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Skamania County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Skamania County. There is no separate probate court in Washington; the superior court is the general trial court and handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11. One superior court judge serves Klickitat and Skamania counties jointly (RCW 2.08.064), and the two counties share one set of joint local court rules, cited on this page as LGAR and LCR. A court commissioner also sits, and most probate orders are signed ex parte rather than entered at a contested hearing |
| Filing office | The Skamania 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. The county describes the Clerk as an independently elected county officer under Article IV, Section 26 of the Washington Constitution and as the administrative and financial officer of the Superior Court. A shared judge changes nothing about where you file: filing stays with the Skamania County Clerk |
| Courthouse | Skamania County Courthouse, 240 NW Vancouver Avenue, Stevenson, WA 98648. The courts.wa.gov directory prints the same address as 240 Vancouver Ave. Superior Court Administration is in the same building on its own line, which matters because filings go to the Clerk's counter while working copies for the judge go to court administration |
| Mailing address | PO Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648. Address probate mail to the Skamania County Clerk at that box; the courthouse street address is for in-person filing and for hand-delivered working copies |
| Phone | (509) 427-3770, the Skamania County Clerk's main office line in Stevenson, for filings, fees, forms, payments, and questions about a hearing date or a posted docket. Superior Court Administration is a separate line, (509) 427-3765, used for remote appearance requests, special settings, trial confirmations, and interpreter requests. The jury recorder is (509) 427-3778 |
| Fax | (509) 427-3777, published by the county and by the courts.wa.gov directory, and shared in that directory with the county's district and municipal courts. Do not try to file by fax: the Clerk's own e-filing page states the office will not accept filings by email or fax, so use the counter, the mail, a courier, or TrueFiling |
| [email protected], the Clerk's Office mailbox the county publishes on its own County Clerk page. It is an office mailbox, not an individual's. Use it for questions only, because the office does not accept filings by email, and note that under LGAR 0.2(g)(1) of the joint local rules the judge's individual email address is not to be used at all | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., per the county's own County Clerk page (verified July 2026). All services are closed on legal holidays, and passport services run on a narrower 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. window by appointment only. No lunch closure is published for the Clerk's counter, but this is a one-counter office in a small county, so call (509) 427-3770 to confirm before making the drive to Stevenson |
| 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 Skamania County Clerk's own fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, prints the same $290 for a probate filing and ties the increase to the 2025 legislation that added the $50 surcharge, and fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). Confirm the current schedule with the Skamania County Clerk |
| Local forms | No local probate forms, and Washington publishes no statewide probate form set either (verified July 2026 on the courts.wa.gov Court Forms index, which has no probate category). What Skamania County does publish: the statewide Case Information Cover Sheet its e-filing page requires with a new case; the four GR 34 fee waiver documents on that same page, with the county's warning that altered forms will not be accepted; a Will Repository Cover Sheet for depositing a will under seal before death (RCW 11.12.265), which the county notes is optional and does not validate the will; and, on the Superior Court page, the joint local court rules with the court's exemplar forms, including the Request for Remote Appearance and the Zoom Request Form. The $25 form packets the Clerk's office sells are family law packets, not probate |
| E-filing | Available and not required. The Skamania County Clerk's Office accepts e-filing through TrueFiling, and its own page states plainly that e-filing is not mandatory. Budget a $5 bundle fee, which a GR 34 waiver does not cover, because a waiver reaches statutory filing fees only; the county's advice is to file in person, by mail, or by courier if you want to avoid it. Filings of 100 pages or more are rejected outright and have to come by courier, mail, or in person, bench copies cannot be submitted electronically, and the office accepts nothing by email or fax |
| Case search | Skamania County is one of the counties covered by Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts (https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal), which the county describes as a basic case index without images. The statewide index at https://dw.courts.wa.gov/ also reaches superior court cases, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record. Probate cases are indexed as superior court civil cases; for the documents themselves the county offers a public access terminal at the Clerk's front counter, copies bought at the counter by cash, check, or card, or record orders through the Washington State Digital Archives |
| Hearing dates | Set on a rotation, not on a fixed weekday. The judge who serves Klickitat and Skamania counties serves by alternating weeks between the two counties, with special settings as the court administrators specify (LGAR 0.2(b)), and the county's own Superior Court page says the judge alternates weekly between the two county seats. Skamania County sessions run 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., with recesses as needed (LCR 77(f)(2)). Motions are heard on a Law and Motion Docket unless arranged through the court administrator, who prepares and publishes the calendar yearly and makes it public on the county website, and the rule tells parties to confirm dates with the calendar, the County Clerk, or the court administrator before noting a motion (LGAR 0.1). A request to place a matter on the regularly scheduled motion calendar must be in writing and filed three working days ahead, excluding holidays and weekends (LCR 77(f)(3)), and motion papers are served and filed no later than ten court days before the date you want the motion considered (LCR 6(d)(2)(A)(i)). Argument is limited to ten minutes per side, and anything needing more than twenty minutes is specially set by the Court Administrator (LCR 77(k)(1)) |
