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Klickitat County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Klickitat County. There is no separate probate court in Washington; the superior court is the general trial court and handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11. One superior court judge serves Klickitat and Skamania counties jointly (RCW 2.08.064), and the two counties share one set of joint local court rules, cited on this page as LGAR and LCR. A court commissioner also sits, and many probate orders are signed ex parte rather than at a contested hearing |
| Filing office | The Klickitat County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, in Room 204. This is the office that takes the petition, lodges the will, issues letters, and keeps the county's estate records, and the county's own Superior Court page says questions about case filings, fees, and payments go to the Clerk's Office rather than to court administration. A shared judge changes nothing about where you file: filing stays with the Klickitat County Clerk |
| Courthouse | Klickitat County Courthouse, 205 South Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620. Superior Court Administration is Room 206 in the same building, which matters for working copies: filings go to Room 204 and working copies for the judge go to Room 206 |
| Mailing address | 205 South Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620. There is no PO Box; the county directs mail for the County Clerk to the same street address |
| Phone | (509) 773-5744, the Klickitat County Clerk's line in Goldendale, for filings, fees, forms, and payments. Superior Court Administration is a separate line, (509) 773-5755, used for hearing dates, remote appearance requests, and interpreter requests |
| [email protected], the Clerk's Office mailbox the county publishes for e-filing questions and for working copies, and [email protected], the Superior Court Administration mailbox. Both are office mailboxes. Ask before emailing anything you intend as a filing; e-filing goes through TrueFiling, not by email | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., closed for the lunch hour, per the county's own County Clerk page and its Clerk FAQ (verified July 2026). This is a one-counter office, so call (509) 773-5744 to confirm before making a trip to Goldendale, especially from the west end of the county |
| 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). The county's own 2026 Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective June 11, 2026, prints the same $290 for a probate filing, and the county notes fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). Confirm the current schedule with the Klickitat County Clerk |
| Local forms | No local probate forms, and Washington publishes no statewide probate form set either (verified July 2026 on the courts.wa.gov Court Forms index, which has no probate category). The county's own FORMS page says the state does not provide standardized civil forms apart from protection orders. What Klickitat County does publish: the statewide Case Information Cover Sheets, including a Probate/Estate Cases sheet, linked from the Clerk's e-filing page; a filing fee waiver packet; pre-made packets the Clerk's Office sells for some case types, offered as a general courtesy that may not include every form a case needs; and the joint local court rules with the court's exemplar forms, including the Request for Remote Appearance |
| E-filing | Available and not required. The Klickitat County Clerk's Office accepts e-filing through TrueFiling, with a $5 convenience fee per bundle rather than per document, and a new case needs a Case Information Cover Sheet. Paper filing at the counter or by mail is still accepted, and some documents must be filed on paper no matter what, including original wills and codicils that do not conform to the Electronic Wills Act. Judge's working copies are not accepted through TrueFiling |
| Case search | Klickitat County uses Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, and links its own county dashboard from the Clerk's page as Find My Case (https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal). The statewide index at https://dw.courts.wa.gov/ also reaches superior court cases, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record. Probate cases are indexed as superior court civil cases; some documents can be viewed in the portal but not downloaded, so the county routes copy purchases to the Washington State Digital Archives or to the counter |
| Hearing dates | Set on a rotation, not on a fixed weekday. The judge who serves Klickitat and Skamania counties sits by alternating weeks between the two counties (LGAR 0.2(b)), and Klickitat County sessions run 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (LCR 77(f)(1)). Motions are heard on a Law and Motion Docket unless the court administrator arranges otherwise, and the court administrator prepares and publishes the yearly calendar, which the county posts as its court docket calendar (LGAR 0.1). A request to place a matter on the regularly scheduled motion calendar must be in writing and filed three working days ahead, excluding holidays and weekends (LCR 77(f)(3)), and motion papers are served and filed no later than ten court days before the date you want the motion considered (LCR 6(d)(2)(A)(i)). Law and motion argument is limited to ten minutes per side, and anything over twenty minutes is specially set by the Court Administrator (LCR 77(k)(1)) |
