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Pacific County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Pacific 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, and the county's own Superior Court page lists probate among the cases it hears. One elected superior court judge serves Pacific and Wahkiakum counties jointly (RCW 2.08.065), and the two counties share one adopted set of local court rules, effective September 1, 2025, cited on this page as LGR, LAR, and LPGCR. Some matters may be presented to a judge pro tem or a court commissioner when the judge is unavailable (LGR 1(G)) |
| Filing office | The Pacific 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, and the clerk's own page describes the County Clerk as an independent elected official. A shared judge changes nothing about where you file: filing stays with the Pacific County Clerk |
| Courthouse | Pacific County Courthouse, 300 Memorial Drive, South Bend, WA 98586. One clerk counter serves the entire county. The county's south-end offices at 7013 Sandridge Road in Long Beach house courts of limited jurisdiction that do not handle probate, so do not file an estate there |
| Mailing address | PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067. Ex parte submissions by mail are addressed to the Pacific County Clerk, marked for ex parte, at 300 Memorial Drive, PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067 |
| Phone | (360) 875-9320 for the Pacific County Clerk, the office that takes filings, issues letters, and handles records. (360) 875-9328 for Superior Court Administration, the office that schedules hearings, approves remote appearances, and schedules ex parte presentations to the judge |
| Fax | None published for the County Clerk. The courts.wa.gov court directory lists fax (360) 875-9351 for the Superior Court and the Juvenile Court and lists no fax for the County Clerk, and the clerk's own site publishes none. The clerk also states plainly that filings cannot be accepted by email, so use the counter, the mail, or eFileWA |
| [email protected], the County Clerk's office mailbox, which the county publishes for records requests and Odyssey Portal registration. [email protected] is Superior Court Administration's mailbox for hearing and remote appearance requests. [email protected] takes electronic ex parte submissions. None of these is a filing channel: the clerk cannot accept a filing by email | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., per the county's own contact page, which adds that the Clerk's office and Court Administration stay open through lunch unless staffing forces a closure. The same window is the electronic filing day: documents received outside 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding court holidays, are treated as received and filed at the start of the next business day. This is a one-counter office with a small staff, so call (360) 875-9320 before making a trip to South Bend |
| 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)). The Pacific County Clerk's own fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026, prints the same $290 for a probate filing and notes that fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060) and that the office issues no refunds. Fee waivers are available for filers who cannot afford the fee (GR 34). Confirm the current schedule with the Pacific County Clerk |
| Local forms | Yes, but none of them is probate-specific. Pacific County publishes its own Superior Court forms, including a Cover Sheet, a Declaration, a Pacific County note for motion docket (Attachment B), a Pacific County note for trial setting (Attachment A), a Pacific County notice striking hearing (Attachment D), a Pacific County request to appear remotely (Attachment F), and an Ex Parte Cover Sheet for electronic ex parte submissions. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set either (verified July 2026 on the courts.wa.gov Court Forms index, which has no probate category), so the petition, the order, the oath, and the notices are drafted documents. A Case Cover Sheet is required with a new civil case |
| E-filing | Available. The Pacific County Clerk accepts electronic filing through eFileWA, the Tyler Technologies Odyssey eFile and Serve system (https://pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com/efilewa). There is no charge for using eFile and Serve itself; you pay the statutory filing fee plus an e-commerce transaction fee on each electronic payment. Documents must meet the GR 14 format rules, and the clerk cannot accept filings by email. Orders are the exception: they cannot be presented through eFileWA, so the clerk runs a separate ex parte route, either the county's Ex Parte Cover Sheet emailed to [email protected] or a mailed presentation. Paper filing at the counter or by mail remains available |
| Case search | Two layers. Pacific County is one of the counties covered by Odyssey Portal, the free public case search for Washington superior courts (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, judgments, document links, and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record. Separately, the Pacific County Clerk runs a registered Odyssey Portal access program for fuller county records, including probate and guardianship cases, which takes a Master Registration Form and a signed Subscription Agreement returned to the Clerk with an annual fee and five to ten business days to process. For documents in a Pacific County estate, use the clerk's document request process |
