Back to Washington
Skagit County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Skagit 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. Skagit County has its own bench rather than a shared judge: the current local rules list four judicial departments (SCLAR 0.2(a)), and the court also sits through court commissioners, who under SCLAR 0.2(c) hold the authority set by RCW 2.24.040. Many routine probate orders are signed without argument on the Clerk's ex parte calendar |
| Filing office | The Skagit County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court. This is the office that takes the petition, lodges the will, issues letters, collects the fees, and keeps the county's estate records. The Clerk is an elected county officer and, per the office's own description, the administrative and financial officer of the Superior Court |
| Courthouse | Skagit County Courthouse, 205 West Kincaid Street, Room 103, Mount Vernon, WA 98273-4225. Room 103 is the Clerk's counter, where probate is filed. Room 202 in the same building is Superior Court Administration, (360) 416-1200, which handles calendars, special settings, judge's copies, and accommodation requests, not filings |
| Mailing address | Skagit County Clerk, 205 West Kincaid Street, Room 103, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. There is no PO Box: filings and clerk correspondence go to the street address |
| Phone | (360) 416-1800, the Skagit County Clerk's line in Mount Vernon. This is the county's own office, not a statewide call center |
| Fax | None. The Clerk's Office states plainly that it does not have a fax number and does not accept fax filings. The fax the Washington Courts directory lists for Skagit County, (360) 416-1210, belongs to Superior Court Administration in Room 202, not to the Clerk, so do not treat it as a filing channel |
| [email protected], the office mailbox the county publishes for the Clerk's Office and the address the Washington Courts directory lists as the office email. Use it for questions and copy requests, and ask before emailing anything you intend as a filing, because filings go through the counter, the mail, or E-Submission | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except nationally recognized holidays, with no midday closure at the Clerk's counter (the county publishes these hours on the Clerk's page, the Clerk's FAQ, and the ex parte page). Passport acceptance stops earlier, at 4:00 p.m. Two nearby offices do close for lunch: Superior Court Administration in Room 202 shuts its window from noon to 1:00 p.m. daily, and the county Law Library closes from noon to 1:00 p.m. For a same-day ex parte order, documents have to reach the Clerk before noon, so treat noon rather than 4:30 as the practical cutoff on a day you need something signed |
| 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 Skagit County Clerk's own fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, lists the line as "Probate Filing $290.00, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" and states that fees are paid in advance with no refunds. Note the payment rule: no personal checks. Confirm the current schedule with the Skagit County Clerk |
| Local forms | Yes, two worth knowing, though neither is a probate petition. Skagit County publishes its own Superior Court Case Information Cover Sheet for probate and estate cases, listing the cause-of-action codes the Clerk indexes the case under, and the Clerk sells an Affidavit of Small Estate instruction packet (packet 29). Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition, order, oath, and notices are drafted documents. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language self-help packets |
| E-filing | Available and optional, not mandatory. Under SCLGR 30(b)(4) of the current Skagit County local rules, attorneys and self-represented litigants may e-file all documents through the Clerk's online system unless the rule says otherwise; the Clerk runs it as E-Submission on the county's customer portal. The probate exclusions matter: original wills and codicils that do not conform to the Electronic Wills Act must be filed on paper, and so must a new case or a fee-based document filed with a GR 34 fee waiver order. The Clerk also asks that a document be submitted once, on paper or electronically, not both. Paper filing at the Room 103 counter or by mail remains a normal path |
| Case search | Skagit County is one of the counties covered by Odyssey Portal, the current public case search for Washington superior courts (https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal), and the Clerk confirms public Skagit case data is viewable there at no charge, with probate and guardianship among the available record types. Case DOCUMENTS are a separate question: online document access runs on a county subscription, and the Clerk also keeps free public search kiosks in its lobby during business hours. The statewide index at https://dw.courts.wa.gov/ reaches superior court cases too, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate. Certified copies always come from the Clerk |
| Probate calendar | Thursday at 9:00 a.m., the court's published calendar for probate and approval of minor claim settlements together with minor and adult guardianships (effective March 1, 2025). In weeks with a Thursday holiday there is no motion calendar. A note for the motion calendar is filed with the Clerk and served at least nine court days before the hearing (SCLCR 6(d)(1)). Separately, the ex parte calendar runs Monday to Friday at 1:15 p.m., and under SCLSPR 98.16.3(a) probate matters not requiring notice may be presented there instead |
| Remote appearance | By court order only, for probate. Emergency Administrative Order 25-2, entered October 31, 2025 and effective December 1, 2025 until further notice, provides that absent a court order authorizing Zoom for a specific litigant at a specific hearing, Zoom is not authorized or available for Skagit County Superior Court access. The Zoom Authorized Uses Summary effective December 1, 2025 lists civil protection order litigants, the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon criminal first appearance calendars, unlawful detainer actions, and guardians ad litem and court visitors, and probate is not among them. A request for any other case type must be made by motion, which can itself be presented ex parte through the Clerk's Office, and the court publishes a motion and order template plus a notice form for an approved remote appearance |
| Website | https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/Clerk/main.htm (the Skagit County Clerk's own page, with hours, filing rules, the fee schedule, the ex parte procedure, forms, and the legal newspapers list) and https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/SuperiorCourt/main.htm (the Superior Court's page, with the daily court schedule, the current local rules, and the remote appearance procedure) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything with the Skagit 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. In Skagit County that matters twice over, because the Clerk states that once a document is accepted it becomes part of the court record and will not be returned, and because the Clerk may decline a document that is not in proper form under the state rules or local practice.