| Ex parte orders | Most probate orders are presented ex parte. Everything you ask to have reviewed ex parte goes to the Clerk's Office, which arranges with the court administrator for a judicial officer to review it; ex parte requests are not sent to the court administrator directly, and unrequested materials sent there are returned (LGAR 0.6). Matters mailed in go with a check for the clerk's judicial signature fee and are placed on the ex parte desk for review (LCR 77(k)(2)); the county's fee schedule and its own Superior Court page both put that at $30 per case per submission (RCW 36.18.016(12)). Include a self-addressed stamped return envelope, because without one you must arrange immediate pickup and materials left more than 48 hours are deemed abandoned and destroyed (LGAR 0.6). To bring paperwork in for signature, or if you are working against a deadline, call court administration at (509) 427-3765 to arrange a time when the judge or a designee is available (LCR 77(k)(3)) |
| Remote appearance | Discretionary, arranged in advance, and it costs money here. Remote appearance requires the express approval of the judge hearing the matter, plus a Request for Remote Appearance mailed or emailed to the Court Administrator at least five court days before the hearing absent good cause, plus, in Skamania County only, payment of a $25 non-refundable administrative fee before the hearing unless the court waives it (LGAR 19(a)(2)(A)). The county has charged that $25 per court hearing since January 1, 2024, waives it for dependency cases, protection orders, unlawful detainer respondents, and indigent parties, and requires each party to pay separately, an attorney and client included. You complete the county's Zoom Request Form, pay online using the case number as the account number, and email the receipt to court administration; the meeting information comes only after approval. Any party may ask that everyone appear in person, and the court can order it (LGAR 19(a)(2)(B) and (C)). Recording or rebroadcasting a remote proceeding is prohibited without the judge's written authorization (LGAR 0.3(b)) |
| Website | https://www.skamaniacounty.gov/departments-offices/county-clerk (the county's own County Clerk page, with hours, contacts, the fee schedule, e-filing, records, and the will repository), https://www.skamaniacounty.gov/departments-offices/superior-court (the Superior Court page, with the posted dockets, the bench copy policy, the local court rules, and the exemplar forms), and https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/289.html (the courts.wa.gov directory entry for Skamania County) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything with the Skamania County Clerk, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Washington route fits depends on whether there is a will, on who is entitled to be appointed, and on the value and type of the assets, because a full probate with letters testamentary or letters of administration, an unsupervised administration under nonintervention powers (RCW 11.68.011), and a small estate affidavit that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010) are different routes with different filings. Those routes and their thresholds are statewide and are explained on the Washington state page. Identify the estate first so you, and if needed your attorney, file the right papers once. That matters in a county this spread out: the counter in Stevenson is the only place a Skamania County probate can be opened, the courthouse also houses Skamania County District Court and two municipal courts that do not handle probate, and the drive in from Carson, Underwood, or the upriver communities is not one most families want to make twice.
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 Stevenson or North Bonneville, timber or orchard ground, or a Gorge parcel generally requires a probate in the superior court so that a personal representative has authority to sign a deed. Knowing the debts matters too, because nonintervention powers are granted only if the court finds the estate solvent (RCW 11.68.011). Sunset's asset discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Skamania County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, is the single probate filing office for all of Skamania County, at one counter in the Skamania County Courthouse at 240 NW Vancouver Avenue in Stevenson. There is no second probate counter and no branch office upriver. The office serves the entire county: Stevenson, the county seat, and North Bonneville, which are the county's only two incorporated cities, plus the unincorporated communities where most residents actually live, among them Carson, Cook, Mill A, Skamania, Stabler, Underwood, and Willard, out through the Wind River and Washougal drainages and the forest country toward Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. Of the county's 12,150 residents as of April 1, 2026, about 9,565 live outside the two cities (Washington Office of Financial Management), and roughly 80 percent of the county is federal land, most of it in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Estates from every part of the county are filed in Stevenson, in person at the counter, by mail to the Skamania County Clerk at PO Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648, by courier, or electronically through the Clerk's TrueFiling service. Do not take a probate petition to Skamania County District Court or to the Stevenson or North Bonneville municipal courts, which share the same courthouse: those are courts of limited jurisdiction and do not handle probate.