| Ex parte orders | Most probate orders are presented ex parte. Everything you ask to have reviewed ex parte goes to the Clerk's Office, which arranges with the court administrator for a judicial officer to review it; do not send ex parte requests to the court administrator directly (LGAR 0.6). Mailed ex parte matters go in with a check for the clerk's judicial signature fee and are placed on the ex parte desk for review (LCR 77(k)(2)); the county's fee schedule effective June 11, 2026 charges $30 for ex parte orders per case per submission (RCW 36.18.016(12)). Include a self-addressed stamped return envelope: without one you must arrange immediate pickup, and materials left more than 48 hours are deemed abandoned and destroyed (LGAR 0.6). To bring paperwork in for signature, call court administration at (509) 773-5755 to arrange a time when the judge or a designee is available (LCR 77(k)(3)) |
| Remote appearance | Discretionary and arranged in advance. Remote appearance requires the express approval of the judge hearing the matter, plus a Request for Remote Appearance form mailed or emailed to the Court Administrator at least five court days before the hearing absent good cause (LGAR 19(a)(2)(A)); the county's Clerk FAQ tells parties to contact court administration at (509) 773-5755 about a week ahead. The $25 non-refundable administrative fee in that rule applies to Skamania County only, so it does not apply to a Klickitat County case. Recording or rebroadcasting a remote proceeding is prohibited without the judge's written authorization (LGAR 0.3(b)) |
| Website | https://www.klickitatcounty.gov/186/County-Clerk (the county's own County Clerk page, with hours, the mailing address, the fee schedule, e-filing, and the newspaper of record), https://www.klickitatcounty.gov/877/Superior-Court (the Superior Court page, with the joint local court rules, the exemplar forms, and the posted court docket calendar), and https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/279.html (the courts.wa.gov directory entry for Klickitat County) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything with the Klickitat County Clerk, know exactly what is in the estate. 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 full 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 explained on the Washington state page. Identify the estate first so you, and if needed your attorney, file the right papers once. That matters more here than in a compact county: Goldendale is an hour's drive from White Salmon and Bingen, and the county's district courts in Goldendale and White Salmon are courts of limited jurisdiction that do not handle probate, so the courthouse in Goldendale is the only counter that can open your case.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you file. How each asset is titled decides which route you need: the small estate affidavit reaches personal property only, while a house in Goldendale or White Salmon, orchard or wheat ground, or a Gorge parcel generally requires a probate in the superior court so that a personal representative has authority to sign a deed. Knowing the debts matters too, because nonintervention powers are granted only if the court finds the estate solvent (RCW 11.68.011). Sunset's asset discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Klickitat County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, is the single probate filing office for all of Klickitat County, at one counter in Room 204 of the county courthouse at 205 South Columbus Avenue in Goldendale. There is no second probate counter and no branch office in the west end of the county. The office serves the entire county: Goldendale, the county seat, and the Gorge cities of White Salmon and Bingen, which are the county's only other incorporated places, plus the unincorporated communities and farm and orchard country where most residents actually live, among them Lyle, Klickitat, Trout Lake, Glenwood, Dallesport, Wishram, Centerville, and Roosevelt. Of the county's estimated 23,700 residents as of April 1, 2026, about 16,800 live outside the three cities (Washington Office of Financial Management). Estates from every part of the county are filed in Goldendale, in person at the counter, by mail to 205 South Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620, or electronically through the Clerk's TrueFiling service. Do not take a probate petition to a district court: the county's East and West district courts, in Goldendale and White Salmon, are courts of limited jurisdiction and do not handle probate.
One superior court judge serves Klickitat and Skamania counties jointly (RCW 2.08.064), and the two counties share one set of joint local court rules. That is an administrative fact about the bench, not about the counter: you do not file in Stevenson. A Klickitat County estate is filed with the Klickitat County Clerk, keeps a Klickitat County case number, and stays in the Klickitat County records. What the shared judge changes is scheduling. Under LGAR 0.2(b) the presiding judge serves by alternating weeks between Klickitat and Skamania counties, with special settings as the court administrators specify, so a Goldendale date depends on which week the judge is in Klickitat County. Klickitat County sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (LCR 77(f)(1)), motions are heard on a Law and Motion Docket unless the court administrator arranges otherwise, and the court administrator publishes the calendar yearly and the county posts it, so use the posted court docket calendar or call court administration at (509) 773-5755 for the next available date (LGAR 0.1). The rotation cuts the other way too: any hearing that has to be held in a court outside the county where the case was filed is coordinated through the Klickitat and Skamania County Court Administrator, who then notifies the clerk's office where the case was filed (LCR 77(k)(4)). The court sits in one continuous session from January 1 to December 31, with a Winter Holiday recess from December 24 to January 2 when contested matters are not tried except by consent (LCR 77(d)), which is worth knowing if a December death has you filing near the end of the year.
