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Benton County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Benton County, Washington's general-jurisdiction trial court. There is no separate probate court in Washington; the superior court handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11. Benton and Franklin counties have seven superior court judges jointly (RCW 2.08.064) and the bench presents itself as Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, with five court commissioners in addition to the judges. Uncontested probate orders are normally presented on the daily ex parte docket rather than at a noted hearing |
| Filing office | The Benton County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court. This is the office that takes the petition, lodges the will, issues letters, and keeps the county's estate records. Sharing a bench with Franklin County changes nothing about where you file: a Benton County estate is filed with the Benton County Clerk, keeps a Benton County case number, and stays in the Benton County records |
| Clerk's office, Kennewick | Benton County Justice Center, 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210, Kennewick, WA 99336. This is the office the Clerk publishes as its address, and the Superior Court itself sits in the same building at Building A, Suite A130, so use Suite A210 for clerk business |
| Clerk's office, Prosser | Benton County Courthouse, 620 Market Street, Prosser, WA 99350, in the county seat at the west end of the county. The Clerk publishes separate hours and a separate phone line for this office, (509) 786-5624. The Washington State Court Directory lists it as the Prosser Courthouse; the county's own locations page calls it the Benton County Courthouse |
| Mailing address | Benton County Clerk, 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210, Kennewick, WA 99336. The Clerk publishes the Kennewick address as its mailing address, so send probate filings and clerk correspondence there rather than to Prosser |
| Phone | (509) 735-8388 for the Kennewick office and (509) 786-5624 for the Prosser office. The Clerk does not publish a separate probate line; both numbers reach the same office |
| Fax | (509) 736-3892, confirmed on the Washington State Court Directory entry for the Benton County Clerk. Ask the Clerk before faxing anything you intend as a filing |
| [email protected], the Clerk's office mailbox as the county publishes it, and [email protected] for Superior Court administration and local court rule questions. Both are still on the county's older email domain because that is how the county publishes them. Ask before emailing anything you intend as a filing | |
| Office hours | The Clerk publishes 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for both offices, and the Prosser office is closed for lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. Note that this is not the 4:30 p.m. closing time that circulates in directory data. Court hours are separate: the Superior Court publishes Court Administration 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and courts 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a one hour lunch closure and a caveat that times may vary with court needs. Call before making a trip |
| Filing fee | $290 to open a probate, set by statute and the same in every county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)); fee waivers are available for filers who cannot afford the fee (GR 34). Benton County's own schedule lists the same figure, "Estate/Probate 290.00", with the authority given as RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6) (Benton County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025). Fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), and the Clerk has not accepted personal checks since October 1, 2010. Confirm the current schedule with the Benton County Clerk |
| Local forms | No local probate forms, and no statewide ones either, but one form is mandatory. Washington publishes no probate form set (verified July 2026 on the courts.wa.gov Court Forms index, which has no probate category), and Benton County publishes no probate-specific form of its own. The Clerk does require a completed Case Information Coversheet with any new case and rejects a filing without one, and the county publishes general clerk forms a probate uses: a Note for Motion Docket, a copy or document request form, a GR fee waiver packet, a request to waive clerk fees, a request for record search, and a self-represented persons information sheet |
| E-filing | Available and optional, through TrueFiling. The Clerk states that TrueFiling is an optional program with fees of its own and that a filer who does not want those fees may file by US mail, by courier, or in person. That is the opposite of the mandatory-for-attorneys rule some Washington counties run. A $5 bundle fee applies per case number, documents are not filed when you submit them but when clerk staff accept them, only case numbers from 2018 forward are loaded, and bench copies are never submitted through TrueFiling |
| Case search | Benton County is covered by Odyssey Portal, the current public case search for Washington superior courts (https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal), but document images are not. The Clerk states that Benton County is not currently using Odyssey's document management system, that document access is not available at this time, and that access by subscription is under consideration for later; the Clerk also requires a portal master registration form and a signed confidentiality agreement for each person requesting portal access. The statewide index at https://dw.courts.wa.gov/ reaches Benton County cases too, but its own notice warns that dockets and case status may be inaccurate. For documents in a Benton County estate, use the Clerk's copy request process |
| Ex parte docket | The Benton County ex parte docket runs from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, and the Benton courtroom opens to parties at 1:15 p.m. A matter must be placed in the marked ex parte box in the courtroom no later than 3:30 p.m.; after review the Clerk announces that the matter has been signed, or the judge calls the party forward with questions. Check the court's daily schedule for the courtroom assignment. Ex parte is not a substitute for a noted hearing |
| Remote appearance | Available for docket hearings by WebEx, but not for ex parte. The court states plainly that WebEx is not available for ex parte in either county, though the Clerk does accept documents for ex parte action through TrueFiling, with about 48 hours of processing time. For other hearings, attorneys and litigants with matters on the docket may appear by WebEx under published rules effective April 22, 2025 and updated January 7, 2026: litigants display first and last name plus case number, no one is admitted after roll call, phone-only access needs advance permission on the court's Request for Exception to Appear Remotely or Telephonically at least seven calendar days ahead, and settlement conferences, evidentiary hearings, trials and special sets are in person absent prior approval |
