Washington: Small Estate Affidavit Thresholds & Procedure

Requirements one by one

Governing law

RCW Chapter 11.62, "Small Estates — Disposition of Property." § 11.62.005
defines the key terms ("successor," "personal property," "person"); §
11.62.010 sets out the affidavit itself and what it must state; § 11.62.020
governs the effect of a valid affidavit and a holder's discharge from
liability.

Dollar threshold

$100,000, calculated on the decedent's entire estate subject to probate,
wherever located, less liens and encumbrances — a net test, not a gross
one. That figure specifically excludes the surviving spouse's or surviving
domestic partner's own one-half community-property interest in estate
assets; a spouse or partner separately uses the same affidavit to claim
that interest, calculated apart from the $100,000 cap. The figure is a
flat dollar amount fixed in the statute text, not indexed for inflation.

Court filing required?

None. The affidavit is presented directly to the person or institution
holding the property — there's no court petition, no hearing, and no
judge's order. The one filing-adjacent requirement is administrative, not
judicial: a copy of the affidavit, including the decedent's Social Security
number, must be mailed to the Washington Department of Social and Health
Services, Office of Financial Recovery, so the state can pursue any
Medicaid estate-recovery claim it may have.

Waiting period after death

40 days at a minimum. If the claiming successor knows of other successors,
a second, separate 10-day clock also applies: the claimant must give those
other successors written notice (by personal service or mail) describing
the claim and the property, and at least 10 days must pass after that
notice before the affidavit can be used.

Works with a will, intestacy, or both?

Both, and one more category besides. RCW 11.62.005(2) defines "successor"
to include anyone entitled to the property under the decedent's will,
anyone entitled under Washington's intestate-succession laws, and
separately, a surviving spouse or domestic partner claiming their own
undivided one-half community-property interest. All three can use the same
§ 11.62.010 affidavit mechanism. A person who claims successor status
solely because they're a creditor of the decedent is expressly excluded.

Does it cover real property?

Only for valuation, not for transfer. Real property that's part of the
probate estate counts toward the $100,000 cap, but the affidavit procedure
itself transfers personal property only — title to real estate can't be
changed by this mechanism at all, regardless of how small its value is or
how the rest of the estate qualifies.

Signature formalities

The affidavit is sworn — the standard form has the claimant declare under
oath and sign before a notary public. If the claimant is collecting
property on behalf of other successors rather than just their own share,
each of those other successors has to give written authority, typically by
signing their own declaration under penalty of perjury attached to the
affidavit.

Protection for the bank/holder

Strong, with one specific carve-out. RCW 11.62.020 discharges a holder who
pays, delivers, transfers, or issues property under a valid-looking
affidavit "to the same extent as if such person has dealt with a personal
representative of the decedent," and the holder isn't required to verify
any statement in the affidavit — UNLESS the holder had actual knowledge,
at the time of payment, that a required statement was false. An
organization isn't treated as having that knowledge until it's been
brought to the personal attention of the individual actually making the
transfer. If two competing affidavits arrive for the same property, the
holder may act on whichever one it received first (once proof of death is
also in hand) or pay the property into court instead. The person who
actually receives the property remains accountable to any personal
representative appointed later or to anyone else with a superior right to
it.

What trips people up

Real property's value counts toward the $100,000 ceiling even though the
affidavit can never move title to it — an estate with a modest house and
otherwise-small personal property can look "small" but still blow past the
cap once the real estate's value is added in, while the affidavit still
can't be used to transfer the house itself even if the estate stays under
$100,000. A second trap: there isn't just one waiting period. The 40-day
clock runs from the death regardless of anything else, but if other
successors exist, a second and separate 10-day clock only starts once
written notice actually reaches them — skipping or rushing that notice
step is a common way an otherwise-valid-looking affidavit turns out to be
premature. A third: the mailing to the Department of Social and Health
Services isn't optional paperwork — it's how the state's Medicaid estate
recovery program gets notice of a death, and omitting it doesn't
invalidate the affidavit as between the claimant and the holder, but it is
a separate statutory duty.