| Hearing dates | The judge does not hear motions in South Bend every day. Under LGR 1(A) of the joint Pacific and Wahkiakum local rules the court is in session on all judicial days from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., and session begins at 9:30 a.m. on Motion Day. Pacific County's motion day is Friday: civil motions are called at 9 a.m., special sets at 11 a.m. with Court Administration's approval, and oral argument is limited to ten minutes per side (LGR 1(E)). Motion day can be moved by court order, and the previous Thursday may be designated when a holiday falls on a Friday. Many probate orders never need a motion date at all: ex parte matters may be filed with the Clerk's office with the ex parte fee, or presented to the judge in chambers if available, with Court Administration called in advance to schedule, and emergency matters may be presented at any time (LGR 1(G), LAR 3(A)) |
| Remote appearance | Approved in advance, not automatic. Under LGR 1(H) motions and hearings may be heard by remote conference with the court's approval, but only where there will be no testimony or significant oral argument. Email the county's request to appear remotely form to Court Administration at [email protected] at least five business days before the hearing date, with the details and the reason; Court Administration answers by email. If the request is approved and the fee applies, a nonrefundable $25 charge for the arrangements and the call cost must be paid to the Clerk's Office before the hearing, with exceptions listed on the form. The county adds that only active parties may appear by Zoom, that participants are screened before admission, and that you should check in 15 to 20 minutes early |
| Website | https://pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com (the county's joint Superior Court and County Clerk site, with hours, contacts, filing instructions, the fee schedule, local forms, dockets, and the local court rules) and https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/284.html (the courts.wa.gov directory entry for Pacific County) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything with the Pacific 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: the Pacific County Clerk's own fee schedule says fees are paid in advance and the office issues no refunds, so a filing that has to be redone costs money as well as time.
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 Raymond, a cranberry bog near Long Beach, an oyster operation on Willapa Bay, or a beach cottage at Ocean Park 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 Pacific County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, is the single probate filing office for all of Pacific County, at one counter in the Pacific County Courthouse at 300 Memorial Drive in South Bend. There is no second probate counter. The office serves the entire county, including the four incorporated cities, South Bend, Raymond, Long Beach, and Ilwaco, and the communities around them, among them Bay Center, Chinook, Lebam, Menlo, Naselle, Nemah, North Cove, Ocean Park, Oysterville, Seaview, Tokeland, and Willapa, from the Willapa Valley out to the Long Beach Peninsula and down to the Columbia River. Estates from every part of the county are filed here: in person at the counter, by mail to PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067, or electronically through eFileWA. The county's south-end offices at 7013 Sandridge Road in Long Beach house courts of limited jurisdiction that do not handle probate, so an estate is not filed there even if the family lives on the peninsula.
One elected superior court judge serves Pacific and Wahkiakum counties jointly (RCW 2.08.065), and the two counties share one adopted set of local court rules, effective September 1, 2025, published by the Administrative Office of the Courts as the Local Court Rules of the Superior Court for Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties. That is an administrative fact about the bench, not about the counter: you do not file in Cathlamet. A Pacific County estate is filed with the Pacific County Clerk, keeps a Pacific County case number, and stays in the Pacific County records. What the shared judge changes is scheduling. The court is in session on all judicial days from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., with session beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Motion Day (LGR 1(A)); Pacific County's motion day is Friday, with civil motions called at 9 a.m., special sets at 11 a.m. subject to Court Administration's approval, and oral argument limited to ten minutes per side (LGR 1(E)); and Wahkiakum County's motion days fall on alternating Mondays, which is why the court publishes both a combined Pacific and Wahkiakum calendar and a Pacific County only calendar. Dockets are posted by noon the day before, and the court warns that hearings can change at short notice, so confirm with Court Administration at (360) 875-9328 rather than relying on a posted list alone.
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 Pacific County, file with the Pacific 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. Pacific County has a local rule about the death certificate: the copy filed with the court must have the Social Security number redacted unless the court orders otherwise (LPGCR 1(A) of the joint Pacific and Wahkiakum local rules).