| Website | https://www.bentoncountywa.gov/government/elected_officials/clerk/index.php for the Clerk's Office and https://www.bentoncountywa.gov/departments/courts_and_judicial_services/superior_court/index.php for Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court. The county's current site is bentoncountywa.gov; older co.benton.wa.us links sit behind a security check and may not load, though the county still publishes its email addresses on that domain |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything with the Benton County Clerk, know exactly what the estate holds and what it owes. Which Washington route fits depends on whether there is a will, on who is entitled to be appointed, and on the value and type of the assets, because a probate with letters testamentary or letters of administration, an unsupervised administration under nonintervention powers (RCW 11.68.011), and a small estate affidavit that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010) are different routes with different filings. Those routes and their thresholds are statewide and are covered on the Washington state page. Getting it right the first time matters more here than it looks: the Clerk rejects a new case filed without a completed Case Information Coversheet, and Benton County's courthouse facilitator program, which helps self-represented filers with family law, expressly cannot assist with probate, wills, or guardianships.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you file. How each asset is titled decides the route: the small estate affidavit reaches personal property only, so a house in Kennewick or Richland, a Prosser vineyard, or irrigated farm ground elsewhere in the county generally requires a probate so that a personal representative has authority to sign a deed. Knowing the debts matters too, because the court grants nonintervention powers only on a finding that the estate is solvent (RCW 11.68.011), and since June 11, 2026 an application for letters of administration must describe the applicant's search for the heirs and, in most cases, the major probate assets (RCW 11.28.110). Sunset's asset discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Benton County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, is the probate filing office for all of Benton County, and it keeps two public counters. The main office is at the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210 in Kennewick: it is the address and the mailing address the Clerk publishes, it is where portal registration forms and facilitator payments go, and it is the practical counter for the Tri-Cities end of the county, including Kennewick, Richland, West Richland and Finley. The second office is at the Benton County Courthouse, 620 Market Street in Prosser, the county seat, and it is the nearer counter for the western, agricultural end of the county, including Prosser itself, Benton City and the farm communities of the lower Yakima Valley. Both offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the Prosser office closes for lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. The Clerk publishes no case-type or geographic split between the two counters, and Benton County has no rule assigning estates to a courthouse by where the decedent lived, so this is a matter of which counter is closer rather than which one has your case. Because only the Kennewick office is published as the Clerk's address, call the Prosser counter at (509) 786-5624 before relying on it to open a new probate, and mail filings to Suite A210 in Kennewick.
The bench is shared with the county next door. Benton and Franklin counties have seven superior court judges jointly (RCW 2.08.064), and they publish one joint set of local court rules as Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, with hearings held at the Benton County Justice Center in Kennewick, the Benton County Courthouse in Prosser, and the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. That is an administrative fact about the judges, not about the counter. You do not file a Benton County estate in Pasco, and a Franklin County decedent's estate is not a Benton County case: Pasco is in Franklin County, so an estate for someone who lived there belongs with the Franklin County Clerk even though the same judges hear both counties' calendars. What the shared bench does mean is that the two counties run their dockets on different clocks, and the difference is published: the Benton County ex parte docket runs 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day while Franklin County's runs 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Washington law lets the petitioner file a probate in the superior court of any county in the state (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but in practice you file in the county where the decedent lived: an interested party can move venue there within four months of the notice of appointment, and if the probate is filed outside the county of residence the creditor notice must still be published in the county of residence (RCW 11.40.020(2)). Benton County puts a price on that mismatch: the Clerk's schedule charges $20 to file a notice to creditors here when the probate itself was filed in another county (RCW 11.40.020(2), RCW 36.18.012(3)). So if the person who died lived in Benton County, file with the Benton County Clerk. One narrow exception is not optional: a petitioner who seeks appointment under RCW 11.28.120(3), the route for a person not otherwise entitled that opens only after 90 days, must file where the decedent resided, or, for a nonresident, in a county where estate property is. Once letters have been granted, the rest of the probate stays in that county (RCW 11.96A.050(5)).
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's contact information and identification, the names, ages and addresses of the heirs, legatees and devisees, and a list of the assets and debts with values. Washington's term for the person who settles the estate is personal representative: a will-named personal representative is often called an executor and a court-appointed one an administrator, but the statutory term covers both.
- Decide what you are asking the court for. With a will, the petition asks the court to admit the will to probate and issue letters testamentary, and the court may hear the proofs and enter an order establishing the will (RCW 11.20.020). With no will, the application asks for letters of administration in the priority order set by RCW 11.28.120(1), and since June 11, 2026 it must also set out the details of the applicant's reasonable search for the heirs (RCW 11.28.110, as amended by 2026 c 204). Most Washington personal representatives also ask for nonintervention powers, which let a solvent estate be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011). These statewide routes are covered on the Washington state page.
- Prepare the papers, including the coversheet that is not optional. Washington has no statewide probate form set and Benton County publishes no local probate form, so the petition, the order, the oath and the notices are drafted documents rather than fill-in forms. One statewide form is mandatory here: the Clerk states that a completed Case Information Coversheet is required to file a new case and that a filing without one will be rejected. Get it from the Washington Courts forms list. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets a self-represented filer can work from, including the small estate affidavit kit.
- File with the Benton County Clerk, in person, by mail, by courier, or electronically. The counters are the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210 in Kennewick and the Benton County Courthouse, 620 Market Street in Prosser, both open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with Prosser closed from noon to 1:00 p.m.; mail goes to Suite A210 in Kennewick. Electronic filing runs through TrueFiling and is optional: the Clerk says so directly and adds that a filer who does not want TrueFiling's fees may file by US mail, by courier or in person. If you do e-file, a $5 bundle fee applies per case number, your documents are not filed when you submit them but when clerk staff accept them, and a rejected filing has its fees refunded except the credit card processing charge. Call (509) 735-8388 before you mail original documents, including the original will.
