heir and no land is what the affidavit was built for. An estate with a house, a mortgage, unresolved bills or several heirs who do not agree usually belongs in a probate with nonintervention powers, even when the dollar total sits under $100,000.

Who Counts As A Successor

RCW 11.62.005(2)(a) defines the term four ways. Successors are the people entitled to the claimed property under the decedent's will or under Title 11 intestate succession; the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner, to the extent of the undivided one half community interest; the Department of Social and Health Services, to the extent of funds expended or paid on claims under RCW 43.20B.080; and the state, for escheat property.

Subsection (2)(b) shuts one door. Anyone claiming to be a successor solely because they are a creditor of the decedent or of the estate is excluded, and the state's claims are the only exception. A funeral home or a hospital cannot use this affidavit to collect.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the small estate limit in Washington?

$100,000. RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) writes the figure in words, as one hundred thousand dollars, so a search for a dollar sign in the statute finds nothing. The test measures the decedent's entire estate subject to probate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and it leaves out the surviving spouse's or surviving domestic partner's community property interest in those assets.

How long do you have to wait to use a small estate affidavit in Washington?

Forty days. RCW 11.62.010(1) allows the claim at any time after forty days from the date of the decedent's death, and RCW 11.62.010(2)(d) makes the successor swear that forty days have elapsed. A second clock runs alongside it: RCW 11.62.010(2)(h) requires written notice to all other successors and at least ten days between that notice and the claim.

Can a Washington small estate affidavit transfer real estate?

No. RCW 11.62.010 reaches personal property and debts, and RCW 11.62.005(1) defines personal property without any reference to land. Washington real estate vests in the heirs or devisees at the moment of death under RCW 11.04.250, subject to debts and administration, but a devisee holds nothing until the will is probated. Land normally needs a probate, or a transfer that was set up before death.

Does community property count toward the $100,000 limit in Washington?

Only the decedent's side of it. RCW 11.02.070 confirms one half of the community property to the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner and still subjects the whole of it to probate administration. RCW 11.62.010(2)(c) then backs the survivor's community property interest out of the $100,000 count, so a couple holding $150,000 of community accounts and nothing else counts $75,000.

Is there an official Washington small estate affidavit form?

No. The Washington Courts statewide forms index publishes no probate or decedent estate category, and the only Title 11 forms it carries are guardianship and conservatorship forms. Every Washington Small Estate Affidavit sold on a form site is somebody's draft of the statutory statements in RCW 11.62.010(2), not a state document.

Do you file a Washington small estate affidavit with the court?

No. RCW 11.62.010 sends the affidavit and proof of death to the person who owes the debt or holds the property, such as a bank, a credit union or a transfer agent. Nothing goes to the County Clerk, and RCW 11.62.010(2)(e) requires that no personal representative has been appointed anywhere. One copy does go to the state: RCW 11.62.010(5) requires mailing it, with the decedent's social security number, to the Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Financial Recovery.

Sources:

Title: RCW 11.62.010 Disposition of personal property, debts by affidavit, proof of death. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.010
Title: RCW 11.62.005 Definitions. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.005
Title: RCW 11.62.020 Effect of affidavit and proof of death, discharge and release of transferor. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.020
Title: RCW 11.62.030 Payment to surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner of moneys on deposit of deceased credit union member. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.030
Title: RCW 11.02.070 Community property, disposition, probate administration of. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.02.070
Title: RCW 11.04.250 When real estate vests, rights of heirs. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.04.250
Title: RCW 11.40.051 Claims against decedent, time limits. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.40.051
Title: RCW 11.68.011 Settlement without court intervention, petition, conditions, exceptions. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.68.011
Title: RCW 36.18.020 Clerk's fees, surcharges. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=36.18.020
Title: RCW 82.45.197 Exemptions, inheritance, documents required. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.45.197
Title: RCW 26.16.120 Agreements as to status. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=26.16.120
Title: WAC 308-56A-335 Owner deceased. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-56A-335
Title: Court Forms. Publisher: Washington State Courts. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/

It is not legal advice.