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)). So if the person who died lived in Klickitat County, file with the Klickitat 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 is the same for 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 the application 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. Washington has no statewide probate form set, so the petition, the order, the oath, and the notices are drafted documents rather than fill-in forms, and Klickitat County publishes no local probate forms of its own. One statewide form does come with a new case: the Case Information Cover Sheet, and the Clerk's e-filing page links the Probate/Estate Cases version. The Clerk's Office sells pre-made packets for some case types, with the county's own caution that a packet is a general courtesy and may not contain every form your case needs, and WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets a self-represented filer can work from, including the small estate affidavit kit.
- File with the Klickitat County Clerk. You have three ways in. Take the papers to the clerk's counter in Room 204 of the courthouse at 205 South Columbus Avenue in Goldendale, open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; mail them to the County Clerk at 205 South Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620; or e-file through the Clerk's TrueFiling service, which charges a $5 convenience fee per bundle rather than per document. Some documents must be paper whichever route you choose, including an original will or codicil that does not conform to the Electronic Wills Act, so plan to get the original will to the counter or into the mail. Call (509) 773-5744 before you mail original documents and ask what the office wants on intake.
- 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)). Klickitat County's own fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026, prints the same $290, and the county notes fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the county publishes a filing fee waiver packet. The county takes payment at the counter, by mail, online through its payment provider, or by phone at 1-833-440-3761. The small estate affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no court case, though Klickitat County's schedule charges $20 to file the affidavit with the Clerk if you choose to.
- Give the required notices. 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 Klickitat 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 Klickitat County Clerk names the Goldendale Sentinel, 117 West Main Street in Goldendale, (509) 773-3777, as the county's newspaper of record, and the paper takes legal notices at its own legals address. Confirm the publication 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).
- Get the order in front of a judicial officer. Most probate orders never need a contested hearing. Anything you want reviewed ex parte goes to the Clerk's Office, which arranges with the court administrator for a judge or court commissioner to review it (LGAR 0.6); mailed ex parte matters go in with a check for the clerk's judicial signature fee and are placed on the ex parte desk (LCR 77(k)(2)), and the county's schedule charges $30 per case per submission for ex parte orders. Include a self-addressed stamped return envelope, because without one you must arrange immediate pickup and materials left more than 48 hours are deemed abandoned and destroyed. To bring paperwork in for signature instead, call court administration at (509) 773-5755 to arrange a time when the judge or a designee is available (LCR 77(k)(3)). If your matter does need argument, serve and file the motion papers no later than ten court days before the date you want it heard (LCR 6(d)(2)(A)(i)), file a written request to put it on the regularly scheduled motion calendar three working days ahead excluding holidays and weekends (LCR 77(f)(3)), and expect ten minutes per side unless it is specially set (LCR 77(k)(1)). Working copies for the judge are marked in the upper right corner of the first page with the date, time, and judge's name, and hard copies for Klickitat County are delivered to Superior Court Administration in Room 206 (LCR 6(d)(2)(B)); under the Clerk's own working-copies policy you can instead email the documents to [email protected] and the Clerk's Office will print and provide them to the court for $0.50 per page, paid in advance. To appear by video or phone, get the judge's approval and send a Request for Remote Appearance to the Court Administrator at least five court days ahead (LGAR 19(a)(2)(A)).
- Receive the letters. On appointment the court issues letters testamentary where there is a will, or letters of administration where there is not, and the Klickitat 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: the county's schedule charges $5 for letters of administration, letters testamentary, or letters of guardianship (RCW 36.18.016(9)) and $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)). If you need copies mailed, ask about postage, because the county charges a $2 handling fee when no self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.
- 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.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Klickitat County
Klickitat 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 county's own FORMS page says the same thing from the other direction: Washington does not provide standardized civil forms apart from protection orders, and the county recommends legal advice on what a particular case requires. 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.