- Pay the filing fee. Opening a probate costs $290, set by statute and the same in every Washington county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and Benton County's own schedule lists "Estate/Probate 290.00" with the same three subsections. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the Clerk publishes a GR fee waiver packet. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), and the Clerk has not accepted personal checks since October 1, 2010, so plan on cash, a card with its processing charge, a cashier's check or a money order. The small estate affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no court case, so it carries no court filing fee.
- Give the required notices, and publish in a Benton County legal newspaper. Within 20 days after appointment the personal representative or the estate's attorney must mail or personally serve written notice of the appointment and the pendency of the probate on each heir, legatee and devisee, and on each known beneficiary or transferee of a nonprobate asset, and file proof of mailing with the Benton County Clerk (RCW 11.28.237(1)). If you give notice to creditors, the notice is filed with the court and published once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is administered (RCW 11.40.020(1)). The Clerk names the county's legal newspapers on its own page: the Prosser Record Bulletin and the Tri-City Herald. Confirm the schedule and cost with the newspaper before you count on a date, because first publication starts the four-month claim period (RCW 11.40.051).
- Present the order on the ex parte docket, or note a hearing if the matter needs one. Most uncontested probate orders go on the daily ex parte docket, which in Benton County runs 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., with the courtroom open to parties from 1:15 p.m. Place the matter in the marked ex parte box in the courtroom no later than 3:30 p.m. and take a seat; after review the Clerk announces that the order has been signed, or the judge calls you forward with questions. Check the court's daily schedule for the courtroom. If you cannot attend, the Clerk also accepts documents for ex parte action through TrueFiling; allow about 48 hours for processing and order conformed copies through the Clerk's copy request site. If your matter needs argument instead, it goes on a motion docket under the court's current local rules, effective September 1, 2025: file and serve the motion and supporting materials at least 21 calendar days before the hearing, designate the matter under 10 or over 10 minutes on the Note for Motion Docket (Local General Rule 3), upload bench copies including the proposed order to the court's eMotion system at least five calendar days ahead, and upload a one page Read First at least five calendar days ahead to confirm the matter on the probate docket, or it can be stricken (Local General Rule 2). Note that a matter that is not agreed may not be presented ex parte unless notice, or a good faith effort to give notice, has gone to all other parties (Local General Rule 6).
- Appear in person for ex parte, or by WebEx for a noted hearing. The court states that WebEx is not available for ex parte in either county, so plan to be in the courtroom, or have a Washington attorney present the order. For hearings that are on a docket, attorneys and litigants may appear by WebEx under the court's published rules: display your first and last name with your case number, arrive before roll call because no one is admitted afterward, and if you need phone-only access, file the court's Request for Exception to Appear Remotely or Telephonically at least seven calendar days ahead. Settlement conferences, evidentiary hearings, trials and special sets are in person unless the court approves otherwise in advance.
- Receive the letters and order certified copies. On appointment the court issues letters testamentary where there is a will, or letters of administration where there is not, and the Benton County Clerk issues certified copies. A certified copy of the letters is what banks, transfer agents and title companies rely on, so order enough for the institutions the estate deals with: Benton County's schedule lists a certificate of qualification at $5 and letters of administration, testamentary or guardianship at $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)), with certified copies at $5 for the first page plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)). One practical warning from the court's own ex parte page: copies of documents signed on the docket may not be available for purchase until the next business day, so bring conforming copies if you need them the same day.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, pay valid claims in the order set by law, handle the four-month creditor period (RCW 11.40.051), file any Washington estate tax return that is required (chapter 83.100 RCW), distribute what remains, and close the estate. A personal representative with nonintervention powers closes by declaration of completion rather than by a court accounting (RCW 11.68), while a supervised estate returns to the court for approval. Because probate is on the court's published list of case types not governed by a civil case schedule order, nothing on the court's calendar will remind you of these deadlines; the statutory clocks run on their own.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Benton County
Benton County publishes no local probate forms, and Washington publishes no statewide probate form set either. That is worth stating plainly, because filers arrive expecting a packet. The courts.wa.gov Court Forms index has categories for family law, guardianships and conservatorships, criminal, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, protection orders and access to the courts, among others, and no probate category (verified July 2026). The Washington probate pleadings, the petition, the order admitting the will, the oath, the notice of appointment and the declaration of completion, are drafted by the filer or the attorney. Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court publishes local rule forms for civil, domestic, guardianship and criminal matters through its forms center, and its local special proceedings rules cover court-created trusts, guardianship and conservatorship reporting and unlawful detainers, but there is no local probate rule and no local probate form.