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 Mount Vernon or Sedro Woolley, a condominium in Anacortes, Skagit Valley farm ground, or any other real property 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 Skagit County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, is the single probate filing office for all of Skagit County, at one counter in Room 103 of the Skagit County Courthouse, 205 West Kincaid Street in Mount Vernon. There is no branch counter and no second courthouse. The office serves the entire county: Mount Vernon, the county seat, and Anacortes, Burlington, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Concrete, Hamilton, and Lyman, together with the unincorporated communities and farm country around them, among them Bow, Edison, Alger, Clear Lake, Big Lake, Conway, Bay View, Rockport, and Marblemount, out to Fidalgo, Guemes, Samish, and Cypress islands on the west and up the Skagit River to the North Cascades on the east. Estates from every part of the county are filed here, in person in Room 103, by mail to 205 West Kincaid Street, Room 103, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, or electronically through the Clerk's E-Submission portal.
Skagit County is not part of a joint judicial district and does not share a judge with a neighboring county, so there is no rotation to plan around. The court's current local rules list four judicial departments (SCLAR 0.2(a)) and the court also sits through court commissioners (SCLAR 0.2(c)), which is why so much routine probate work is signed without a hearing. The practical division of labor inside the building is worth knowing: filings, fees, certified copies, and ex parte presentation go to the Clerk in Room 103 at (360) 416-1800, while calendars, special settings, judge's copies, and accommodation requests go to Superior Court Administration in Room 202 at (360) 416-1200. Under SCLAR 0.3(a) a special set hearing is arranged through the Court Administrator's Office and, unless all parties and the court agree otherwise, follows the nine court day rule. Skagit County District Court, at a different address in Mount Vernon, is a court of limited jurisdiction and does not handle probate.
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 Skagit County, file with the Skagit 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, and add the county's cover sheet. 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. Skagit County does publish its own Superior Court Case Information Cover Sheet for probate and estate cases, and the code you check on it is how the Clerk indexes the case: EST for an estate, WLL for a will filed with no further action, FNW for a will already proved in another state, NNC for a nonprobate notice to creditors, SWR for the sealed will repository, TDR for a trust or estate dispute, and MSC for a miscellaneous probate matter. Follow the Clerk's Rules for Filing while you assemble the packet: black or dark blue ink on letter size paper, printing on one side only, no colored pages or highlighting, a caption on every pleading, one case number per document, and separate documents clipped or single-stapled so the Clerk can tell them apart.
- File with the Skagit County Clerk. Take the papers to the counter in Room 103 of the Skagit County Courthouse, 205 West Kincaid Street in Mount Vernon, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; mail them to the Clerk at the same address; or e-file through the Clerk's E-Submission portal, which SCLGR 30(b)(4) opens to attorneys and self-represented litigants alike. Two exclusions in that rule reach probate directly: an original will or codicil that does not conform to the Electronic Wills Act must be filed on paper, and a new case or fee-based document filed with a GR 34 fee waiver order must be filed on paper too. Submit a document once, on paper or electronically, not both. Call (360) 416-1800 before you mail an 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)), and the Skagit County Clerk's schedule effective July 27, 2025 lists exactly that. Watch the payment method, because Skagit is strict about it: the Clerk does not accept personal checks. Pay by cash, money order, or cashier's check, or by debit or credit card through the county's payment processor with a service fee, and note that fees are paid in advance and are not refunded. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, in which case the new case goes in on paper. The small estate affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no court case, so it carries no court filing fee.
- Give the required notices. 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 Skagit County Clerk (RCW 11.28.237(1)). If you give notice to creditors, the notice is filed with the court and published once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is administered (RCW 11.40.020(1)). The Clerk publishes a Legal Newspapers list for Skagit County covering the Anacortes American, the Courier Times, the La Conner Weekly News, and goskagit.com in Mount Vernon. 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 signed, usually without a hearing. Under SCLSPR 98.16.3(a) of the Skagit County local rules, probate matters not requiring notice may be presented ex parte, and SCLCR 7(f) sends ex parte matters to the Clerk's Office with the appropriate ex parte fee; SCLCR 7(e)(3)(iii) adds that a proposed ex parte order goes to the Clerk and not to the court's proposed-orders email address. The Clerk publishes four routes. You can appear in person at the 1:15 p.m. ex parte calendar Monday to Friday, which carries no ex parte fee, by getting your documents to the Clerk before noon for same-day processing and returning to the counter afterward for copies. You can mail the originals with at least one copy for the Clerk to conform, a self addressed stamped envelope, and the $30 ex parte fee, which the Clerk will return unprocessed if the fee is missing. You can leave the documents at the front counter for non-appearance review with the same $30 fee. Or you can present by E-Submission, where payment and office acceptance have to be finalized by 10:30 a.m. for same-day review, with the signed documents available by email request or in the county's Odyssey system within two judicial days.