One superior court judge serves Klickitat and Skamania counties jointly (RCW 2.08.064), and the two counties share one set of joint local court rules. That is an administrative fact about the bench, not about the counter: you do not file in Goldendale. A Skamania County estate is filed with the Skamania County Clerk, keeps a Skamania County case number, and stays in the Skamania County records. What the shared judge changes is scheduling. Under LGAR 0.2(b) the presiding judge serves by alternating weeks between Klickitat and Skamania counties, with special settings as the court administrators specify, and the county's own Superior Court page puts it the same way: the judge alternates weekly between the two county seats. Skamania County sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (LCR 77(f)(2)), motions are heard on a Law and Motion Docket unless the court administrator arranges otherwise, and the court administrator publishes the calendar yearly and the county posts it, so confirm a date against the posted calendar, the County Clerk at (509) 427-3770, or court administration at (509) 427-3765 before you note a motion (LGAR 0.1). The county posts individual daily dockets as a courtesy and warns that they can change without notice and are not posted for every docket, so treat them as a starting point rather than a schedule. The rotation cuts the other way too: any hearing that has to be held in a court outside the county where the case was filed is coordinated through the Klickitat and Skamania County Court Administrator, who then notifies the clerk's office where the case was filed (LCR 77(k)(4)). The court sits in one continuous session from January 1 to December 31, with a Winter Holiday recess from December 24 to January 2 when contested matters are not tried except by consent, though noted motions are still heard during the recess at the direction of the court (LCR 77(d)), which is worth knowing if a December death has you filing near the end of the year.
Washington law lets the petitioner file a probate in the superior court of any county in the state (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but in practice you file in the county where the decedent lived: an interested party can move venue there within four months of the notice of appointment, and if the probate is filed outside the county of residence the creditor notice must still be published in the county of residence (RCW 11.40.020(2)). So if the person who died lived in Skamania County, file with the Skamania County Clerk. One narrow exception is not optional: a petitioner who seeks appointment under RCW 11.28.120(3), the route for a person not otherwise entitled that opens only after 90 days, must file where the decedent resided, or, for a nonresident, in a county where estate property is. Once letters have been granted, the rest of the probate stays in that county (RCW 11.96A.050(5)).
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's contact information and identification, the names, ages, and addresses of the heirs, legatees, and devisees, and a list of the assets and debts with values. Washington's term for the person who settles the estate is personal representative: a will-named personal representative is often called an executor and a court-appointed one an administrator, but the statutory term is the same for both.
- Decide what you are asking the court for. With a will, the petition asks the court to admit the will to probate and issue letters testamentary, and the court may hear the proofs and enter an order establishing the will (RCW 11.20.020). With no will, the application asks for letters of administration in the priority order set by RCW 11.28.120(1), and since June 11, 2026 the application must also set out the details of the applicant's reasonable search for the heirs (RCW 11.28.110, as amended by 2026 c 204). Most Washington personal representatives also ask for nonintervention powers, which let a solvent estate be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011). These statewide routes are covered on the Washington state page.
- Prepare the papers. Washington has no statewide probate form set, so the petition, the order, the oath, and the notices are drafted documents rather than fill-in forms, and Skamania County publishes no local probate forms of its own. One statewide form does come with a new case: the Case Information Cover Sheet, which the Clerk's e-filing page requires for a new filing. Two local rules on form are worth following before you go: a pleading that needs the Clerk to do something beyond file stamping must carry CLERK'S ACTION REQUIRED in the caption beneath the case number (LCR 10(e)(7)), and an overlength document needs its own written ex parte motion and order, with clerk's fees applying (LCR 10(d)(3)). WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets a self-represented filer can work from, including the small estate affidavit kit, and the county's own self-help page points there first.
- File with the Skamania County Clerk. You have four ways in. Take the papers to the clerk's counter in the Skamania County Courthouse at 240 NW Vancouver Avenue in Stevenson, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; mail them to the Skamania County Clerk at PO Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648; send them by courier; or e-file through the Clerk's TrueFiling service, which adds a $5 bundle fee. E-filing is not required here. Two limits matter: a filing of 100 pages or more is rejected in TrueFiling and has to come by courier, mail, or in person, and the office will not accept filings by email or fax at all. Call (509) 427-3770 before you mail 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 Skamania County Clerk's own fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, prints the same $290, and fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the county publishes the motion, financial statement, and order it wants used, with a warning that altered forms are not accepted; note that a GR 34 waiver covers the statutory filing fee and not the $5 TrueFiling bundle fee. Ask the Clerk's Office which payment methods it takes for a filing, and for mail send a check or money order payable to the Skamania County Clerk. The small estate affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no court case, though Skamania County's schedule charges $20 to file the affidavit with the Clerk if you choose to.