- 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). Pacific County's local rule makes the proof route explicit: wills may be admitted and a personal representative appointed on either oral testimony or appropriate affidavits (LPGCR 1(A)), so an uncontested estate is usually proved on paper rather than by testimony. 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 none of Pacific County's own local forms is probate-specific. Two county forms still matter: the Case Cover Sheet the clerk requires with a new civil case, and the Ex Parte Cover Sheet if you intend to present the appointment order electronically. Everything filed must meet the statewide format rules in GR 14, which the clerk's filing page reprints: letter-size paper, one side only, a three-inch top margin on the first page, one-inch margins elsewhere, and no colored pages or highlighting. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets a self-represented filer can work from, including the small estate affidavit kit.
- File with the Pacific County Clerk. You have three routes. Take the papers to the clerk's counter in the Pacific County Courthouse, 300 Memorial Drive in South Bend, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; mail them to the County Clerk at PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067; or file electronically through eFileWA, the Tyler Technologies Odyssey eFile and Serve system the clerk uses. Electronic filing hours are the same 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. window, excluding court holidays, and anything received outside it is treated as filed at the start of the next business day. The clerk cannot accept filings by email. Call (360) 875-9320 before you mail original documents, including the original will, and ask then 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)). The Pacific County Clerk's own fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026, prints the same figure, requires fees to be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), and states that the office issues no refunds and returns overpayments rather than processing them. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34. The clerk takes payment at the counter, by mail, and through the county's online payment service, and an e-commerce transaction fee applies to electronic payments. The small estate affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no court case, so it carries no court filing fee.
- Present the appointment order. Pacific County handles most probate orders ex parte rather than at a hearing, and orders cannot go through eFileWA, so the clerk publishes two routes. Electronically, complete the county's Ex Parte Cover Sheet, check off its requirements, and email it with the attachments to [email protected]; if you choose the email return option you should have the signed order back typically within 24 business hours. By mail, address the packet to the Pacific County Clerk, marked for ex parte, at 300 Memorial Drive, PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067, with a letter of instruction stating what you want done, the original documents for signature, a self addressed stamped envelope large enough for the return, and payment of the $30 ex parte presentation fee (RCW 36.18.016(12)); the office does not file proposed orders, so a proposed order comes in as a bench copy, and a packet that does not meet every requirement is returned unprocessed. An order may also be presented to the judge in chambers if the judge is available, with Court Administration called in advance at (360) 875-9328 to schedule, and emergency matters may be presented at any time (LGR 1(G)). Every signed order must be filed with the Clerk forthwith.
- 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 Pacific 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)). Pacific County is served by two weeklies, the Chinook Observer, published in Long Beach, and the Willapa Harbor Herald. Confirm with the clerk and the paper which one to use, and confirm the schedule and cost before you count on a date, because first publication starts the four-month claim period (RCW 11.40.051).
- Get on a court date if your matter needs one. Anything set for argument goes on the Friday motion docket, where civil motions are called at 9 a.m., a matter needing more time is specially set at 11 a.m. with Court Administration's approval, and oral argument is limited to ten minutes per side (LGR 1(E)). Motion day can be moved by court order, and the previous Thursday may be designated when a holiday falls on a Friday, so check the posted docket, which goes up by noon the day before. Anything filed within two days of the hearing needs a bench copy showing the date and time of the proceeding, the judicial officer if known, and the cause number on the first page; electronic bench copies sent to Court Administration must not exceed ten pages, and a longer one goes through the Clerk's Office at $0.50 per page (LAR 2(A)). To appear remotely, email the county's request form to Court Administration at [email protected] at least five business days ahead; approval is discretionary, is available only where there will be no testimony or significant oral argument, and carries a nonrefundable $25 fee payable to the Clerk before the hearing unless an exception on the form applies (LGR 1(H)).
- 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 Pacific 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 a certificate of qualification or a certified copy of letters (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)). Certified copies cannot be emailed, so plan for mail or a counter pickup, and note that the office mails copies to an address outside the United States only if you send payment with a correctly addressed envelope carrying enough postage.
- 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. If a dispute has to be resolved along the way, Pacific County has a local rule on where it goes: a petition under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act is filed within the existing probate case, not as a new case, and a separate filing fee may be charged (LPGCR 1(B)).
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Pacific County
Pacific County publishes its own Superior Court forms, but none of them is a probate form, 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). 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.