One form is mandatory anyway, and it is the one that gets filings rejected. The Clerk states that a completed Case Information Coversheet is required to file a new case and that a filing submitted without one will be rejected, and it points filers to the statewide list of forms on courts.wa.gov to get it. Beyond that, the general clerk forms a Benton County probate actually uses are all on the Clerk's forms page: a Note for Motion Docket for a matter that needs argument, a copy or document request form for certified copies of the letters, a GR fee waiver packet and a request to waive clerk fees if you cannot afford the $290 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), a request for record search, and a self-represented persons information sheet. Some clerk requests can be paid for by card at bentonclerkpr.com. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the practical self-help packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route under RCW 11.62.010 that opens no court case at all. One resource that will not help: the county's courthouse facilitator program lists probate, wills and guardianships among the matters the Facilitator cannot assist with, so do not buy an appointment expecting probate help.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Benton County Clerk (bentoncountywa.gov) | The filing office's own page: both offices' addresses and hours, the phones, the office mailbox, the county's legal newspapers, and the no-personal-checks rule |
| Benton County Clerk forms and information | The clerk forms a probate uses: Note for Motion Docket, copy and document request, GR fee waiver packet, request to waive clerk fees, request for record search, and the self-represented persons information sheet |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide Case Information Coversheet the Clerk requires with every new case, and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no probate category here, which is the point: Washington has no statewide probate forms |
| Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court local rules and required forms | The joint local court rules and the court's forms center. The current set is effective September 1, 2025, with emergency rules adopted effective January 1, 2026 and modified effective June 1, 2026, and the court also posts a set effective September 1, 2026 |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | Plain-language Washington probate self-help, including the guide to managing a small estate yourself and the small estate affidavit packet (RCW 11.62.010) |
| Washington Courts directory: Benton County (courts.wa.gov) | The government listing that confirms the Benton County Clerk's Kennewick and Prosser addresses, phone and fax. Note that its website links still point at the county's older co.benton.wa.us domain |
Fees
The $290 fee to open a probate is statutory and identical in every Washington county (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and Benton County's own schedule lists it as "Estate/Probate 290.00" with the authority given as RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6). What follows are the Benton County charges an estate actually runs into around that fee. Every figure comes from the Benton County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, except the TrueFiling bundle fee, which the Clerk publishes on its e-filing page. Two county-wide rules apply to all of them: fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), and the Clerk has not accepted personal checks since October 1, 2010. One caution on currency: the Clerk's fee schedule page announces a new schedule effective June 11, 2026, but the document it links is still the schedule effective July 27, 2025, so confirm any figure with the Clerk before you pay it.
| Charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Probate filing fee | $290 (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)) | Opening the estate. Statutory and uniform statewide; Benton County adds nothing to it. Fee waivers are available under GR 34, and the Clerk publishes a GR fee waiver packet |
| TrueFiling bundle fee | $5 per case number | Filing documents electronically through TrueFiling, which is optional in Benton County. A rejected filing has its fees refunded except the credit card processing charge, so paper filing by mail, courier or in person avoids this charge entirely |
| Certificate of qualification | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The certified proof of the personal representative's authority. Benton County's schedule lists this and the letters as two separate $5 lines under the same subsection, so name the item you want rather than asking for a letter of the alphabet |
| Letters of administration, testamentary or guardianship | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The certified copy of the letters that banks, transfer agents and title companies ask for. Order several at once |
| Certified copy of a document | $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)) | Certified copies of the order, the letters or anything else in the estate file. Non-certified copies are $0.50 per page and emailed copies are $0.25 per page |
| Notice to creditors where the probate was filed in another county | $20 (RCW 11.40.020(2), RCW 36.18.012(3)) | Filing the creditor notice in Benton County when the estate itself was opened somewhere else. This is the practical cost of the broad Washington venue rule in RCW 11.96A.050(4) |
| Nonprobate notice to creditors, no probate filed in the state | $290 (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)) | The chapter 11.42 RCW route where a notice agent settles the estate without a personal representative being appointed |
| Petition contesting a will, or to admit a rejected will | $290 each (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)) | A will contest or a petition to admit a will the court rejected. A petition objecting to a nonjudicial resolution and a registration of trust are each $290 as well |
| TEDRA petition | $290 for a summons and petition or for a nonjudicial binding agreement filed as a new case; $20 for a nonjudicial binding agreement in an existing case (RCW 11.96A.220, RCW 36.18.012(8)) | Disputes and agreements under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act |
| Filing a will only, with no probate | $20 (RCW 36.18.012(7)) | Lodging the original will with the Clerk when no probate is contemplated |
| Will repository deposit | $20 (RCW 36.18.016(28)) | Depositing an original will with the Clerk for safekeeping before death |
| Approving a bond | $2 (RCW 36.18.016(8)) | Where the court requires the personal representative to post a bond |
| Clerk's services, records search by staff | $30 per hour (RCW 36.18.016(11)) | Asking the Clerk to search records for you rather than searching the portal or the file yourself |
| Returned payment | $35 (RCW 36.18.016(24)) | A payment that does not clear. Remember that personal checks are not accepted at all |
| Courthouse facilitator appointment | $35 per half hour, effective January 11, 2023 | Listed here only so it is clear what it does not cover: the Benton County facilitator names probate, wills and guardianships among the matters it cannot assist with, and appointments are Tuesdays only, paid at the Superior Court Clerk's Office |
Timeline
- Filing to a signed order can be same-week, because most probate orders never need a noted hearing. Uncontested matters are presented on the daily ex parte docket, which in Benton County runs 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with the courtroom open to parties from 1:15 p.m. The matter must be in the marked ex parte box in the courtroom no later than 3:30 p.m., or submitted for ex parte action through TrueFiling, which the Clerk asks about 48 hours to process. The court publishes no filing-to-letters wait, and none is asserted here.
- Build in a next-business-day step for copies. Orders approved on the ex parte docket are conformed by the Clerk, but copies of signed documents go through the normal copy request process and, per the court's own notice, may not be available for purchase until the next business day. Bring conforming copies with you if you need a copy the same day, and order certified copies of the letters separately.
- A matter that needs argument takes at least three weeks to reach a docket. Under the court's current local rules, effective September 1, 2025, a motion and its supporting materials are filed and served not less than 21 calendar days before the hearing, a response not less than 11 calendar days before, and any reply not less than five calendar days before (Local General Rule 3). Designate the matter under 10 or over 10 minutes on the Note for Motion Docket (Local General Rule 3(B)).