- Give the required notices. Within 20 days after appointment the personal representative or the estate's attorney must mail or personally serve written notice of the appointment and the pendency of the probate on each heir, legatee, and devisee, and on each known beneficiary or transferee of a nonprobate asset, and file proof of mailing with the Skamania 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)); in Skamania County the weekly newspaper is the Skamania County Pioneer, published in Stevenson, whose own affidavit of publication recites that the Superior Court of Skamania County approved it as a legal newspaper in 1941. The county does not name a newspaper of record, so confirm with the Clerk's Office and with the paper that it still qualifies and still takes notices, 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 the order in front of a judicial officer. Most probate orders never need a contested hearing. Anything you want reviewed ex parte goes to the Clerk's Office, which arranges with the court administrator for a judge or court commissioner to review it, and the rule is explicit that ex parte requests do not go to the court administrator directly (LGAR 0.6). Matters mailed in go with a check for the clerk's judicial signature fee and are placed on the ex parte desk (LCR 77(k)(2)); the county charges $30 per case per submission for ex parte orders and says to call court administration if you are working against a signature deadline. Include a self-addressed stamped return envelope, because without one you must arrange immediate pickup and materials left more than 48 hours are deemed abandoned and destroyed. To bring paperwork in for signature instead, call court administration at (509) 427-3765 to arrange a time when the judge or a designee is available (LCR 77(k)(3)). If your matter does need argument, serve and file the motion papers no later than ten court days before the date you want it considered (LCR 6(d)(2)(A)(i)), file a written request to put it on the regularly scheduled motion calendar three working days ahead excluding holidays and weekends (LCR 77(f)(3)), and expect ten minutes per side unless it is specially set (LCR 77(k)(1)). Working copies are marked in the upper right corner of the first page with the date, time, and judge's name, and hard copies for Skamania County go to 240 NW Vancouver Avenue in Stevenson no later than the day they are served on the other parties (LCR 6(d)(2)(B)); the county also accepts electronic bench copies up to 24 hours before the hearing with a 10-page limit, and anything later or longer has to be delivered on paper.
- Arrange a remote appearance if you need one, and budget for it. A remote appearance in Skamania County takes the express approval of the judge hearing the matter, a Request for Remote Appearance mailed or emailed to the Court Administrator at least five court days ahead absent good cause, and a $25 non-refundable administrative fee unless the court waives it (LGAR 19(a)(2)(A)). That fee is Skamania County's alone under the joint rules, it applies to each court hearing, and each party pays separately, an attorney and client included; the county waives it for dependency cases, protection orders, unlawful detainer respondents, and indigent parties. Complete the county's Zoom Request Form, pay online using the case number as the account number, and email the receipt to court administration; the meeting information is sent only after approval. Any party can ask that everyone appear in person, and the court can order it.
- 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 Skamania County Clerk issues certified copies. A certified copy of the letters is what banks, transfer agents, and title companies rely on, so order enough for the institutions the estate deals with: the county's schedule charges $5 for letters of administration, letters testamentary, or letters of guardianship (RCW 36.18.016(9)) and $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)), with $9 plus $1 per page for an authenticated or exemplified copy if an out-of-state institution asks for one.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, pay valid claims in the order set by law, handle the four-month creditor period (RCW 11.40.051), file any Washington estate tax return that is required (chapter 83.100 RCW), distribute what remains, and close the estate. A personal representative with nonintervention powers closes by declaration of completion rather than by a court accounting (RCW 11.68), while a supervised estate returns to the court for approval.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Skamania County
Skamania County publishes no local probate forms, and Washington publishes no statewide probate form set either. That is worth stating plainly, because filers arrive expecting a packet. The courts.wa.gov Court Forms index has categories for accessing the courts, family law, guardianship and conservatorship, criminal law, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, and protection orders, among others, and no probate category (verified July 2026). The Washington probate pleadings, the petition, the order admitting the will, the oath, the notice of appointment, and the declaration of completion, are drafted by the filer or the attorney. The $25 form packets the Clerk's office sells are family law packets, and the county's courthouse facilitator program is a Family Court Facilitator limited to family law and domestic relations matters, so neither one is a probate resource.