Three county forms still touch a probate. The clerk requires a Case Cover Sheet with a new civil case, and publishes a fillable Cover Sheet on its forms page. The Ex Parte Cover Sheet is what you use to present the order appointing a personal representative electronically, because orders cannot go through eFileWA. And the Pacific County request to appear remotely form, Attachment F to the joint local rules, is how you ask Court Administration for a remote hearing. The county's other local forms, the note for motion docket (Attachment B), the note for trial setting (Attachment A), and the notice striking hearing (Attachment D), come into play only if a probate matter is set for argument or trial. Everything filed has to meet the GR 14 format rules the clerk reprints on its filing page: letter-size paper, printing on one side only, a three-inch top margin on the first page, one-inch margins elsewhere, and no colored pages or highlighting. The GR 34 fee waiver forms are on the courts.wa.gov forms pages if you cannot afford the $290 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and WashingtonLawHelp publishes the practical self-help packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the no-court-case route under RCW 11.62.010. Ask the Pacific County Clerk at (360) 875-9320 what the office wants on intake before you file, because a one-counter office can tell you in one call.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Pacific County Superior Court forms (pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com) | The county's own fillable forms: the Cover Sheet required with a new case, the Declaration, the Pacific County note for motion docket and note for trial setting, the notice striking hearing, and the Pacific County request to appear remotely |
| Pacific County Clerk filing instructions (pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com) | The clerk's own filing page: the GR 14 format requirements, the ex parte by mail procedure with its $30 fee and its return-unprocessed warning, and the link to the e-filing route |
| Local court rules for Pacific and Wahkiakum counties (courts.wa.gov) | The current joint local rules, effective September 1, 2025, including the local probate rule on admitting a will by affidavit and redacting the death certificate (LPGCR 1(A)), the ex parte rule (LGR 1(G)), the Friday motion day (LGR 1(E)), and the remote appearance rule and its $25 fee (LGR 1(H)) |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide case 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) |
| Pacific County Clerk fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026 (pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com) | The county's own dated schedule: the $290 probate filing fee, the $5 certificate of qualification or certified copy of letters, the $30 ex parte order presentation, and the will filing and will repository charges |
Fees
The $290 fee to open a probate is statutory and identical in every Washington county, and it is the only charge most estates here pay to the court. Pacific County publishes its own dated fee schedule on top of it, effective June 11, 2026, and two of its line items land squarely on a probate: presenting an order ex parte costs $30, and an approved remote appearance costs $25 under the joint local rules. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), the office issues no refunds, and overpayments are returned rather than processed, so confirm the amount with the Pacific County Clerk at (360) 875-9320 before you send money.
| Item | Pacific County charge |
|---|---|
| Opening a probate | $290, statutory and uniform statewide: $200 plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). The county's schedule prints the same figure. Fee waivers are available under GR 34 |
| Presenting an order ex parte | $30 for a single submission of one to five orders in a case (RCW 36.18.016(12)). This is the charge a probate filer meets most often, because appointment orders are normally presented ex parte rather than at a hearing, and a resubmitted packet requires a new fee |
| Approved remote appearance | $25, nonrefundable, for the arrangements and the call cost, payable to the Clerk's Office before the hearing when the court approves a remote appearance (LGR 1(H) of the joint Pacific and Wahkiakum local rules). Exceptions are listed on the county's request form |
| Certificate of qualification or certified copy of letters | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)). The county's schedule labels this line as covering letters of administration, letters testamentary, or letters of guardianship and the certificate of qualification |
| Copies of court records | $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)); $0.50 per page for standard copies; $0.25 per page for emailed copies. Certified copies cannot be emailed, and mail to an address outside the United States requires the requester to supply a correctly addressed envelope with enough postage |
| Filing a will with no probate, or lodging one for safekeeping | $20 to file a will where no probate of the estate is opened (RCW 36.18.012(7)), and $20 for the will repository (RCW 36.18.016(27)) |
| Estate dispute filings | $20 for a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act nonjudicial binding agreement filed in an existing case (RCW 36.18.012(8)), or $290 if it is filed as a new case (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). A petition under that act belongs in the existing probate case (LPGCR 1(B)). Appointing a special representative is $20 (RCW 11.96A.160) |
| Records research and returned payments | $30 per hour with a one-hour minimum for a records search (RCW 36.18.016(11)), $40 for a returned payment on the county's schedule, and $0.50 per page when an electronic bench copy runs past ten pages and has to go through the Clerk instead (LAR 2(A)) |