- Set a hearing if your matter needs one. Anything that requires notice or argument goes on the court's Thursday 9:00 a.m. calendar for probate and minor and adult guardianships, with no motion calendar in a week that has a Thursday holiday. File and serve the note for the motion calendar and the motion at least nine court days before the hearing, responses at least four court days out, and replies at least two (SCLCR 6(d)). Each side is held to ten minutes of argument on a non-dispositive motion, and a longer matter is special set through the Court Administrator's Office at (360) 416-1200 (SCLCR 7(e)(2), SCLAR 0.3(a)). A proposed order for a noted hearing goes to Court Administration at least two court days ahead, by hard copy with a cover sheet or by email. To appear by Zoom you need a court order: since December 1, 2025, Emergency Administrative Order 25-2 makes Zoom unavailable for Skagit County Superior Court absent an order for a specific litigant at a specific hearing, and probate is not on the court's list of authorized Zoom uses.
- 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 Skagit 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 Skagit 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)).
- 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. Later filings go in the same ways the petition did, and the Thursday calendar and the daily ex parte calendar are still how orders get signed.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Skagit County
Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, and that is worth stating plainly because filers arrive expecting a packet. The courts.wa.gov Court Forms index has categories for family law, guardianships and conservatorships, criminal, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, protection orders, and access to the courts, among others, and no probate category (verified July 2026). The Washington probate pleadings, the petition, the order admitting the will, the oath, the notice of appointment, the notice to creditors, and the declaration of completion, are drafted by the filer or the attorney.
Skagit County does publish two things a probate filer will want, neither of them a petition. The first is the county's own Superior Court Case Information Cover Sheet for probate and estate cases, which is how the Clerk indexes a new case; the codes on it are EST for an estate, WLL for a will filed with no further action, FNW for a will already proved in another state or country, NNC for a nonprobate notice to creditors, SWR for the sealed will repository under RCW 11.12.265, TDR for a trust or estate dispute, MST for a minor settlement, ABS for an absentee matter, DSC for a disclaimer, TRS for a trust, and MSC for a miscellaneous probate matter when nothing else fits. The second is an Affidavit of Small Estate instruction packet, sold as packet 29 through the county's online payment processor and also available at the counter, for the route under RCW 11.62.010 that opens no court case; the Clerk notes that in-office prices may differ from the online ones. Alongside those, read the Clerk's Rules for Filing before you assemble anything, because they set the format the Clerk will accept and reserve the right to decline a document that does not comply.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Skagit County probate and estate case cover sheet (skagitcounty.net) | The county's own Superior Court Case Information Cover Sheet for probate, with the cause-of-action codes the Clerk indexes the case under and a plain-language definition of each on the back |
| Skagit County Clerk documents and forms (skagitcounty.net) | The Clerk's forms page: all of the county cover sheets, the Affidavit of Small Estate instruction packet (packet 29), the document request and copy fee information, and the link to the county's online packet purchasing |
| Skagit County Clerk rules for filing (skagitcounty.net) | The format the Clerk requires under GR 14 (black or dark blue ink, letter size, one side, no colored pages or highlighting), the one-case-number rule, how to separate documents, the submit-once rule for paper versus electronic filing, and the Clerk's right to decline a document not in proper form |
| Skagit County Clerk E-Submission (skagitcountywa-self.govplatform.com) | The Clerk's online filing service on the county's customer portal. SCLGR 30(b)(4) lets attorneys and self-represented litigants e-file, with paper still required for original wills and codicils that do not conform to the Electronic Wills Act and for new cases or fee-based documents filed with a GR 34 fee waiver order. An account is recommended so you can track a submission |
| Skagit County Clerk fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025 (PDF) | The county's current schedule, with the $290 probate filing line, the $5 letters line, the $30 ex parte order fee, the $20 will-only filing, and the copy and records research charges, each with its RCW cite |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide forms site, useful here for the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no probate category, 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) |
| Skagit County Superior Court local court rules 2025-2026 (courts.wa.gov) | The current adopted rule set from the Administrative Office of the Courts, including SCLSPR 98.16.3 on presenting probate matters ex parte, SCLGR 30 on e-filing, SCLCR 6(d) on motion timing, and SCLCR 7 on motions and ex parte practice. Note that the Clerk's own side navigation still links a superseded 2023-2024 set |
Fees
The $290 to open a probate is statutory and identical in every Washington county (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). What varies is everything around it, and Skagit County publishes its own Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, which states that fees are paid in advance under RCW 36.18.060 and that there are no refunds. The line items below are the ones a family settling an estate here actually meets, including one that is easy to avoid: the $30 ex parte order fee does not apply if you appear at the 1:15 p.m. ex parte calendar in person. Confirm the current schedule with the Skagit County Clerk before you pay, and remember that the office does not take personal checks.