Several things here do come from a form, and one comes with every new case. A new superior court case needs a Case Information Cover Sheet, which the Clerk's e-filing page requires and which comes from the courts.wa.gov forms pages. The county publishes the GR 34 fee waiver documents it wants used if the $290 filing fee is a hardship (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), a motion for waiver of fees, a financial statement, a qualified legal services provider motion, and an order, with an express warning that altered forms will not be accepted. The Superior Court page carries the joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules and the court's exemplar forms, and the two that matter most around a probate hearing are the Request for Remote Appearance and the county's own Zoom Request Form. One genuinely local Skamania form touches estates before anyone dies: the Will Repository Cover Sheet, used to deposit an original will under seal with the Clerk during the testator's lifetime (RCW 11.12.265) for $20 per will or codicil, which the county is careful to say is optional and does not make the will valid. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the practical self-help packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route that opens no court case under RCW 11.62.010. Ask the Skamania County Clerk at (509) 427-3770 what the office wants on intake before you file, because a one-counter office can tell you in one call.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Skamania County Clerk (skamaniacounty.gov) | The filing office's own page: hours, the PO Box 790 mailing address, the office phone and mailbox, and the links to e-filing, the fee schedule, court records, self help, and the will repository |
| E-filing through TrueFiling, Skamania County Clerk (skamaniacounty.gov) | The Clerk's e-filing instructions: that e-filing is not mandatory, the $5 bundle fee and how a GR 34 waiver interacts with it, the 100-page rejection limit, the rule that bench copies cannot be e-filed, the requirement of a case cover sheet for a new case, the statement that filings are not accepted by email or fax, and the four fee waiver documents the county publishes |
| Skamania County Clerk's fee schedule (skamaniacounty.gov) | The county's own schedule, effective July 27, 2025: $290 to file a probate, $5 for letters, $5 plus $1 per page for certified copies, $30 for an ex parte order per case per submission, $20 to file a small estate affidavit, $20 to file a will where no probate is contemplated, and the note that fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060) |
| Skamania County Superior Court (skamaniacounty.gov) | The joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules, the court's exemplar forms, the posted daily dockets, the bench copy policy, and the $30 ex parte submission note |
| Skamania County will repository (skamaniacounty.gov) | The Will Repository Cover Sheet and the county's explanation of depositing an original will under seal before death under RCW 11.12.265, at $20 per will or codicil, with the caveat that it is optional and does not validate the will |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide Case Information Cover Sheets and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no probate category here, which is the point: Washington has no statewide probate forms |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | Plain-language Washington probate self-help, including the guide to managing a small estate yourself and the small estate affidavit packet (RCW 11.62.010) |
| Washington Courts directory: Skamania County (courts.wa.gov) | The government listing that confirms the Skamania County Clerk's street address, PO Box, phone, and fax, with the separate listing and phone for the Superior Court |
Recent updates
| Change | What it means for a Skamania County estate |
|---|---|
| Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025 | The Skamania County Clerk published a fee schedule effective July 27, 2025 and ties the increase to the 2025 legislation that added a $50 surcharge to superior court filings. It prints a $290 probate filing fee, matching the statutory total (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), along with the local line items a probate actually runs into: $5 for letters, $5 plus $1 per page for certified copies, $9 plus $1 per page for authenticated copies, $30 for an ex parte order per case per submission, $20 to file a small estate affidavit, $20 to file a will where no probate is contemplated, and $30 per hour to search records. Fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). Older sources that show a lower probate filing fee predate that surcharge and are out of date |
| A $25 fee to appear remotely, in effect since January 1, 2024 | Under LGAR 19(a)(2)(A) of the joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules, the $25 non-refundable administrative fee for a remote appearance applies in Skamania County only, and the county has charged it for each court hearing since January 1, 2024. It is waived for dependency cases, protection orders, unlawful detainer respondents, and indigent parties, and each party pays separately, an attorney and client included. Plan on the county's Zoom Request Form, the judge's approval, five court days' notice to the Court Administrator, and paying online with the receipt emailed to court administration before the hearing |
| E-filing through TrueFiling at the Clerk's Office | The Skamania County Clerk's Office accepts e-filing through TrueFiling, with a $5 bundle fee that a GR 34 waiver does not cover. The county publishes no start date for the program. E-filing is not required, filings of 100 pages or more are rejected and must come by courier, mail, or in person, bench copies cannot be submitted electronically, and the office accepts nothing by email or fax |