Recent updates
| Change | What it means for a Pacific County estate |
|---|---|
| Pacific County Clerk fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026 | The clerk publishes a new dated fee schedule listing the $290 probate filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), the $30 ex parte order presentation (RCW 36.18.016(12)), the $5 certificate of qualification or certified copy of letters (RCW 36.18.016(9)), and the $20 charges for filing a will with no probate and for the will repository. Fees are paid in advance and the office issues no refunds. Confirm the current figures with the Clerk before you send payment |
| Local court rules for Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, effective September 1, 2025 | The two counties' joint rules were amended effective September 1, 2025. The provisions that matter to a probate filer are the local probate rule allowing a will to be admitted and a personal representative appointed on either oral testimony or appropriate affidavits, with the death certificate filed with the Social Security number redacted (LPGCR 1(A)); the rule sending a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act petition into the existing probate case (LPGCR 1(B)); the Friday motion day and its ten-minute argument limit (LGR 1(E)); and the remote appearance rule with its five-business-day request and its nonrefundable $25 fee (LGR 1(H)) |
| Electronic ex parte presentation available | Orders cannot be presented through the clerk's eFileWA e-filing system, so the office publishes an alternate electronic route: the county's Ex Parte Cover Sheet emailed with attachments to [email protected], with a signed order returned typically within 24 business hours where the email return option is selected. Presentation by mail with the $30 fee, and presentation to the judge in chambers scheduled through Court Administration, both remain available |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Pacific County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the South Bend or Long Beach 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 Pacific County to admit the will and issue letters testamentary, and the county's local rule allows the will to be admitted and the personal representative appointed on appropriate affidavits rather than live testimony (LPGCR 1(A)). 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 Pacific County Clerk in South Bend, at the counter, by mail, or through eFileWA. | 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 Pacific 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 ways in without flying to the coast: file electronically through eFileWA, or mail the petition to the Pacific County Clerk at PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067 and present the appointment order by the clerk's ex parte routes, either the Ex Parte Cover Sheet emailed to the office or a mailed packet with the $30 fee and a self addressed stamped envelope for the return. | 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 electronically or by mail. |
| 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 Pacific County house and distribute the proceeds without returning to court for approval (RCW 11.68.011). If a hearing is needed it is heard by the judge who serves Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, on the Friday motion docket in South Bend, with civil motions called at 9 a.m. and argument limited to ten minutes per side (LGR 1(E)). | 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 |
|---|---|
| Pacific County Superior Court and County Clerk (pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com), (360) 875-9320 | The filing office for probate, and the county's own site: hours, the counter at 300 Memorial Drive in South Bend, the PO Box 67 mailing address, filing instructions, the fee schedule, local forms, the posted dockets, the e-filing route, and the local court rules. Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| eFileWA e-filing through the Pacific County Clerk (pacificcountysuperiorcourt.com) | The clerk's e-filing page: registration, the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. filing day, the documents that cannot be e-filed, and the separate electronic ex parte route for presenting orders. Tyler Technologies provides the technical support line for the system itself |
| Local court rules for Pacific and Wahkiakum counties (courts.wa.gov) | The current joint local rules, effective September 1, 2025, including the local probate rule (LPGCR 1(A) and (B)), the Friday motion day (LGR 1(E)), ex parte practice (LGR 1(G)), remote appearance (LGR 1(H)), and bench copies (LAR 2(A)) |
| Pacific County Superior Court Administration, (360) 875-9328, [email protected] | The office that schedules hearings and special sets, approves remote appearances, schedules ex parte presentations to the judge, and schedules access to the county's legal research terminal in the law library room next to its office (LAR 1). Court Administration does not give legal advice |
| Pacific County Court Facilitator, by appointment through Court Administration at (360) 875-9328 | Basic procedural help for self-represented filers at $20 for a half hour and $40 for an hour, paid to the Clerk before the session is scheduled. Note the scope: the county's program covers family law, adult guardianship, and minor guardianship cases, NOT decedents' estates, so it is not probate help |
| 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) |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov) | The free public case search for Washington superior courts, including Pacific County. Probate cases appear as superior court civil cases; document coverage varies, and the county's own registered portal access, requested through the Clerk with an annual fee, reaches more |