- Confirm the matter with a Read First five calendar days out. On the probate and guardianship dockets, as on the civil dockets, the moving party must upload a one page Read First to the court's eMotion system, or deliver a hard copy to Court Administration, no less than five calendar days before the hearing to say whether the matter will go as set, and a matter without one can be stricken (Local General Rule 2(C)). Summary judgment motions are confirmed under the procedures on the court's website, and the clerk will not confirm more than two for any one date (Local Civil Rule 56), so confirm early.
- Get bench copies to the court, not to the Clerk. Bench copies, including any proposed order, are uploaded to the court's eMotion system no less than five calendar days before the hearing; a party with no computer or internet access delivers hard copies to Court Administration at the Benton County Justice Center no less than three court days ahead (Local General Rule 2). Bench copies are never submitted through TrueFiling.
- Ask for remote appearance at least seven calendar days out, and do not expect it for ex parte. WebEx is not available for ex parte in either county. For a docket hearing, phone-only access requires advance permission on the court's Request for Exception to Appear Remotely or Telephonically, due seven calendar days before the hearing, and remote appearance at a settlement conference, evidentiary hearing, trial or special set needs prior approval on the same minimum notice.
- Expect no case schedule and no trial date. Probate is on the court's published list of case types not governed by a civil case schedule order, so unlike an ordinary civil case nothing arrives setting deadlines when you file. A party who wants one can move for a Case Schedule.
- Track the statutory clocks yourself, because the court will not: notice of the appointment and pendency of the probate within 20 days after appointment (RCW 11.28.237(1)); creditor notice published once each week for three successive weeks in the Prosser Record Bulletin or the Tri-City Herald, which starts the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020(1) and RCW 11.40.051); and four months from the mailing of the notice of appointment for any party who wants venue moved to the county of residence (RCW 11.96A.050(4)(a)).
Local nuance
Benton County-specific considerations
Two clerk counters, one published address. Benton County is one of only a few Washington counties where the clerk keeps more than one public office, and the split follows the county's unusual geography: Prosser is the county seat and holds the Benton County Courthouse at 620 Market Street, while Kennewick is the largest city and holds the Benton County Justice Center at 7122 W Okanogan Place. The Clerk publishes hours for both, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a noon to 1:00 p.m. lunch closure at Prosser and separate phone lines, (509) 735-8388 for Kennewick and (509) 786-5624 for Prosser. What it does not publish is any split of business between them: there is no Benton County equivalent of a case assignment area, no rule sending an estate to one courthouse based on where the decedent lived, and no statement that a new probate can be opened at either counter. Because Suite A210 in Kennewick is the address and the mailing address the Clerk gives, treat Kennewick as the default for a new filing and call Prosser first if that counter is closer to you.
A shared bench, and dockets that run on different clocks. Benton and Franklin counties have seven superior court judges jointly (RCW 2.08.064), plus five court commissioners, and they operate as one court with one set of joint local rules, sitting at the Justice Center in Kennewick, the courthouse in Prosser, and the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. For a probate filer this matters in two narrow ways. First, filing does not follow the judges: a Benton County estate is filed with the Benton County Clerk and keeps a Benton County case number, and a Pasco decedent's estate belongs with the Franklin County Clerk even though the same judges hear both. Second, the two counties deliberately run their ex parte dockets at different times, Benton County from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Franklin County from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., so a lawyer or a family member who deals with both courts cannot assume one schedule covers the other.
E-filing exists, and it is genuinely optional. Some Washington counties require attorneys to file electronically. Benton County does not: the Clerk describes TrueFiling as an optional program with fees of its own and states that a filer who does not want to pay them may file by US mail, by courier or in person. The trade-offs are worth knowing before you choose. TrueFiling charges a $5 bundle fee per case number and a credit card processing fee that is not refunded even if the filing is rejected; submission is not filing, because documents are filed only when clerk staff review and accept them, with confirmation by email either way; only case numbers from 2018 forward are loaded, and for an older case the Clerk asks you to email and allow 24 hours for the case to be added; and bench copies are never submitted through TrueFiling. Whichever way you file, a completed Case Information Coversheet is required with a new case, and a filing without one is rejected.
The ex parte box, and the fact that it cannot be done remotely. Most uncontested probate orders in Benton County are signed on the daily ex parte docket, and the procedure is physical in a way that surprises people used to other counties. The Benton courtroom opens to parties at 1:15 p.m., the docket runs from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and a party who wants a matter considered places it in a clearly marked ex parte box within arm's reach of the clerk and then takes a seat on the benches; after review, the Clerk announces that the matter has been signed, or the judge calls the party forward with questions. Approved orders are conformed by the Clerk, but copies may not be purchasable until the next business day, so parties are encouraged to bring conforming copies. The court states plainly that WebEx is not available for ex parte in either county, and its Live Stream, which covers most hearings, excludes the ex parte docket. There is one remote path: the Clerk accepts documents for ex parte action through TrueFiling, with about 48 hours of processing time, and conformed copies of orders presented that way are ordered through the Clerk's copy request site. Two rules travel with every ex parte matter under the current local rules. Every matter presented ex parte must be accompanied by an attestation stating whether any judicial officer has been recused or disqualified (Local General Rule 6(C)); the court's ex parte page publishes the underlying Judicial Resolution 17-002 (RCW 4.12.040, RCW 4.12.050) and the attestation form. And a matter that is not agreed may not be presented ex parte unless notice, or a good faith effort to give notice, has gone to all other parties first, though orders signed by all parties or stipulated may be presented ex parte (Local General Rule 6).