| The rule set posted on the county site is older than the current one | Skamania County's own local court rules page publishes the joint Klickitat and Skamania rules as of September 1, 2020. The current set published by the Administrative Office of the Courts carries amendments effective September 1, 2023 and September 1, 2025 to rules a probate filer touches, including the motion calendar rule (LGAR 0.1), remote appearances (LGAR 19), and motion timing and working copies (LCR 6(d)). Work from the Administrative Office of the Courts copy, and note that it is a scanned document that does not search by text |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Skamania County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Stevenson or North Bonneville 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 Skamania County to admit the will and issue letters testamentary; with no will, the surviving spouse has first priority for letters of administration (RCW 11.28.120(1)). Either way the spouse can ask for nonintervention powers so a solvent estate is administered without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011). The petition is filed with the Skamania County Clerk in Stevenson, and the appointment order is usually presented ex parte through the Clerk's Office rather than at a hearing (LGAR 0.6). | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to go through the court. Packet generation for the filing with the Skamania 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 three remote routes into Skamania County: mail the petition to the Skamania County Clerk at PO Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648, send it by courier, or e-file through TrueFiling for a $5 bundle fee, keeping the filing under 100 pages and remembering that an original will still has to reach the counter on paper (GR 30) and that nothing is accepted by email or fax. If a hearing is needed, ask court administration about a remote appearance at least five court days ahead and budget the county's $25 fee (LGAR 19(a)(2)(A)). | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the affidavit or the probate petition, prepared so an out-of-state filer can proceed by mail or by e-filing. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that has to be sold, the affidavit route does not reach it and the estate goes through probate: with no will the parent petitions for letters of administration in the priority order of RCW 11.28.120(1) and now must also describe the search for the heirs (RCW 11.28.110); with a will the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. With nonintervention powers the personal representative can sell the Skamania County house and distribute the proceeds without returning to court for approval (RCW 11.68.011). If a hearing is needed it goes before the judge who serves Klickitat and Skamania counties, who sits in Stevenson on alternating weeks (LGAR 0.2(b)), so confirm the next available date with the County Clerk at (509) 427-3770 or court administration at (509) 427-3765 rather than assuming a weekday. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, property, and debts. Packet generation for the probate petition and the notices. Attorney referral if the sale or a dispute among heirs turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Skamania County Clerk (skamaniacounty.gov), (509) 427-3770 | The filing office for probate: hours, the counter at 240 NW Vancouver Avenue in Stevenson, the PO Box 790 mailing address, the fee schedule, e-filing, and the office mailbox. The county also routes questions about a hearing date or a posted docket here. Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| Skamania County Superior Court (skamaniacounty.gov), (509) 427-3765 | Court administration: the joint Klickitat and Skamania local court rules, the exemplar forms, the posted daily dockets, the bench copy policy, and the office that approves remote appearances, sets special hearings, and takes trial confirmations |
| Local court rules for the Superior Court for Klickitat and Skamania counties (courts.wa.gov) | The current joint rules as published by the Administrative Office of the Courts, including ex parte routing (LGAR 0.6), the alternating-weeks rotation (LGAR 0.2(b)), remote appearance and the Skamania-only $25 fee (LGAR 19), motion timing and working copies (LCR 6(d)), and sessions and motion calendars (LCR 77). Use this copy rather than the older version posted on the county site, and note the file is a scan, so it does not search by text |
| Skamania County Superior Court Zoom hearing information (skamaniacounty.gov) | The county's own remote appearance instructions: the $25 per hearing fee in effect since January 1, 2024 and who is exempt, the Zoom Request Form, how to pay and send the receipt, and the courtroom protocol that applies to a video appearance |
| Skamania County Superior Court records (skamaniacounty.gov) | How to see a Skamania County case file: the public access terminal at the Clerk's front counter, copies bought at the counter by cash, check, or card, the Odyssey Portal case index, and record orders through the Washington State Digital Archives |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | Washington's main plain-language legal self-help publisher, with probate and small estate guides and the small estate affidavit packet (RCW 11.62.010). The county's own self help page lists this first |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov) | The public case search for Washington superior courts, including Skamania County. Probate cases appear as superior court civil cases, and the county describes the portal as a basic case index without document images |
| Washington Courts case search (dw.courts.wa.gov) | The statewide pointer index across municipal, district, superior, and appellate courts, which the county's Superior Court page also points to for confirming a calendar. Useful for finding a case number, but its own notice warns that case status may be inaccurate |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide Case Information Cover Sheet and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no statewide probate forms category |
| 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. The county's own pro se resources page links the Northwest Justice Project. 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 Skamania 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 Skamania County lists no law library among its departments and its own self help page points to a statewide county law library directory instead |
When to hire an attorney
Many Skamania County estates are uncontested, and a personal representative granted nonintervention powers administers and closes a solvent estate without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011), which is why plenty of families here get through probate with limited legal help. Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim, when timberland, a business, water rights, a short-term rental, or property across the river in Oregon has to be valued or divided, when the estate is large enough to owe Washington estate tax under chapter 83.100 RCW, or when no one entitled to appointment has come forward and the petition has to be made under RCW 11.28.120(3). The local practicalities are their own reason: the judge who serves Klickitat and Skamania counties sits in Stevenson on alternating weeks, a remote appearance takes the judge's approval, five court days' notice, and a $25 fee, and the county's courthouse facilitator program handles family law rather than probate, so a lawyer who already appears on that rotation can present an order without an extra trip. The Skamania County Clerk can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Skamania 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, Skamania County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Washington route fits before you file.