Several things here do come from a form, and one comes with every new case. A new superior court case needs a Case Information Cover Sheet, and the Clerk's e-filing page links the statewide cover sheets including the Probate/Estate Cases version. The Clerk's Office sells pre-made packets for some case types, priced by the size of the packet, with the county's own caveat that a packet is a general courtesy and may or may not contain every form your situation needs. The county also publishes a filing fee waiver packet, useful if the $290 filing fee is a hardship (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and the GR 34 fee waiver forms are on the courts.wa.gov forms pages. The Superior Court page carries the joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules and the court's exemplar forms, and the one that matters most in a probate is the Request for Remote Appearance. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the practical self-help packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route that opens no court case under RCW 11.62.010. Ask the Klickitat County Clerk at (509) 773-5744 what the office wants on intake before you file, because a one-counter office can tell you in one call.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Klickitat County Clerk (klickitatcounty.gov) | The filing office's own page: hours, the Room 204 mailing address, the 2026 clerk's fee schedule effective June 11, 2026, the Odyssey Portal and Find My Case links, payment options, and the county's newspaper of record |
| E-filing through TrueFiling, Klickitat County Clerk (klickitatcounty.gov) | The Clerk's e-filing instructions, the $5 per bundle convenience fee, the statewide case cover sheets including the Probate/Estate Cases sheet, and the list of documents that must still be filed on paper, including original wills and codicils that do not conform to the Electronic Wills Act |
| Klickitat County Clerk forms page (klickitatcounty.gov) | The county's own statement that Washington provides no standardized civil forms apart from protection orders, the pre-made packets the Clerk's Office sells, and the motion and order to waive civil filing fees |
| Klickitat County Superior Court (klickitatcounty.gov) | The joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules, the court's exemplar forms including the Request for Remote Appearance, the interpreter request form, and the posted court docket calendar |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide Case Information Cover Sheets and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no probate category here, which is the point: Washington has no statewide probate forms |
| 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: Klickitat County (courts.wa.gov) | The government listing that confirms the Klickitat County Clerk's Room 204 address and phone, and the separate Room 206 listing and phone for the Superior Court |
Recent updates
| Change | What it means for a Klickitat County estate |
|---|---|
| New clerk's fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026 | The Klickitat County Clerk published a 2026 fee schedule effective June 11, 2026 and notes that fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). It prints a $290 probate filing fee, matching the statutory total (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), along with the local line items a probate actually runs into: $5 for letters, $5 plus $1 per page for certified copies, $30 for an ex parte order per case per submission, $20 to file a small estate affidavit, and $20 to file a will where no probate is contemplated. Older sources that show a lower probate filing fee predate the $50 surcharge added by 2025 c 357 and are out of date |
| E-filing through TrueFiling at the Clerk's Office | The Klickitat County Clerk's Office now accepts e-filing through TrueFiling, with a $5 convenience fee per bundle. The county publishes no start date for the program. E-filing is available, not required, and the county lists documents that must still be filed on paper, including original wills and codicils that do not conform to the Electronic Wills Act. Judge's working copies are not accepted through TrueFiling |
| Proposed changes to the joint local court rules, comment period closed July 1, 2026 | The Superior Court posted proposed changes to the Klickitat and Skamania local court rules, in both redline and clean versions, with comments due to Superior Court Administration by July 1, 2026. Those proposals were not adopted rules as of this review, so check the current rule set on the court's page before relying on a rule cited here |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Klickitat County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Goldendale or White Salmon 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 Klickitat 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). The petition is filed with the Klickitat County Clerk in Room 204 in Goldendale, and the appointment order is usually presented ex parte through the Clerk's Office rather than at a hearing (LGAR 0.6). | 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 Klickitat County Clerk. 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 has two remote routes into Klickitat County: mail the petition to the County Clerk at 205 South Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620, or e-file through the Clerk's TrueFiling service for a $5 convenience fee per bundle, remembering that an original will still has to reach the counter on paper. Pay online or by phone, and if a hearing is needed ask court administration about a remote appearance at least five court days ahead (LGAR 19(a)(2)(A)). | 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 by e-filing. |
| 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 now 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 Klickitat County house and distribute the proceeds without returning to court for approval (RCW 11.68.011). If a hearing is needed it goes before the judge who serves Klickitat and Skamania counties, who sits in Goldendale on alternating weeks (LGAR 0.2(b)), so ask court administration at (509) 773-5755 for the next available date rather than assuming a weekday. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, property, and debts. Packet generation for the probate petition and the notices. Attorney referral if the sale or a dispute among heirs turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Klickitat County Clerk (klickitatcounty.gov), (509) 773-5744 | The filing office for probate: hours, the counter in Room 204 at 205 South Columbus Avenue in Goldendale, the mailing address, the fee schedule, payment options, and the newspaper of record. The county's Superior Court page directs filing, fee, and payment questions here. Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| Klickitat County Superior Court (klickitatcounty.gov), (509) 773-5755 | Court administration: the joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules, the exemplar forms including the Request for Remote Appearance, the interpreter request form, the posted court docket calendar, and the office that arranges hearing dates and remote appearances |