| 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, judgments, document links, and case status may be inaccurate |
| Washington Courts court directory (courts.wa.gov) | The government directory of superior court and county clerk addresses, phones, and faxes, including the separate Superior Court and County Clerk listings for Pacific County |
| 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 Pacific 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 Pacific County's only published legal research access is the single terminal scheduled through Court Administration |
When to hire an attorney
Many Pacific 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. The county's local rule that a will may be admitted on appropriate affidavits rather than testimony (LPGCR 1(A)) makes a straightforward estate simpler still. 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 timber ground, tideland or shellfish beds, a cranberry operation, a fishing vessel, a business, or property 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). Scheduling is its own reason: motions here are heard on the Friday docket with argument capped at ten minutes a side, and a remote appearance has to be requested five business days out and approved, so a lawyer who already appears on this court's calendar can present an order without a wasted trip to South Bend. The Pacific County Clerk and Court Administration can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice, and the county's court facilitator program does not cover decedents' estates. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Pacific 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, Pacific County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Washington estate settlement 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 Pacific County Clerk at the counter in South Bend, by mail, or through eFileWA.
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 Pacific 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 Pacific County?
With the Pacific County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at the counter in the Pacific County Courthouse, 300 Memorial Drive in South Bend, by mail to PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067, or electronically through eFileWA. Washington has no separate probate court: the Superior Court in Pacific County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, and the County Clerk is the filing office. The county's south-end offices at 7013 Sandridge Road in Long Beach are courts of limited jurisdiction that do not handle probate, so an estate is not filed there. 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 probate in Pacific County?
Yes. The Pacific County Clerk accepts electronic filing through eFileWA, the Tyler Technologies Odyssey eFile and Serve system. There is no charge for using eFile and Serve itself: you pay the statutory filing fee plus an e-commerce transaction fee on each electronic payment. Filing hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding court holidays, and anything received outside that window is treated as received and filed at the start of the next business day. Documents must meet the GR 14 format rules, some documents cannot be e-filed at all, and the clerk cannot accept a filing sent by ordinary email. One important limit: orders cannot be presented through eFileWA, so the order appointing a personal representative goes through the clerk's separate ex parte route.
How do I get the order appointing a personal representative signed in Pacific County?
Ex parte, in most estates, and the clerk publishes three ways to do it. Electronically, complete the county's Ex Parte Cover Sheet, satisfy its checklist, and email it with the attachments to [email protected]; with the email return option you should have the signed order back typically within 24 business hours. By mail, send the packet to the Pacific County Clerk, marked for ex parte, at 300 Memorial Drive, PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067, with a letter of instruction, the original documents, a self addressed stamped envelope, and the $30 presentation fee (RCW 36.18.016(12)); the office does not file proposed orders, so include a proposed order as a bench copy, and a packet that misses any requirement comes back unprocessed. In person, an order may be presented to the judge in chambers if the judge is available, with Court Administration called in advance at (360) 875-9328 to schedule; emergency matters may be presented at any time, and if the court is unavailable a judge pro tem or a court commissioner may hear them (LGR 1(G)). Every signed order must then be filed with the Clerk.
When does the superior court judge hear probate matters in South Bend?
On Fridays, if your matter needs argument. One elected superior court judge serves Pacific and Wahkiakum counties (RCW 2.08.065), and under the counties' joint local rules the court is in session on all judicial days from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., with session beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Motion Day (LGR 1(A)). Pacific County's motion day is Friday: civil motions are called at 9 a.m., a matter needing more time is specially set at 11 a.m. with Court Administration's approval, and oral argument is limited to ten minutes per side (LGR 1(E)). Motion day can be moved by court order, and the previous Thursday may be designated when a holiday falls on a Friday. Wahkiakum County's motion days are alternating Mondays, which is why the court posts both a combined calendar and a Pacific County only calendar. Dockets go up by noon the day before and can change at short notice, so confirm with Court Administration at (360) 875-9328. Sharing a judge affects the calendar, not the county: the estate is still filed with the Pacific County Clerk and keeps a Pacific County case number.