| Item | What the Skagit County Clerk charges |
|---|---|
| Probate filing | $290, listed on the county's schedule as "Probate Filing, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)": the $200 statutory fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). The same $290 applies to a nonprobate notice to creditors, to a petition admitting a rejected will or contesting a will or objecting to a written agreement or memorandum, to escheat probate proceedings, and to a counter petition, cross-claim, or third-party claim in a probate or guardianship case |
| Letters and certificates | $5 for letters of administration, letters testamentary, or letters of guardianship, the line the county's schedule labels Form K (RCW 36.18.016(9)). Name this item by function when you order, because a different line, $2 for administering an oath or a seal on a document requiring the Clerk's signature (RCW 36.18.016(5)), picks up the same nickname in some counties |
| Ex parte orders | $30 for a single submission of one to five orders in a case (RCW 36.18.016(12)), charged when you present by mail or leave the documents at the counter for non-appearance review. The Clerk states that a mailed submission without the fee will be returned. Presenting in person at the 1:15 p.m. ex parte calendar carries no ex parte fee, though copy fees still apply |
| Certified and plain copies | $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 for each additional page; $0.25 per page for uncertified copies of electronic records prepared by staff; $0.50 per page for uncertified copies of records not held electronically and for self-service copies on the public lobby copier; $9 plus $1 for the first page and $2 for each additional page for authenticated or exemplified copies (RCW 36.18.016(4)) |
| Filing a will where no probate follows | $20 to file a will only, with no probate of the decedent's estate (RCW 36.18.012(7)), and $20 for the will repository, the route for depositing a will under seal before death (RCW 36.18.016(28), RCW 11.12.265). These are the Skagit lines for the paperwork that is not a probate |
| Records research and returned payments | $30 per hour with a one-hour minimum to search records (RCW 36.18.016(11)), $20 to file a paper not related to any proceeding (RCW 36.18.012(3)), and a $35 service charge per returned payment (RCW 36.18.016(24)) |
| Trust and dispute resolution filings | $20 to file a nonjudicial binding agreement under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act in an existing case, or $290 if it is filed as a new case (RCW 36.18.012(8), RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)); $20 to appoint a special representative (RCW 11.96A.160) |
| Online document access | The county's Odyssey Portal subscription for viewing and printing Skagit County Superior Court documents runs $200 a year per user if paid by January 15, prorated monthly after that, and the Clerk describes it as nonrefundable and nontransferable. You do not need it to look up a case: public Skagit case data is free on Odyssey Portal, the Clerk keeps free public search kiosks in its lobby, and certified copies come from the Clerk either way |
| Fee waiver | A filer who cannot afford the filing fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, using the fee waiver forms on the Washington Courts forms pages. Under SCLGR 30(b)(4)(i) a new case or fee-based document filed with a fee waiver order goes in on paper rather than through E-Submission |
Timeline
- Probate calendar, Thursday at 9:00 a.m. The court's published court calendars set probate together with approval of minor claim settlements and minor and adult guardianships on Thursday morning at 9:00, effective March 1, 2025. In a week with a holiday on Thursday there is no motion calendar, so a matter waits for the following week. The court also posts a daily court schedule showing which courtroom hears what.
- Most probate orders never reach that calendar. Under SCLSPR 98.16.3(a) of the Skagit County local rules, probate matters not requiring notice may be presented ex parte, and SCLCR 7(f) routes ex parte matters to the Clerk's Office with the appropriate fee. In practice that covers a great deal of routine estate work, from the order admitting a will to later orders that no one has a right to be notified about.
- Ex parte calendar, Monday to Friday at 1:15 p.m., with a noon cutoff. To be heard the same day, get your documents to the Clerk's Office before 12:00 p.m., then appear at 1:15 p.m. and return to the counter afterward for conformed copies. Appearing in person carries no ex parte fee. A paralegal or other employee from an attorney's office may present orders on the ex parte calendar if the supervising attorney has signed them (SCLCR 7(f)), and the calendar is not an argument calendar.
- Ex parte without appearing: by mail, at the counter, or by E-Submission. A mailed or counter submission carries the $30 ex parte fee, and the Clerk asks for the originals, at least one copy to conform, and a self addressed stamped envelope. Through E-Submission, payment and office acceptance must be finalized by 10:30 a.m. for same-day review, and the Clerk states that the documents are then available by email request or in the county's Odyssey system within two judicial days.
- Nine court days to get onto the motion calendar. A note for the motion calendar is filed with the Clerk and served on all parties at least nine court days before the hearing, and the motion itself is filed and served on the same nine court day schedule (SCLCR 6(d)(1) and 6(d)(2)(i)). Responses are due at least four court days before the hearing and replies at least two (SCLCR 6(d)(2)(ii) and (iii)).