Finally, two Benton County specifics that catch families out. The county's courthouse facilitator, the person a self-represented filer would naturally ask for help, expressly cannot assist with probate, wills or guardianships; the program is family law only, $35 per half hour, Tuesdays by appointment. And Odyssey Portal access here does not include documents: the Clerk states that Benton County is not currently using Odyssey's document management system, that document access is not available at this time, and that subscription access is under consideration for later, and it requires a portal master registration form plus a signed confidentiality agreement from each person seeking portal access. For documents in an estate file, use the Clerk's copy request process.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| September 1, 2026 | A new set of Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court local court rules is posted as effective September 1, 2026. The court also completed its annual GR 7(b) review of the local rules during 2026, with written comments due April 8, 2026. Check the current set before relying on a rule number. | Local rules and required forms, Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, bentoncountywa.gov |
| June 11, 2026 | The Benton County Clerk's fee schedule page announces a new fee schedule effective June 11, 2026. As of this review the schedule document available for download was still the one effective July 27, 2025, so confirm any figure with the Clerk before paying it. The $290 statutory probate filing fee is unchanged. | Fee schedule, Benton County Clerk, bentoncountywa.gov |
| June 1, 2026 | The court modified the emergency local court rules it had adopted effective January 1, 2026, adopting Local Administrative Rules 1 and 2, on juvenile court departments and the transfer of administration of juvenile detention, and rescinding Local Administrative Rule 5. The current base rule set remains the one effective September 1, 2025, which reorganized the rules into Local General Rules, so older local civil rule numbering no longer applies. | Local rules and required forms, Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, bentoncountywa.gov |
| January 7, 2026 | The court updated its WebEx appearance requirements, first effective April 22, 2025. Litigants must display their first and last name and case number, no one is admitted after roll call, phone-only access requires an approved request filed seven calendar days ahead, and settlement conferences, evidentiary hearings, trials and special sets are in person absent prior approval. WebEx remains unavailable for ex parte in both counties. | WebEx, processes and procedures, Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, bentoncountywa.gov |
| Current practice | The ex parte procedure changed on a permanent basis in both Benton and Franklin counties. The Benton County docket runs 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily with the courtroom open to parties at 1:15 p.m., matters are placed in a marked ex parte box in the courtroom by the concluding time, and copies of signed documents may not be available for purchase until the next business day. | Ex parte, schedules and calendars, Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, bentoncountywa.gov |
| Current practice | Benton County's county website moved to bentoncountywa.gov. Older co.benton.wa.us addresses, including the ones still linked from the Washington Courts court directory entry for Benton County, now sit behind a security check and may not load, though the Clerk still publishes its email addresses on the older domain. | Benton County, WA, bentoncountywa.gov, and Washington Courts court directory, courts.wa.gov |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Benton County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Kennewick or Richland home was community property covered by a community property agreement (RCW 26.16.120), or was held with a right of survivorship, it can pass to the surviving spouse without a probate. If assets stood in the decedent's sole name and there is a will, the spouse petitions the Superior Court in Benton County to admit the will and issue letters testamentary; with no will, the surviving spouse has first priority for letters of administration (RCW 11.28.120(1)). Either way the spouse can ask for nonintervention powers so a solvent estate is administered without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011), and the petition is filed with the Benton County Clerk at the Justice Center in Kennewick, at the courthouse counter in Prosser, or by mail to Suite A210 in Kennewick, with the required Case Information Coversheet. | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to go through the court. Packet generation for the filing with the Benton County Clerk, coversheet included. A vetted attorney referral if a dispute arises. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Where the estate is personal property only, the probate estate less liens and encumbrances does not exceed $100,000, and 40 days have passed since death, a claiming successor can often collect the property with a small estate affidavit instead of a court case (RCW 11.62.010). If a probate is needed, an out-of-state filer can mail the petition to the Benton County Clerk at 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210, Kennewick, WA 99336, or file it electronically through TrueFiling for a $5 bundle fee per case number, and pay by card rather than a personal check, which the Clerk does not accept. Getting the order signed is the step that is hard from a distance: uncontested probate orders are presented on the Benton County ex parte docket in the courtroom between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and WebEx is not available for ex parte, so out-of-state families either submit the order for ex parte action through TrueFiling, allowing about 48 hours for processing, or have a Washington attorney present it in person. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the affidavit or the probate petition, prepared so an out-of-state filer can proceed by mail or through TrueFiling. Attorney referral where someone has to stand in the Kennewick courtroom. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that has to be sold, the affidavit route does not reach it and the estate goes through probate: with no will the parent petitions for letters of administration in the priority order of RCW 11.28.120(1) and must also describe the search for the heirs (RCW 11.28.110); with a will the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. With nonintervention powers the personal representative can sell the Benton County house and distribute the proceeds without returning to court for approval (RCW 11.68.011). If a step does need argument, such as a contested sale or a dispute among heirs, the matter goes on a docket rather than the ex parte list: the motion is filed and served at least 21 calendar days before the hearing, the Note for Motion Docket designates it under or over 10 minutes, and bench copies go to the court through its eMotion system at least five calendar days ahead (Local General Rules 2 and 3). | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, property and debts, which is also what RCW 11.28.110 now expects the application to describe. Packet generation for the probate petition, the nonintervention powers request and the notices. Attorney referral if the sale or a dispute among heirs turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Benton County Clerk (bentoncountywa.gov), (509) 735-8388 Kennewick, (509) 786-5624 Prosser | The filing office for probate: both counters and their hours, the Kennewick mailing address, the fee schedule, the forms, the county's legal newspapers for the creditor notice, and the no-personal-checks rule. Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| Benton County Clerk e-filing, TrueFiling | The Clerk's own statement of what electronic filing is and is not here: optional, with a $5 bundle fee per case number, submission is not filing, cases from 2018 forward only, and no bench copies. Includes the mandatory Case Information Coversheet warning |
