Estate Planning in Washington State: Documents, Probate, and Tax

Estate planning is the process of putting legal documents in place that say where your property goes, who winds up your affairs, and who makes financial and medical decisions if you become unable to. This article introduces the main documents and the Washington rules behind them, then points to detailed procedures for each. It covers the law that applies to an adult planning a personal estate; it does not cover business succession, special-needs planning, or federal tax strategy in depth.

Washington’s inheritance and estate rules live mostly in Title 11 RCW, the probate and trust code. Two features of Washington law shape almost every plan: the state is a community property state, and it collects its own estate tax on top of the federal one.

What estate planning covers in Washington

A Washington estate plan usually answers four questions. Where does property go at death? Who administers the estate and carries out those wishes? Who manages money and property during a period of incapacity? And who makes health care decisions if the person cannot speak for themselves? Different documents answer each question, and they work together rather than in isolation.

Community property is the backdrop for the first question. Under RCW 26.16.030, most property that a married couple or state-registered domestic partners acquire during the relationship is community property, owned equally by both. Property owned before the relationship, or received during it by gift or inheritance, is generally separate property. The distinction matters at death because each spouse can direct only their own half of the community property plus their separate property. A plan drafted as if one spouse owned everything outright often does not match how title actually works in Washington.

The plan also has to account for two ways property passes. Some assets pass through a will and probate. Others pass outside probate by their own terms, such as a beneficiary designation on a retirement account or a jointly held bank account. A working plan coordinates both paths so that the will and the beneficiary designations point in the same direction.

Core documents and terms

A few terms recur across every Washington estate plan.

A will is the document that directs who receives probate property and names a personal representative to administer the estate. A personal representative is the person or institution the court authorizes to collect assets, pay debts, and distribute what remains; other states call this role an executor or administrator.

Probate is the court-supervised process of proving a will, appointing the personal representative, and settling the estate. A trust is an arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages property for beneficiaries under written terms; a revocable living trust is a common tool for holding assets so they pass without probate.

A durable power of attorney authorizes an agent to handle financial matters and stays effective even if the person who signed it later becomes incapacitated. A health care directive, sometimes called a living will, states a person’s wishes about life-sustaining treatment. These incapacity documents operate during life; the will and trust operate mainly at death.

Wills: requirements for a valid Washington will

Washington sets specific rules for making a valid will. Under RCW 11.12.010, any person who is at least 18 years old and of sound mind may make a will. Sound mind means the person understands the nature of the act, knows in a general way what they own, and knows the people who would ordinarily receive their property.

Execution rules are stricter. RCW 11.12.020 requires that a will be in writing, signed by the person making it (or by another person at their direction and in their presence), and attested by two or more competent witnesses. The witnesses must either sign the will or sign an affidavit, and the process has to happen while the will-maker is present. Washington does not recognize an unwitnessed handwritten will made in the state, though it will honor a will that was validly executed under the law of the place where it was signed.

A will can be changed by a later signed document called a codicil or replaced entirely by a new will. Marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child after a will is signed can change how parts of it apply, which is why plans are commonly reviewed after major life events. The detailed drafting and signing steps are covered in the how-to-write-a-will procedure listed at the end of this article.

Dying without a will: intestate succession

When a Washington resident dies without a valid will, the estate passes by intestate succession under RCW 11.04.015. The statute sets a fixed order of heirs, and community property is treated differently from separate property.

The surviving spouse or state-registered domestic partner takes all of the deceased person’s one-half share of the community property, so the couple’s community property ends up fully with the survivor. Separate property is divided. If the person left a surviving spouse and children, the spouse takes half of the separate property and the children share the other half. If there is no spouse, separate property passes to children, then to parents, then to siblings, and so on down the statutory ladder. An estate with no locatable heirs eventually passes to the state.

Intestate succession follows the statute regardless of what the family believes the person wanted. That gap between the statutory default and a person’s actual intentions is the main reason people write wills. The full order of heirs is set out in the intestate-succession procedure listed below.

Probate and settling an estate

Probate in Washington is handled by the superior court in the county where the person lived. The personal representative named in the will (or appointed by the court when there is no will) files the will, receives “letters” confirming authority, notifies creditors, inventories assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes the remainder.

Washington is known for streamlined administration. Under RCW 11.68, a personal representative can be granted nonintervention powers when the estate is solvent, which lets them administer and close the estate without returning to the judge for approval of each step. This keeps most Washington probates faster and less expensive than court-supervised administration in many other states.

Not every estate needs probate. When a decedent’s personal property is worth $100,000 or less and at least 40 days have passed since death, a successor can often collect that property using a small estate affidavit under RCW 11.62.010, without opening a probate case. The affidavit process does not cover real estate, and separate procedures apply when land is involved. How probate proceeds step by step, and when the affidavit shortcut applies, are covered in the probate procedures listed at the end.

The Washington estate tax

Washington is one of a small number of states with its own estate tax, and it applies separately from the federal estate tax. The state tax is administered by the Department of Revenue.

As of 2026, the Washington estate tax filing threshold and exclusion amount is $3,000,000 for a decedent dying on or after July 1, 2026, according to the Washington Department of Revenue estate tax page. Estates below the threshold owe no Washington estate tax and generally do not have to file a Washington return. The tax is graduated, so larger estates pay at higher marginal rates on the amount above the threshold. Because the exclusion is not indexed to rise automatically, the current figures should be confirmed against the Department of Revenue before relying on them.

Planning for incapacity: powers of attorney and health care directives

Estate planning is not only about death. Two documents address the possibility that a person becomes unable to manage their own affairs during life.

A durable power of attorney lets a person name an agent to handle financial and property matters. Washington’s version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, RCW 11.125, governs how these documents are created, what powers can be granted, and the agent’s duties. A power of attorney is “durable” when it remains effective after the principal loses capacity, which is the whole point of signing one for incapacity planning. Without a valid durable power of attorney, family members may have to ask a court to appoint a guardian, a slower and more costly process.

For medical decisions, Washington’s Natural Death Act, RCW 70.122, authorizes a health care directive stating a person’s wishes about life-sustaining treatment if they have a terminal condition or are permanently unconscious. Many people pair the directive with a separate document appointing a health care agent to make broader medical decisions. Together these documents let someone else act on a person’s stated preferences when the person cannot communicate them.

Trusts and non-probate transfers

A large part of Washington estate planning happens outside the will. Several tools move property directly to a recipient without passing through probate.

A revocable living trust holds assets that the trustee manages during life and distributes at death under the trust’s terms. Washington trust law, including the Washington Trust Act at RCW 11.98, governs how trusts are created and administered. Property titled in the name of a funded revocable trust passes according to the trust rather than the will, which can keep it out of probate.

Married couples in Washington also use a community property agreement under RCW 26.16.120, which can convert property to community property and provide that it passes automatically to the surviving spouse at the first death. A transfer on death deed, authorized by RCW 64.80, lets an owner name a beneficiary who receives real estate at death without probate, while the owner keeps full control during life. Bank and brokerage accounts can carry payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations that work the same way.

These non-probate transfers override the will for the assets they cover, so a plan has to keep beneficiary designations and deeds consistent with the overall intent. Detailed procedures for creating each of these instruments appear below.

Specific procedures and topics