| Local court rules for the Superior Court for Klickitat and Skamania counties (courts.wa.gov) | The current joint rules as published by the Administrative Office of the Courts, including ex parte routing (LGAR 0.6), remote appearance (LGAR 19), motion timing (LCR 6(d)), and sessions and motion calendars (LCR 77). Note the file is a scan, so it does not search by text |
| Klickitat County court facilitator program (klickitatcounty.gov) | Reference materials the county gathers for people filing a civil case in superior court without an attorney, including self-representation information, plus ADA accommodation and language access information. Appointments run through court administration; ask whether the facilitator can help with a probate, because these programs are often limited to family law, and the county sends filing, forms, and fee questions to the Clerk's Office |
| 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 county's own Superior Court page recommends starting here |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov) | The public case search for Washington superior courts, including Klickitat County, which the county links from its Clerk page as Find My Case. Probate cases appear as superior court civil cases; some documents can be viewed but not downloaded, and the Clerk's document request page explains how to buy copies through the Washington State Digital Archives or at the counter |
| 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 case status may be inaccurate |
| Northwest Justice Project CLEAR, 1-888-201-1014, nwjustice.org | Free civil legal aid intake for low-income Washington residents, Monday to Friday mornings; 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 Klickitat County |
| Washington State Law Library (courts.wa.gov), (360) 357-2136 | Legal reference help by phone and email for anyone in the state, useful because Klickitat County lists no law library among its departments |
When to hire an attorney
Many Klickitat 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. Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim, when farm or orchard ground, a business, water rights, or property across the river in Oregon 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). Geography is its own reason: the judge who serves Klickitat and Skamania counties sits in Goldendale on alternating weeks, so a lawyer who already appears on that rotation can present an order without an extra trip across the county. The Klickitat County Clerk can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Klickitat 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, Klickitat County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value for estate settlement and which Washington route fits before you file.
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, ready to file with the Klickitat County Clerk at the counter in Goldendale, by mail, or through the Clerk's TrueFiling service.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Klickitat 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 Klickitat County?
With the Klickitat County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at the counter in Room 204 of the county courthouse, 205 South Columbus Avenue in Goldendale, or by mail to the same address, or electronically through the Clerk's TrueFiling service. Washington has no separate probate court: the Superior Court in Klickitat County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, and the County Clerk is the filing office. Do not take a probate to one of the county's district courts in Goldendale or White Salmon, because those are courts of limited jurisdiction that do not handle probate. 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)).
Can I e-file a Klickitat County probate?
Yes. The Klickitat County Clerk's Office accepts e-filing through TrueFiling, and the county's instructions neither limit e-filing to attorneys nor require it of anyone. The convenience fee is $5 per bundle rather than per document, and a new case needs a Case Information Cover Sheet, with the Clerk's e-filing page linking the Probate/Estate Cases version. E-filing is not required: paper at the counter or by mail is still accepted. Some documents must be paper no matter what, and the one that matters most in probate is at the top of the county's list, an original will or codicil that does not conform to the Electronic Wills Act. The office also does not take judge's working copies through TrueFiling, and if you e-file an order for ex parte review you retrieve the conformed copy separately, so the county suggests watching Odyssey Portal for availability. Questions go to the Clerk's Office at (509) 773-5744.
Can I file a Klickitat County probate by mail?
Yes. Send the papers to the Klickitat County Clerk at 205 South Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620. There is no PO Box; the county directs clerk mail to the same street address as the counter. Include payment for the $290 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), which the county's own schedule confirms, and note that fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060); you can also pay online or by phone at 1-833-440-3761. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want anything mailed back, because the county charges a $2 handling fee when one is not provided, and an ex parte order left with the clerk without a return envelope has to be picked up within 48 hours or it is deemed abandoned and destroyed (LGAR 0.6). Call (509) 773-5744 before you mail the original will.
How much does it cost to file probate in Klickitat 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)). Klickitat County's 2026 clerk's fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026, prints the same $290 for a probate filing, so there is no county add-on to that figure. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the county publishes a filing fee waiver packet. Budget separately for the items the county's schedule does charge: $5 for letters of administration, letters testamentary, or letters of guardianship (RCW 36.18.016(9)), $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)), $30 for an ex parte order per case per submission (RCW 36.18.016(12)), $5 per bundle if you e-file through TrueFiling, $0.50 per page if the Clerk prints working copies for you, $20 to file a small estate affidavit with the Clerk, and the cost of publishing the creditor notice. Confirm the current schedule with the Klickitat County Clerk.
When does the superior court judge sit in Goldendale?