| Benton County Clerk fee schedule | The county's own probate line items, including the $290 estate filing fee, the $5 certificate of qualification and letters, and the $20 charge for filing a creditor notice when the probate was opened in another county. Note the page announces a June 11, 2026 schedule while linking the July 27, 2025 one |
| Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court | The court's own site: the joint bench, court hours, the daily schedule, the holiday schedule, the local court rules, and the processes and procedures pages by case type |
| Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, ex parte | The published ex parte procedure that most uncontested probate orders run through: the 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Benton County docket, the 1:15 p.m. courtroom opening, the ex parte box, and the notice that WebEx is not available for ex parte |
| Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, WebEx | The rules for appearing remotely at a docket hearing, effective April 22, 2025 and updated January 7, 2026, including the naming requirements, the roll-call cutoff, the seven-day request for phone-only access, and the hearings that must be in person |
| Benton County Clerk, Odyssey Portal and odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov | The public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Benton County. The Clerk's page explains the registration form and confidentiality agreement it requires and states that document access is not available because the county is not using Odyssey's document management system |
| Washington Courts case search (dw.courts.wa.gov) | The statewide pointer index across municipal, district, superior and appellate courts. Useful for finding a case number, but its own notice warns that dockets and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The Case Information Coversheet the Benton County Clerk requires with every new case, and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no statewide probate forms category |
| Washington Courts court directory (courts.wa.gov) | The government directory of superior court and county clerk addresses, phones and faxes, including both Benton County Clerk addresses. Its website links still point at the county's older co.benton.wa.us domain |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | Washington's main plain-language legal self-help publisher, with probate and small estate guides and the small estate affidavit packet (RCW 11.62.010). The site blocks some automated fetchers, so open it in a browser |
| Benton Franklin County Regional Law Library, satellite at the Benton County Justice Center | A collection of Washington Court Reports and Washington Appellate Reports open to the public at the Justice Center in Kennewick, with a second satellite at the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. The library's main location was in transition when this page was reviewed, so confirm hours and current location before making a trip |
| Washington State Law Library (courts.wa.gov), (360) 357-2136 | Legal reference help by phone and email for anyone in the state, useful while the regional law library's main location is unsettled |
| Northwest Justice Project CLEAR, 1-888-201-1014, nwjustice.org | Free civil legal aid intake for income-eligible Washington residents; callers 60 and over can use CLEAR Sr at 1-888-387-7111. CLEAR targets basic-needs civil problems, so ask whether an estate matter qualifies |
| Washington State Bar Association, find legal help (wsba.org) | Lawyer referral and public resources for finding a Washington probate attorney who covers Benton County and the Tri-Cities |
When to hire an attorney
Many Benton County estates are uncontested, and a personal representative granted nonintervention powers administers and closes a solvent estate without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011), which is why plenty of families here get through probate with limited legal help. Two local facts push the other way, though. The county's courthouse facilitator, the obvious place a self-represented filer would go for help, cannot assist with probate, wills or guardianships, so there is no staffed self-help channel for an estate here. And because WebEx is not available for ex parte, having an order signed means the Kennewick or Prosser courtroom between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., or a TrueFiling submission with about 48 hours of processing, which is a real friction point for an out-of-town personal representative. Beyond that, consider counsel when a will is contested or a petition seeks to admit a rejected will, when a dispute among heirs is likely or a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act matter is filed, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim, when a vineyard, orchard, farm ground, a business, or property in another state has to be valued or divided, when the estate is large enough to owe Washington estate tax under chapter 83.100 RCW, or when no one entitled to appointment has come forward and the petition has to be made under RCW 11.28.120(3). An attorney also brings e-filing habits and the attestation that must accompany every matter presented ex parte (Local General Rule 6(C)). The Benton County Clerk can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Benton County.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Benton County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Washington estate settlement route fits before you file, and can describe the major assets and the heirs the way RCW 11.28.110 now expects.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, whether a probate with letters testamentary or letters of administration, a request for nonintervention powers, or a small estate affidavit, with the Case Information Coversheet the Benton County Clerk requires, ready to file at the Kennewick or Prosser counter, by mail to Suite A210, or through TrueFiling.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested, or when nobody can be in the Kennewick courtroom for the ex parte docket, Sunset connects families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Benton County.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Benton County, Washington?
With the Benton County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court. The Clerk keeps two counters: the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210, Kennewick, WA 99336, and the Benton County Courthouse, 620 Market Street, Prosser, WA 99350. Kennewick is the address and mailing address the Clerk publishes, so mail filings there and call the Prosser counter at (509) 786-5624 before relying on it to open a new case. Washington has no separate probate court: the Superior Court in Benton County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11. Washington law lets a petitioner file in any county (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but file where the decedent lived, because venue can be moved there within four months of the notice of appointment and the creditor notice must be published in the county of residence anyway (RCW 11.40.020(2)).
Which Benton County office should I use, Kennewick or Prosser?
Whichever is closer, with one caveat. Benton County is unusual in having its county seat at Prosser and its largest city at Kennewick, and the Clerk keeps a public counter in each: the Justice Center in Kennewick serves the Tri-Cities end of the county, including Kennewick, Richland, West Richland and Finley, and the courthouse in Prosser is nearer for Prosser, Benton City and the farm communities at the west end of the county. Both are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the Prosser office closes for lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. There is no rule assigning your estate to one courthouse based on where the decedent lived, unlike some larger Washington counties. The caveat is that only the Kennewick office is published as the Clerk's address and mailing address, so it is the safer default for a new filing, and mail should go to Suite A210 in Kennewick.