Common questions

Do I have to wait a set time after the death? Yes — 40 days at
minimum, and if there are other successors, an additional 10 days after
giving them written notice.

Can I use this if the decedent had a will? Yes — the affidavit works
for a will beneficiary, an intestate heir, or a surviving spouse/domestic
partner claiming a community-property share, all under the same
mechanism.

Does the affidavit transfer the house? No. Real property's value
counts toward the $100,000 cap if it's part of the estate, but title to
real estate can never be transferred by this affidavit procedure.

What if I don't know whether there are other successors? The
affidavit itself requires stating whether you're claiming solely for
yourself or on behalf of others with their written authority; if other
successors exist and haven't authorized you, they still have to receive
written notice and the 10-day clock has to run before you can use the
affidavit.

Statutes and sources

• RCW 11.62.010(1) — "At any time after forty days from the date of a
  decedent's death, any person who is indebted to or who has possession of
  any personal property belonging to the decedent or to the decedent and
  his or her surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner as a
  community, which debt or personal property is an asset which is subject
  to probate, shall pay such indebtedness or deliver such personal
  property, or so much of either as is claimed, to a person claiming to be
  a successor of the decedent upon receipt of proof of death and of an
  affidavit made by said person which meets the requirements of subsection
  (2) of this section." —
  https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.010
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• RCW 11.62.010(2) — "(c) 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;
  (d) That forty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent; ...
  (h) That the claiming successor has given written notice, either by
  personal service or by mail, identifying his or her claim, and
  describing the property claimed, to all other successors of the
  decedent, and that at least ten days have elapsed since the service or
  mailing of such notice; and (i) That the claiming successor is either
  personally entitled to full payment or delivery of the property claimed
  or is entitled to full payment or delivery thereof on the behalf and
  with the written authority of all other successors who have an interest
  therein." — https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.010
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• RCW 11.62.010(5) — "A copy of the affidavit, including the decedent's
  social security number, shall be mailed to the state of Washington,
  department of social and health services, office of financial
  recovery." — https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.010
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• RCW 11.62.005(2) — "'Successor' and 'successors' shall mean (subject to
  subsection (2)(b) of this section): (i) That person or those persons who
  are entitled to the claimed property pursuant to the terms and
  provisions of the last will and testament of the decedent or by virtue
  of the laws of intestate succession contained in this title; and/or
  (ii) The surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner of the decedent
  to the extent that the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner is
  entitled to the property claimed as his or her undivided one-half
  interest in the community property of said spouse or said domestic
  partner and the decedent; and/or (iii) The department of social and
  health services, to the extent of funds expended or paid, in the case of
  claims provided under RCW 43.20B.080; and/or (iv) This state, in the
  case of escheat property. (b) Any person claiming to be a successor
  solely by reason of being a creditor of the decedent or of the
  decedent's estate, except for the state as set forth in (a)(iii) and
  (iv) of this subsection, shall be excluded from the definition of
  'successor.'" — https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.005
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• RCW 11.62.020 — "The person paying, delivering, transferring, or issuing
  personal property pursuant to RCW 11.62.010 is discharged and released
  to the same extent as if such person has dealt with a personal
  representative of the decedent, unless at the time of such payment,
  delivery, transfer, or issuance, such person had actual knowledge of the
  falsity of any statement which is required by RCW 11.62.010(2) as now or
  hereafter amended to be contained in the successor's affidavit. Such
  person is not required to see to the application of the personal
  property, or to inquire into the truth of any matter specified in RCW
  11.62.010(1) or (2), or into the payment of any estate tax liability.
  ... Any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer, or issuance of
  personal property is made pursuant to RCW 11.62.010 as now or hereafter
  amended is answerable and accountable therefor to any personal
  representative of the estate of the decedent or to any other person
  having a superior right thereto." —
  https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.62.020
  (accessed 2026-07-06)