- Two court days for the proposed order, four for judge's copies. A proposed order for a noted hearing goes to Court Administration at least two court days before the hearing, either as a hard copy with a cover sheet showing the hearing date and time or by email (SCLCR 7(e)(3)); a proposed ex parte order goes to the Clerk instead, not to that email address (SCLCR 7(e)(3)(iii)). Judge's copies are required for anything filed within four court days of its hearing and are delivered to Court Administration by hand or by mail (SCLCR 7(e)(4)).
- Ten minutes of argument, or a special setting. Each party is confined to ten minutes of argument on a non-dispositive motion, and a matter expected to run longer is special set through the Court Administrator's Office at (360) 416-1200, following the nine court day rule unless the parties and the court agree otherwise (SCLCR 7(e)(2), SCLAR 0.3(a)).
- Build in time for the Zoom question. If someone needs to appear remotely, the motion for a remote appearance has to be made and granted first, and the court asks that a notice of an approved remote appearance then go to Court Administration. The motion can be presented ex parte through the Clerk, so it fits the noon and 10:30 a.m. cutoffs above rather than the nine court day one, but it is one more step to schedule before the hearing.
Local nuance
Skagit County-specific considerations
The one Skagit fact that changes how an out-of-town family plans a probate is that Zoom is largely switched off. Emergency Administrative Order 25-2, entered October 31, 2025 and effective December 1, 2025 until further notice, provides that except as the order allows, absent a court order specifically authorizing Zoom access for a specific litigant for a specific hearing, Zoom will not be authorized or available for Skagit County Superior Court access. The order recites the reason openly: the county was facing a $19 million general fund shortfall for 2026 and had imposed a hiring freeze, and staffing Zoom courtrooms, admitting and identifying litigants, running breakout rooms, and monitoring the lines takes staff the court expected not to have. The court's Zoom Authorized Uses Summary, effective the same date, keeps Zoom without a request for civil protection order litigants, the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon criminal first appearance calendars, unlawful detainer actions, and guardians ad litem and court visitors in guardianship and domestic matters, and allows it on request for the criminal motions calendar in narrow custody situations. Probate appears on neither list. A probate Zoom appearance therefore takes a motion and an order, and the court publishes a motion template, a proposed order, and a notice form to send to Court Administration once the order is signed. Note that the local rule text still reads the older way: SCLCR 7(b)(5) says oral argument on civil motions may be heard remotely with clear audio and video, and the administrative order is what governs in practice. Anyone who does appear remotely is held to the same courtroom conduct rules as a person in the room (SCLCR 7(b)(7)).
The counterweight is that Skagit's ex parte practice is unusually well documented, and it is what keeps most estates out of the courtroom entirely. SCLSPR 98.16.3(a) states that probate matters not requiring notice may be presented ex parte; SCLCR 7(f) sends those matters to the Clerk's Office with the appropriate ex parte fee and confirms this is not an argument calendar; and the Clerk publishes the four ways to present, with a different fee and a different cutoff for each. Read together, the cheapest route is also the one that needs a person in Mount Vernon: documents in before noon, appear at 1:15 p.m., no ex parte fee. The two routes that need nobody in the building, mail and the front counter, cost $30 (RCW 36.18.016(12)), and the electronic route costs the same $30 but runs on a 10:30 a.m. same-day deadline with a two judicial day turnaround. A personal representative living out of state can work entirely through the paid routes.
Two more Skagit specifics are worth planning around. First, the payment rule: the Clerk does not accept personal checks, on any filing, so budget cash, a money order, a cashier's check, or a card payment through the county's processor with its service fee, and remember that fees are paid in advance with no refunds. Second, the building has two offices that are easy to confuse. The Clerk, where a probate is filed, is Room 103 at (360) 416-1800, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with no lunch closure and no fax at all. Superior Court Administration, which handles calendars, special settings, judge's copies, and accommodation requests, is Room 202 at (360) 416-1200 and closes its window from noon to 1:00 p.m. daily. The fax number the Washington Courts directory shows for Skagit County belongs to Room 202, and the Clerk states that it does not accept fax filings, so nothing gets filed by fax here.