Is e-filing required for probate in Benton County?
No. Electronic filing runs through TrueFiling and the Clerk describes it as an optional program with fees of its own, adding that a filer who does not wish to pay those fees may file by US mail, by courier or in person. That is different from counties that require attorneys to e-file. If you do use TrueFiling, know four things: a $5 bundle fee applies per case number; a credit card processing fee is not refunded even if the filing is rejected; your documents are not filed when you submit them but when clerk staff review and accept them, and you get an email either way; and only case numbers from 2018 forward are loaded, so for an older case you email the Clerk and allow 24 hours. Bench copies are never submitted through TrueFiling.
What forms do I need to file a Benton County probate?
Washington publishes no statewide probate form set and Benton County publishes no local probate form, so the petition, the order, the oath and the notices are drafted documents rather than fill-in forms. One statewide form is mandatory: the Clerk states that a completed Case Information Coversheet is required to file a new case and that a filing without one will be rejected, and it points filers to the list of forms on courts.wa.gov. The general clerk forms a probate uses are on the Clerk's forms page, including a Note for Motion Docket, a copy or document request form for certified copies of the letters, a GR fee waiver packet, and a self-represented persons information sheet. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets, including the small estate affidavit kit.
How much does it cost to file probate in Benton County?
$290 to open the probate, set by statute and the same in every Washington county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). Benton County's own schedule lists it as "Estate/Probate 290.00" with the same three subsections, so there is no county add-on to the filing fee itself. A filer who cannot afford it can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the Clerk publishes a GR fee waiver packet. Budget separately for a certificate of qualification or the letters at $5 each (RCW 36.18.016(9)), certified copies at $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)), the $5 TrueFiling bundle fee if you e-file, and publishing the creditor notice. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060) and the Clerk has not accepted personal checks since October 1, 2010. The Clerk's fee page announces a new schedule effective June 11, 2026 while still linking the July 27, 2025 one, so confirm before you pay.
When are probate matters heard in Benton County?
Most uncontested probate orders are signed on the daily ex parte docket rather than at a scheduled hearing. In Benton County that docket runs from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, and the courtroom opens to parties at 1:15 p.m. You place the matter in a clearly marked ex parte box within reach of the clerk no later than 3:30 p.m. and take a seat on the benches; after review, the Clerk announces that the matter has been signed, or the judge calls you forward with questions. Check the court's daily schedule for the courtroom assignment. If your matter needs argument, it goes on a motion docket instead: under the court's current local rules the motion and supporting materials are filed and served at least 21 calendar days before the hearing (Local General Rule 3), and the Note for Motion Docket designates the matter under or over 10 minutes.
Can I appear by phone or video in a Benton County probate?
Not for ex parte. The court states plainly that WebEx is not available for ex parte in either Benton or Franklin County, and its Live Stream, which covers most hearings, excludes the ex parte docket. To have an uncontested order signed without being in the courtroom, submit it for ex parte action through TrueFiling and allow about 48 hours for processing, or have someone present it for you. For a matter that is on a docket, attorneys and litigants may appear by WebEx under rules effective April 22, 2025 and updated January 7, 2026: display your first and last name plus your case number, or your name and the word Attorney if you are counsel; no entry is granted if the name does not match the docket; and no one is admitted after roll call. Phone-only access requires advance permission on the court's Request for Exception to Appear Remotely or Telephonically at least seven calendar days ahead, and settlement conferences, evidentiary hearings, trials and special sets are in person absent prior approval.
How do I look up a Benton County probate case online?
Use Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Benton County. Be aware of a real limit here: the Clerk states that Benton County is not currently using Odyssey's document management system, that document access is not available at this time, and that access by subscription is being considered for later, so the portal will show you the case and its docket entries but not the documents. The Clerk also requires a portal master registration form and a signed confidentiality agreement from each person requesting portal access, returned to the Clerk's Office in Kennewick. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov will also find a Benton County case, but its own notice warns that dockets and case status may be inaccurate. For documents, use the Clerk's copy or document request process; some requests can be paid by card at bentonclerkpr.com.
Benton and Franklin counties share judges. Does that change where I file?
No. Benton and Franklin counties have seven superior court judges jointly (RCW 2.08.064) and operate as one court, Benton and Franklin Counties Superior Court, with five court commissioners and one joint set of local court rules, sitting at the Justice Center in Kennewick, the courthouse in Prosser, and the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. Filing does not follow the judges: a Benton County estate is filed with the Benton County Clerk, keeps a Benton County case number, and stays in the Benton County records, and an estate for someone who lived in Pasco belongs with the Franklin County Clerk. The one place the shared bench shows up in practice is the calendar, and the two counties deliberately differ: the Benton County ex parte docket runs 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. while Franklin County's runs 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Do I have to travel to Kennewick to settle a Benton County estate?
For the paperwork, usually not. The petition and the later filings can be mailed to the Benton County Clerk at 7122 W Okanogan Place, Suite A210, Kennewick, WA 99336, or filed electronically through TrueFiling, certified copies can be requested through the Clerk's copy process, and a personal representative granted nonintervention powers administers and closes a solvent estate without returning to court for supervision (RCW 11.68.011). The step that cannot be done by video is the ex parte docket where an uncontested order is signed, because WebEx is not available for ex parte in either county; that is between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the courtroom. The Clerk does accept documents for ex parte action through TrueFiling, with about 48 hours of processing, and out-of-town personal representatives also commonly have a Washington attorney present the order. A contested matter is heard on a docket, where WebEx appearance is available under the court's published rules.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.