Washington probate leads and inheritance data, by county.
If you are researching Washington probate leads, the public court file is only one part of the inherited-property market. USLeadList starts with death and property records, typically about five weeks after death, and generates an average of 1377 records a month across Washington.
Washington counties
Browse 39 counties.Every Washington county has its own page. Highlighted counties currently generate the largest monthly record volume.
How inherited property moves in Washington
Verified state rules behind the county data.Probate rules matter because they determine when a public court record appears and which inherited properties never appear in an ordinary probate case.
What changes for an heir
Washington attaches no recurring cost to holding an inherited house. A transfer by gift, devise or inheritance, and a transfer by transfer on death deed, are excluded from the definition of sale for the real estate excise tax (RCW 82.45.010(3)(a) and (b)), and there is no reassessment on transfer. The state levies a stand-alone estate tax, but for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 the applicable exclusion is $3,000,000 and rates run from 10 percent to a top of 20 percent above $9,000,000 of Washington taxable estate (RCW 83.100.040), so ordinary homes are not reached. Probate is easy to avoid or to run cheaply: a transfer on death deed under RCW chapter 64.80 passes real property outside probate, a community property agreement under RCW 26.16.120 passes community property to the surviving spouse at death, and the court routinely grants nonintervention powers (RCW 11.68.011).
Where probate records appear
Superior Court Odyssey Portal, the Washington Courts online case search for superior court records, which covers the 37 superior courts on Odyssey and carries no records from King or Pierce County Superior Court or from any court of limited jurisdiction. The Washington Courts name and case search covers the remaining courts for basic case index information.
Ways property can avoid ordinary probate
Transfer on death deed under RCW chapter 64.80, the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, enacted in 2014; the community property agreement under RCW 26.16.120, by which spouses or domestic partners agree in a signed and acknowledged writing that community property passes to the survivor at death; and for personal property up to $100,000, the successor's affidavit under RCW 11.62.010.
Small-estate route
Affidavit of successor under RCW 11.62.010. The value of the decedent's entire estate subject to probate, not counting the surviving spouse's or domestic partner's community property interest and less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000; 40 days must have elapsed since the death; all debts including funeral and burial expenses must have been paid or provided for; and the claiming successor must have given the other successors at least ten days' written notice. The affidavit reaches personal property only. Threshold current as of 2026.
Timing investors should understand
Where the personal representative publishes notice to creditors, a creditor given actual notice must present the claim within the later of 30 days after that notice is mailed and four months after the date of first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)). A reasonably ascertainable creditor who was not given actual notice, and every creditor where no notice was given at all, has 24 months after the date of death (RCW 11.40.051(1)(b)(ii) and (1)(c)). The bar applies to both probate and nonprobate assets.
Washington inheritance volume
Updated monthly · September 2026 edition.Newly inherited residential properties recorded in Washington, from the same database that builds the lists. Published nationally in the Inheritance Property Index.
Biggest Washington counties by volume
Free to cite with attribution: USLeadList Inheritance Property Index, September 2026 edition. See every state and download the data.
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