Recent updates
| Change | What it means |
|---|---|
| Zoom access restricted for most hearings, effective December 1, 2025 | Emergency Administrative Order 25-2, entered October 31, 2025, provides that absent a court order specifically authorizing Zoom access for a specific litigant for a specific hearing, Zoom is not authorized or available for Skagit County Superior Court access, and it remains in effect until further notice. The order recites the county's $19 million general fund shortfall for 2026 and its hiring freeze as the reason. The court's Zoom Authorized Uses Summary, effective the same date, keeps Zoom without a request only for civil protection order litigants, the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon criminal first appearance calendars, unlawful detainer actions, and guardians ad litem and court visitors; probate is not listed. A probate Zoom appearance now takes a motion, which can be presented ex parte through the Clerk, and the court publishes a motion template, a proposed order, and a notice form for an approved remote appearance. Note that the local rule text at SCLCR 7(b)(5) still describes remote argument on civil motions; the administrative order controls in practice |
| Local court rules 2025-2026, and a 2026-2027 set in the pipeline | The current adopted rule set is the Skagit County Superior Court Local Court Rules 2025-2026, published by the Administrative Office of the Courts, with numerous provisions amended September 1, 2025, including the motions practice and proposed order rules in SCLCR 7(e) and the e-filing exclusions in SCLGR 30(b)(4). Skagit amends its rules on a September 1 cycle: the court published proposed 2026-2027 rules with a comment period that closed June 16, 2026, and a separate set of publicly proposed rules with a comment period that closed May 13, 2026. Check the current AOC rule set before relying on a rule number. The Clerk's own side navigation still links a superseded 2023-2024 rule set, so use the Superior Court page or the AOC copy instead |
| Clerk's fee schedule effective July 27, 2025 | The Skagit County Clerk's current schedule lists the probate filing fee as $290 under RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6), matching the statutory total after the $50 surcharge added in 2025, and sets out the county's other probate line items: $5 for letters, $30 for a single submission of one to five ex parte orders, $20 to file a will where no probate follows, $20 for the will repository, $30 per hour for records research, and the copy charges. The schedule states that fees are paid in advance under RCW 36.18.060 and that there are no refunds, and the Clerk separately confirms that personal checks are not accepted |
| Probate motion calendar confirmed effective March 1, 2025 | The court's published calendars carry the Thursday 9:00 a.m. calendar for probate and approval of minor claim settlements together with minor and adult guardianships with an effective date of March 1, 2025, and note that there is no motion calendar in a week with a Thursday holiday. The ex parte calendar continues Monday to Friday at 1:15 p.m. All calendars are subject to change without notice, so check the county's court calendars page or the daily court schedule before you plan a trip |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Skagit County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Mount Vernon or Anacortes 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 Skagit 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 goes to the Skagit County Clerk in Room 103 with the county's probate cover sheet, and because the opening orders usually require no notice they can be presented on the daily 1:15 p.m. ex parte calendar rather than waiting for the Thursday probate calendar (SCLSPR 98.16.3(a)). | 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 Skagit 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); the Skagit County Clerk sells an instruction packet for it. If a probate is needed, an out-of-state filer can work without flying in: file by mail to the Clerk at 205 West Kincaid Street, Room 103, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, or through the Clerk's E-Submission portal, which SCLGR 30(b)(4) opens to self-represented litigants, and present the opening orders by mail or electronically with the $30 ex parte fee instead of appearing at 1:15 p.m. Send a money order or cashier's check, not a personal check, and include a self addressed stamped envelope for the conformed copies. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the affidavit or the probate petition, prepared so an out-of-state filer can proceed by mail or through the portal. |
| 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 Skagit County house and distribute the proceeds without returning to court for approval (RCW 11.68.011). If a step does need a hearing, it goes on the Thursday 9:00 a.m. probate calendar on the nine court day note-for-motion schedule (SCLCR 6(d)(1)), and if anyone needs to attend by video, plan for a separate motion and order because Zoom is not available for probate without one. | 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 |
|---|---|
| Skagit County Clerk (skagitcounty.net), (360) 416-1800 | The filing office for probate: hours, the Room 103 counter at 205 West Kincaid Street in Mount Vernon, the rules for filing, the fee schedule, the ex parte procedure, the forms and cover sheets, and the legal newspapers list. Clerk staff can explain procedure but the office states plainly that it is prohibited from giving legal advice and serves in a neutral capacity for all parties |
| Skagit County Clerk ex parte procedure (skagitcounty.net) | The four ways to get a probate order signed without a hearing, with the fee and cutoff for each: in person at 1:15 p.m. with documents in before noon and no ex parte fee, by mail or at the counter with the $30 fee, or by E-Submission with payment finalized by 10:30 a.m. |
| Skagit County court calendars (skagitcounty.net) | The court's published calendars, including the Thursday 9:00 a.m. probate calendar and the Monday to Friday 1:15 p.m. ex parte calendar, plus the daily docket display |
| Skagit County Superior Court (skagitcounty.net), (360) 416-1200 | The court's own page: the daily court schedule, the current local court rules, and the remote appearance procedure with the motion and order templates. This is Superior Court Administration in Room 202, which sets calendars and special settings; it does not take filings, and its window closes from noon to 1:00 p.m. |
| Skagit County Law Library (skagitcounty.net), (360) 416-1290 | A public law library on the first floor of the Skagit County Courthouse, open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed from noon to 1:00 p.m., with legal research access and remote reference help by phone or email. Appointments are not required but help ensure the library is available; some services are limited, and the library has discontinued copy and print services |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov) | The public case search for Washington superior courts, including Skagit County, free for case data. Probate and guardianship is one of the record types the Clerk makes available; document images run on the county's subscription, or use the free public kiosks in the Clerk's lobby |