Can I appear by phone or video in a Pacific County probate?
Only with the court's approval, and only for the right kind of hearing. Under LGR 1(H) of the joint local rules, motions and hearings may be heard by remote conference with the court's approval, but a remote hearing may be approved only if there will be no testimony or significant oral argument. Email the county's Pacific County request to appear remotely form to Court Administration at [email protected] at least five business days before the hearing date, with the hearing details and your reasons; Court Administration answers by email. If the request is approved and the fee applies, a nonrefundable $25 charge for the arrangements and the call cost is paid to the Clerk's Office before the hearing, with exceptions listed on the form. The county adds that only active parties may appear by Zoom, that participants are screened before being admitted from the waiting room, and that you should check in 15 to 20 minutes early with your name updated.
How do I look up a Pacific County probate case or get copies of documents?
For a free search, use Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Pacific County. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov will also find a case, but it carries its own notice that dockets, judgments, document links, and case status may be inaccurate. For fuller access to Pacific County records, including probate and guardianship cases, the Clerk runs a registered Odyssey Portal program: the head of the firm or the individual returns a Master Registration Form and a signed Subscription Agreement to the Clerk with the annual fee, and access takes five to ten business days to process. For copies, use the clerk's Document Request Form: the office quotes the cost, payment is due by 3 p.m. on the day of the request or the submission is dismissed, requests made after 3 p.m. are processed the next business day, and proof of payment goes to [email protected]. Certified copies are $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page and cannot be emailed; standard copies are $0.50 a page and emailed copies $0.25 a page.
Are there local Pacific County probate forms?
There are local Pacific County forms, but none of them is a probate form, and Washington has no statewide probate form set either: the courts.wa.gov forms index has no probate category (verified July 2026). The petition, the order admitting the will, the oath, and the notices are drafted documents. Three county forms do come into a probate: the Case Cover Sheet the clerk requires with a new civil case, the Ex Parte Cover Sheet for presenting the appointment order electronically, and the Pacific County request to appear remotely form. The note for motion docket, the note for trial setting, and the notice striking hearing matter only if a probate matter is set for argument. Everything filed must meet the GR 14 format rules the clerk reprints on its filing page. The GR 34 fee waiver forms are on courts.wa.gov, and WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010).
How much does it cost to file probate in Pacific 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)). The Pacific County Clerk's own fee schedule, effective June 11, 2026, prints the same figure, so there is no county add-on to the filing fee itself. Budget for the county's other charges: $30 to present an order ex parte (RCW 36.18.016(12)), $5 for a certificate of qualification or a certified copy of letters (RCW 36.18.016(9)), $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)), a nonrefundable $25 if the court approves a remote appearance (LGR 1(H)), and the cost of publishing the creditor notice in a county newspaper. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), the office issues no refunds, and overpayments are returned rather than processed. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34. Confirm the current schedule with the Pacific County Clerk.
Where is the creditor notice published for a Pacific 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)). Pacific County is served by two weeklies: the Chinook Observer, published in Long Beach, which runs a public notices section, and the Willapa Harbor Herald. Confirm with the Pacific County Clerk and with the paper which one to use for your estate, and confirm the schedule and cost before you rely on a date, because first publication starts the four-month period for creditor claims (RCW 11.40.051). 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)).
Do I have to travel to South Bend to settle an estate in Pacific County?
Often not. The petition and the later filings can go through eFileWA, and the appointment order can be presented by email on the county's Ex Parte Cover Sheet with a signed order back typically within 24 business hours. Mail works too: filings go to the Pacific County Clerk at PO Box 67, South Bend, WA 98586-0067, and certified copies can be mailed back to a United States address. A personal representative granted nonintervention powers then administers and closes a solvent estate without returning to court for supervision (RCW 11.68.011). Where an appearance is needed, a remote hearing can be requested by email at least five business days ahead, but approval is discretionary, is limited to hearings with no testimony or significant oral argument, and carries a nonrefundable $25 fee (LGR 1(H)). Distance matters most for a contested matter, which is heard in the courtroom in South Bend on the Friday motion docket.
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.