Generate the estate settlement 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 Skamania County Clerk at the counter in Stevenson, by mail to PO Box 790, or through the Clerk's TrueFiling service.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Skamania 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 Skamania County?
With the Skamania County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at the counter in the Skamania County Courthouse, 240 NW Vancouver Avenue in Stevenson, or by mail to the Skamania County Clerk at PO Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648, or electronically through the Clerk's TrueFiling service. Washington has no separate probate court: the Superior Court in Skamania County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, and the County Clerk is the filing office. Do not take a probate to Skamania County District Court or to the Stevenson or North Bonneville municipal courts in the same building, because those are courts of limited jurisdiction that do not handle probate. Washington law lets a petitioner file in any county (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but file where the decedent lived, because venue can be moved there within four months of the notice of appointment and the creditor notice must be published in the county of residence anyway (RCW 11.40.020(2)).
Can I e-file a Skamania County probate?
Yes, and the county's own page says e-filing is not mandatory. The Skamania County Clerk's Office accepts e-filing through TrueFiling, and its instructions neither limit e-filing to attorneys nor require it of anyone. Three limits matter for a probate. There is a $5 bundle fee, and a GR 34 fee waiver does not cover it because a waiver reaches statutory filing fees only, so the county's own advice is to file in person, by mail, or by courier if you want to avoid it. A filing of 100 pages or more is rejected and has to come by courier, mail, or in person. And bench copies cannot be submitted electronically, so working copies for the judge go through the court's own bench copy channel instead. An original will still has to reach the counter on paper, because a document the law requires in non-electronic form cannot be e-filed (GR 30). The office also will not accept filings by email or fax, so those are not alternatives. Questions go to the Clerk's Office at (509) 427-3770.
Can I file a Skamania County probate by mail?
Yes. Send the papers to the Skamania County Clerk at PO Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648. Include payment for the $290 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), which the county's own schedule confirms, and note that fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060); send a check or money order payable to the Skamania County Clerk and ask the office what else it accepts. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want anything mailed back, because an ex parte order left with the Clerk without a return envelope has to be picked up within 48 hours or it is deemed abandoned and destroyed (LGAR 0.6 of the joint local rules). Call (509) 427-3770 before you mail the original will. Mail and courier are also the routes for a filing of 100 pages or more, which TrueFiling rejects, and note that the office takes nothing by fax or email.
How much does it cost to file probate in Skamania 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 Skamania County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, prints the same $290 for a probate filing, so there is no county add-on to that figure, and the county ties the increase to the 2025 legislation that added the $50 surcharge. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34 using the documents the county publishes. Budget separately for the items the county's schedule does charge: $5 for letters of administration, letters testamentary, or letters of guardianship (RCW 36.18.016(9)), $5 for the first page of a certified copy plus $1 per additional page and $9 plus $1 per page for an authenticated copy (RCW 36.18.016(4)), $30 for an ex parte order per case per submission (RCW 36.18.016(12)), $5 per bundle if you e-file through TrueFiling, $25 for each Zoom appearance, $20 to file a small estate affidavit, $30 per hour with a one-hour minimum for a records search (RCW 36.18.016(11)), and the cost of publishing the creditor notice. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). Confirm the current schedule with the Skamania County Clerk.
When does the superior court judge sit in Stevenson?
On a rotation rather than every week. One superior court judge serves Klickitat and Skamania counties (RCW 2.08.064), and under LGAR 0.2(b) of the counties' joint local rules that judge serves by alternating weeks between the two counties, with special settings as the court administrators specify; the county's own Superior Court page says the judge alternates weekly between the two county seats. Skamania County sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (LCR 77(f)(2)), and motions are heard on a Law and Motion Docket unless court administration arranges otherwise, with the yearly calendar prepared by the court administrator and posted on the county website (LGAR 0.1). The county also posts individual daily dockets, but it warns they can change without notice and are not published for every docket, so confirm a date with the posted calendar, the County Clerk at (509) 427-3770, or court administration at (509) 427-3765 rather than assuming a weekday. Sharing a judge affects the calendar, not the county: the estate is still filed with the Skamania County Clerk and keeps a Skamania County case number. Note also that the court sits in one continuous session from January 1 to December 31 with a Winter Holiday recess from December 24 to January 2, when contested matters are not tried except by consent (LCR 77(d)).