| Washington Courts case search (dw.courts.wa.gov) | The statewide pointer index across municipal, district, superior, and appellate courts, and the search the Clerk's own forms page points to for finding a case number. Its own notice warns that dockets and case status may be inaccurate |
| 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) |
| Northwest Justice Project CLEAR, 1-888-201-1014, nwjustice.org | Free civil legal aid intake for low-income Washington residents; callers 60 and over can use CLEAR Sr at 1-888-387-7111. The Skagit County Clerk points self-represented filers here for pro bono screening. CLEAR targets basic-needs civil problems, so ask whether an estate matter qualifies |
| Skagit Legal Aid (skagitlegalaid.org) | A local civil legal aid provider for low-income Skagit County residents, with online intake and clinics; the service areas it publishes include wills and estates under advance planning documents, alongside housing, debt, and general civil matters. Ask whether it can help with a probate administration before you rely on it |
| Skagit County Bar Association (skagitcountybar.org) | The local bar's attorney directory, which the Clerk's legal help page points to for finding a Skagit County lawyer |
| Washington State Bar Association, find legal help (wsba.org) | Statewide lawyer referral and public resources for finding a Washington probate attorney who covers Skagit County |
| Washington Courts court directory (courts.wa.gov) | The government directory of superior court and county clerk addresses, phones, and faxes, with separate listings for the Skagit County Superior Court in Room 202 and the County Clerk in Room 103 |
When to hire an attorney
Many Skagit 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, especially where the opening orders can be presented ex parte because no notice is required (SCLSPR 98.16.3(a)). 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 a Skagit Valley farm, a business, a waterfront or island property, or real estate in another state has to be valued or divided, when the estate is large enough to owe Washington estate tax under chapter 83.100 RCW, or when no one entitled to appointment has come forward and the petition has to be made under RCW 11.28.120(3). Distance is its own reason here, because Zoom is not available for a probate hearing without a court order, so a lawyer who already appears on the Thursday calendar can handle an appearance you would otherwise have to make in person in Mount Vernon. The Skagit County Clerk can explain procedure but states that it is prohibited from giving legal advice, and the county's Superior Court facilitator serves domestic and family matters rather than probate. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Skagit 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, Skagit County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Washington route fits your estate settlement 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 Skagit County Clerk at the Room 103 counter in Mount Vernon, by mail, or through the Clerk's E-Submission portal.
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 Skagit 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 Skagit County?
With the Skagit County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at the counter in Room 103 of the Skagit County Courthouse, 205 West Kincaid Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Washington has no separate probate court: the Superior Court in Skagit County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, and the County Clerk is the filing office. Do not confuse Room 103 with Room 202, which is Superior Court Administration and does not take filings. 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 Skagit County, or do I have to file on paper?
You may e-file, and you are not required to. SCLGR 30(b)(4) of the Skagit County local rules provides that attorneys and self-represented litigants may electronically file all documents using the Clerk's online e-filing system unless the rule provides otherwise, and the Clerk runs that system as E-Submission on the county's customer portal. Two exclusions in SCLGR 30(b)(4)(i) bite in probate: an original will or codicil that does not conform to the Electronic Wills Act must be filed on paper, and a new case or fee-based document filed with a GR 34 fee waiver order must be filed on paper too. Paper filing at the Room 103 counter or by mail is still normal, and the Clerk asks that you submit a document once rather than both ways. There is no fax option at all: the Clerk's Office states that it has no fax number and does not accept fax filings.
When is the probate calendar in Skagit County?
Thursday at 9:00 a.m. The court's published calendars set probate together with approval of minor claim settlements and minor and adult guardianships on Thursday morning, effective March 1, 2025, and there is no motion calendar in a week with a Thursday holiday. A note for the motion calendar is filed with the Clerk and served on all parties at least nine court days before the hearing, responses are due four court days out, and replies two (SCLCR 6(d)). Each side gets ten minutes of argument on a non-dispositive motion, and a longer matter is special set through the Court Administrator's Office at (360) 416-1200 (SCLCR 7(e)(2), SCLAR 0.3(a)). Many probate matters never need that calendar at all, because a matter requiring no notice can be presented on the daily ex parte calendar instead.
How does ex parte presentation work in a Skagit County probate?
It is the main way probate orders get signed here. SCLSPR 98.16.3(a) provides that probate matters not requiring notice may be presented ex parte, and SCLCR 7(f) sends ex parte matters to the Clerk's Office with the appropriate ex parte fee, noting that this is not an argument calendar. The Clerk publishes four routes. Appear in person Monday to Friday at 1:15 p.m., getting your documents to the Clerk before noon for same-day processing, then come back to the counter for copies; there is no ex parte fee for this route, though copy fees apply. Mail the originals with at least one copy for the Clerk to conform, a self addressed stamped envelope, and the $30 ex parte fee, which the Clerk will not process without. Leave the documents at the front counter for non-appearance review with the same $30 fee. Or present through E-Submission, where payment and office acceptance must be finalized by 10:30 a.m. for same-day review, with the documents available by email request or in the county's Odyssey system within two judicial days. One trap: a proposed ex parte order goes to the Clerk, not to the court's proposed-orders email address (SCLCR 7(e)(3)(iii)).