On a rotation rather than every week. One superior court judge serves Klickitat and Skamania counties (RCW 2.08.064), and under LGAR 0.2(b) of the counties' joint local rules that judge serves by alternating weeks between the two counties, with special settings as the court administrators specify. Klickitat County sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (LCR 77(f)(1)), motions are heard on a Law and Motion Docket unless court administration arranges otherwise, and the court administrator publishes the calendar yearly and the county posts it as its court docket calendar (LGAR 0.1). Rather than assume a weekday, use the posted calendar or call court administration at (509) 773-5755. Sharing a judge affects the calendar, not the county: the estate is still filed with the Klickitat County Clerk and keeps a Klickitat County case number. Note also that the court sits in one continuous session from January 1 to December 31 with a Winter Holiday recess from December 24 to January 2, when contested matters are not tried except by consent (LCR 77(d)).
Do I need a hearing to be appointed personal representative in Klickitat County?
Often not. Most probate orders in Klickitat County are presented ex parte rather than argued. Anything you ask to have reviewed ex parte goes to the Clerk's Office, which arranges with the court administrator for a judge or court commissioner to review it, and the local rules are explicit that ex parte requests are not sent to the court administrator directly (LGAR 0.6). Matters mailed in go with a check for the clerk's judicial signature fee and are placed on the ex parte desk for review (LCR 77(k)(2)); the county's fee schedule charges $30 for ex parte orders per case per submission. If you would rather bring the paperwork in for signature, call court administration at (509) 773-5755 to arrange a time when the judge or a designee is available (LCR 77(k)(3)). If your matter does need argument, serve and file the motion papers no later than ten court days before the date you want it considered (LCR 6(d)(2)(A)(i)) and file a written request to place it on the regularly scheduled motion calendar three working days ahead, excluding holidays and weekends (LCR 77(f)(3)).
Can I appear by phone or video in a Klickitat County probate?
Sometimes, if you arrange it in advance. Remote appearance is discretionary with the court under LGAR 19 of the joint Klickitat and Skamania local rules: it takes the express approval of the judge hearing the matter, plus a Request for Remote Appearance form, which the court publishes on its Superior Court page, mailed or emailed to the Court Administrator at least five court days before the hearing unless good cause is shown. The county's Clerk FAQ tells parties to contact court administration at (509) 773-5755 about a week before the hearing to get permission. The $25 non-refundable administrative fee in that rule applies to Skamania County only, so it does not apply to a Klickitat County case. Any party can ask that everyone appear in person, and the court can order it. Recording, photographing, or rebroadcasting a remote proceeding is prohibited without the judge's written authorization (LGAR 0.3(b)).
How do I look up a Klickitat County probate case online?
Use Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Klickitat County; the county links its own Klickitat dashboard from the Clerk's page as Find My Case. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov will also find a case, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record. Probate cases are indexed as superior court civil cases. Documents are a separate step: the county says some documents can be viewed in the portal but not downloaded, and it routes copy purchases to the Washington State Digital Archives record series for Klickitat County Superior Court files or to the counter, where a certified copy is $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)). The office cannot certify documents electronically, so certified copies bought online are mailed.
Are there local Klickitat County probate forms?
No. Klickitat County publishes no local probate forms, and Washington has no statewide probate form set either: the courts.wa.gov forms index has no probate category (verified July 2026), and the county's own forms page says the state does not provide standardized civil forms apart from protection orders. The petition, the order, the oath, and the notices are drafted documents. What the county does publish is worth using: the statewide Case Information Cover Sheets including the Probate/Estate Cases sheet, on the Clerk's e-filing page; a filing fee waiver packet; pre-made packets the Clerk's Office sells for some case types, with the county's caution that a packet may not include every form your case needs; and, on the Superior Court page, the joint local court rules and the court's exemplar forms, including the Request for Remote Appearance. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010).
Where is the creditor notice published for a Klickitat County estate?
In a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered, once each week for three successive weeks (RCW 11.40.020(1)). The Klickitat County Clerk names the county's newspaper of record on its own page: the Goldendale Sentinel, 117 West Main Street, Goldendale, WA 98620, (509) 773-3777, which takes legal and public notices at its legals address. If the probate was filed somewhere other than the county where the decedent lived, publication still goes in the county of residence and the notice is filed where the case was commenced (RCW 11.40.020(2)). Confirm the schedule and cost with the newspaper before you rely on a date, because first publication starts the four-month period for creditor claims (RCW 11.40.051).
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.