Do I need a hearing to be appointed personal representative in Skamania County?
Often not. Most probate orders in Skamania County are presented ex parte rather than argued. Anything you ask to have reviewed ex parte goes to the Clerk's Office, which arranges with the court administrator for a judge or court commissioner to review it, and the local rules are explicit that ex parte requests are not sent to the court administrator directly and that unrequested materials sent there will be returned (LGAR 0.6). Matters mailed in go with a check for the clerk's judicial signature fee and are placed on the ex parte desk for review (LCR 77(k)(2)); the county's fee schedule and its own Superior Court page both put ex parte orders at $30 per case per submission, and the county says to call court administration if you have a signature deadline. If you would rather bring the paperwork in for signature, call court administration at (509) 427-3765 to arrange a time when the judge or a designee is available (LCR 77(k)(3)). If your matter does need argument, serve and file the motion papers no later than ten court days before the date you want it considered (LCR 6(d)(2)(A)(i)) and file a written request to place it on the regularly scheduled motion calendar three working days ahead, excluding holidays and weekends (LCR 77(f)(3)).
Can I appear by phone or video in a Skamania County probate, and does it cost anything?
Sometimes, if you arrange it in advance, and yes, there is a fee here. Remote appearance is discretionary with the court under LGAR 19 of the joint Klickitat and Skamania local rules: it takes the express approval of the judge hearing the matter, plus a Request for Remote Appearance mailed or emailed to the Court Administrator at least five court days before the hearing unless good cause is shown, plus, in Skamania County only, payment of a $25 non-refundable administrative fee before the hearing unless the court waives it. The county has charged that $25 for each court hearing since January 1, 2024, waives it for dependency cases, protection orders, unlawful detainer respondents, and indigent parties, and requires each party to pay separately, an attorney and client included. You complete the county's Zoom Request Form, pay online using your case number as the account number, and email the receipt to court administration, and the meeting information is sent only after the request is approved. Only active parties may appear by Zoom; anyone who just wants to watch uses the open courtroom. Any party can ask that everyone appear in person, and the court can order it. Recording, photographing, or rebroadcasting a remote proceeding is prohibited without the judge's written authorization (LGAR 0.3(b)).
How do I look up a Skamania County probate case online?
Use Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Skamania County; the county describes it as a basic case index without images. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov will also find a case, and the county's own Superior Court page points there for confirming a calendar, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record. Probate cases are indexed as superior court civil cases. Documents are a separate step: the county offers a public access terminal at the Clerk's front counter, sells copies at the counter by cash, check, or credit card, and offers the Washington State Digital Archives as another way to order records. A certified copy is $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)), and a records search runs $30 per hour with a one-hour minimum (RCW 36.18.016(11)). Note that no file leaves the Clerk's office without the Clerk's express permission (LCR 79(g)).
Are there local Skamania County probate forms?
No. Skamania County publishes no local probate forms, and Washington has no statewide probate form set either: the courts.wa.gov forms index has no probate category (verified July 2026). The petition, the order, the oath, and the notices are drafted documents. What the county does publish is worth using: the statewide Case Information Cover Sheet its e-filing page requires with a new case; the GR 34 fee waiver motion, financial statement, and order, with the county's warning that altered forms will not be accepted; the joint local court rules and the court's exemplar forms on the Superior Court page, including the Request for Remote Appearance and the Zoom Request Form; and a Will Repository Cover Sheet for depositing an original will under seal with the Clerk before death (RCW 11.12.265), at $20 per will or codicil, which the county notes is optional and does not validate the will. Two form rules from the joint local rules apply to what you draft: put CLERK'S ACTION REQUIRED in the caption of any pleading that needs the Clerk to act (LCR 10(e)(7)), and get an ex parte order first if a document runs overlength (LCR 10(d)(3)). The $25 packets the Clerk's office sells are family law packets, and the county's courthouse facilitator is a Family Court Facilitator who does not handle probate. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010).
Where is the creditor notice published for a Skamania 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)). In Skamania County the weekly newspaper is the Skamania County Pioneer, published in the City of Stevenson; the paper's own affidavit of publication recites that it was approved as a legal newspaper by the Superior Court of Skamania County on July 7, 1941. The Skamania County Clerk does not name a newspaper of record on its own page, so confirm with the Clerk's Office at (509) 427-3770 that the paper still qualifies and still takes notices, and confirm the schedule and cost with the paper 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)).
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.