Can I appear by Zoom in a Skagit County probate?
Only with a court order. Emergency Administrative Order 25-2, entered October 31, 2025 and effective December 1, 2025 until further notice, provides that absent a court order specifically authorizing Zoom access for a specific litigant for a specific hearing, Zoom is not authorized or available for Skagit County Superior Court access; the court entered it while the county faced a $19 million general fund shortfall for 2026 and a hiring freeze. The Zoom Authorized Uses Summary effective the same date keeps Zoom for civil protection order litigants, the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon criminal first appearance calendars, unlawful detainer actions, and guardians ad litem and court visitors, and probate is not on the list. So a probate Zoom appearance takes a motion, which can be presented ex parte through the Clerk's Office, and the court publishes a motion template, a proposed order, and a notice form to file with Court Administration once the order is signed. The older local rule text about remote argument on civil motions (SCLCR 7(b)(5)) is superseded in practice by the administrative order, so plan on appearing in person unless you have an order.
How do I look up a Skagit County probate case online?
Use Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Skagit County; the Clerk confirms public Skagit case data is viewable there at no charge and lists probate and guardianship among the record types it makes available. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov will also find a case, and the Clerk's own forms page points to it for finding a case number, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate. Documents are a separate question. Online document access runs on a county subscription of $200 a year per user, prorated after January 15 and nonrefundable, while free options exist: the Clerk keeps public search kiosks in its lobby during business hours, and copies can be ordered from the Clerk at (360) 416-1800 or through the state Digital Archives. Certified copies always come from the Clerk, at $5 for the first page plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)).
Are there local Skagit County probate forms?
Two, and neither is the petition. Skagit County publishes its own Superior Court Case Information Cover Sheet for probate and estate cases, and the code you check tells the Clerk how to index the case: EST for an estate, WLL for a will filed with no further action, FNW for a will already proved elsewhere, NNC for a nonprobate notice to creditors, SWR for the sealed will repository, TDR for a trust or estate dispute, and MSC for a miscellaneous probate matter. The Clerk also sells an Affidavit of Small Estate instruction packet, packet 29, online through the county's payment processor and at the counter, for the RCW 11.62.010 route that opens no court case. Beyond those, Washington has no statewide probate form set: the courts.wa.gov forms index has no probate category (verified July 2026), so the petition, order, oath, and notices are drafted documents. The GR 34 fee waiver forms are on the courts.wa.gov forms pages, and WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets. Read the Clerk's Rules for Filing before you assemble anything, because the Clerk may decline a document that is not in proper form.
How much does it cost to file probate in Skagit County, and how can I pay?
$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 Skagit County Clerk's own schedule, effective July 27, 2025, lists that line as "Probate Filing, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" and states that fees are paid in advance with no refunds. Payment method matters here: the Clerk does not accept personal checks. Pay by cash, money order, or cashier's check, or by debit or credit card through the county's payment processor with a service fee. Budget separately for the pieces around the filing: $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 a single submission of one to five ex parte orders unless you present them in person at 1:15 p.m. (RCW 36.18.016(12)), $20 to file a will where no probate follows (RCW 36.18.012(7)), and the cost of publishing the creditor notice. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34.
Where is the creditor notice published for a Skagit 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 Skagit County Clerk publishes a legal newspapers list for the county covering the Anacortes American at (360) 293-3122, the Courier Times at (360) 419-5955, the La Conner Weekly News at (360) 466-3315, and goskagit.com at 1215 Anderson Road in Mount Vernon, (360) 424-3251. 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). 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 Mount Vernon to settle an estate in Skagit County?
Often not, though Skagit gives you a reason to come once. The petition and the later filings can be mailed to the Skagit County Clerk at 205 West Kincaid Street, Room 103, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, or e-filed through E-Submission, which SCLGR 30(b)(4) opens to self-represented litigants as well as attorneys, and a personal representative granted nonintervention powers administers and closes a solvent estate without returning to court for supervision (RCW 11.68.011). Orders that need no notice can be presented ex parte by mail, at the counter, or electronically for a $30 fee (RCW 36.18.016(12)), so an out-of-state filer can run most of a probate remotely; send a money order or cashier's check rather than a personal check, and include a self addressed stamped envelope for the conformed copies. Where an actual appearance is needed, plan on being in the room: since December 1, 2025 Zoom is unavailable for a Skagit County probate hearing absent a court order authorizing it for a specific litigant at a specific hearing, so a hearing on the Thursday 9:00 a.m. probate calendar generally means appearing in Mount Vernon or sending an attorney. Presenting in person at the 1:15 p.m. ex parte calendar is also the one route with no ex parte fee, so a single trip can be worth making.
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.