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Snohomish County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Snohomish County, Washington's general-jurisdiction trial court, with its own bench of superior court judges and court commissioners. There is no separate probate court in Washington; the superior court handles probate as a case type under Title 11 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW Title 11). Non-TEDRA probate motions are heard by a court commissioner on the Guardianship/Probate calendar, and initial Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act motions under RCW 11.96A.100(8) go to the Judge's Civil Motions calendar (Table A of the court's motion locations list, Administrative Order 11-24) |
| Filing office | Snohomish County Clerk, Clerk of the Superior Court. The Clerk takes probate petitions, holds original wills, issues letters, and keeps the estate record in perpetuity. The office describes itself as one of several independently elected officials provided for in the Washington State Constitution, and as the administrative and financial office of the Superior Court |
| Courthouse | Snohomish County Clerk's Office, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Mission Building, Floor 2, Room M206, M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201. This is the single clerk counter for probate filings in Snohomish County |
| Mailing | Snohomish County Clerk's Office, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201-4046. Mailed filings are accepted; include payment where a fee is due, and include a self-addressed stamped envelope and a spare copy if you want a received-stamped copy back |
| Phone | (425) 388-3466 for the Clerk's Office customer service. TDD is (425) 388-3700. The courts.wa.gov court directory also lists an 800-562-4367 toll-free number for the County Clerk, but Snohomish County publishes that as a countywide toll-free line for county offices usable inside Washington, not as a probate line, and the Clerk's own pages give (425) 388-3466 |
| [email protected], the Clerk's Office mailbox. E-filing questions go to [email protected], staffed 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Remote appearance questions go to [email protected]. The Clerk does not take requests for copies of court records by phone | |
| Fax | (425) 388-3806, listed for the Snohomish County Clerk in the Washington State Court Directory. The Clerk does not present fax as a filing channel: file electronically, at the counter, or by mail |
| Hours | Customer service and public lobby hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. and closed on county holidays. Filing hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and any paper or electronic document received outside those hours is treated as received and filed at the beginning of the next business day. The court itself is generally in session 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Snohomish County Local Civil Rule 77(f)) |
| 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). Snohomish County's own schedule lists the same figure, "$290.00 Probate Filing, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" (Snohomish County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective July 8, 2026), and the Clerk's probate page repeats it. Confirm the current schedule with the Snohomish County Clerk |
| Local forms | Yes, for calendaring and for wills, but not for the probate itself. The court publishes a local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner form for noting a probate hearing, the Clerk publishes an Ex Parte via the Clerk coversheet and an Ex Parte Submission Cover Sheet, the Clerk publishes a Will Repository Cover Sheet, and the court's forms page carries a New Case Information Cover Sheet for probate, guardianship and mental illness cases. Washington has no statewide probate form set, and the Clerk states plainly that its office does not provide the forms or instructions for filing a probate |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys. Attorneys shall electronically file all documents using the Clerk's online eFile and Serve application, hosted by Tyler Technologies, unless Snohomish County Local General Rule 30 provides otherwise; an attorney who cannot comply must request a waiver on a showing of good cause, and the Clerk may reject an unwaived paper filing. Unrepresented parties are not required to e-file but may. Several categories must be filed on paper, and the one that matters most in probate is original paper wills and codicils, including will-only filings and new probate cases that include an original paper will or codicil (SCLGR 30) |
| Case search | Snohomish County Superior Court case information is searched free through the Washington Courts Odyssey Portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov, which covers case information but not documents. The Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov lists Snohomish among the 37 superior courts to search through Odyssey Portal, and its own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate. For documents, occasional users buy copies through the Washington State Digital Archives and frequent users take an annual Odyssey Portal subscription from the Clerk (Snohomish County Code 4.119). Viewing public court records in person at the Clerk's Office is free |
| Remote appearance | Available for commissioner calendars, including Guardianship/Probate in Courtroom 1E, by Zoom or by phone. Connect 15 minutes before the hearing so you can be identified and admitted; appearance by Zoom is subject to Administrative Order 39-22 and the court's direction, and recording a proceeding without the judicial officer's express permission is prohibited (Administrative Order 37-20 and SCLAR 0.02(e)(4)). Confirm your courtroom on the daily commissioner calendar before selecting a meeting |
| Website | https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5492/Superior-Court-Clerk |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Snohomish County question is not which form to use, it is what the estate actually holds and whether there is an original paper will. Washington's routes are a petition to probate the will with letters testamentary; a petition for letters of administration where there is no will, in the priority order the statute sets; nonintervention powers, which let a solvent estate be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011); and, for a modest estate holding only personal property, a sworn small estate affidavit collected without opening any court case (RCW 11.62.010). Which one fits turns on whether there is a will, what the estate holds, whether it is solvent, and who is entitled to serve; the routes and their thresholds are covered on the Washington state page.
Before you file, identify every bank and credit union account, brokerage and retirement account, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest, and parcel of Snohomish County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir, legatee and devisee by name and address. Snohomish County makes this front work matter twice over: the Clerk's local rule requires a death certificate or comparable documentation of the death to be filed with any petition to open a probate, and a 2026 change to Washington law now requires an application for letters of administration to describe the heirs and the applicant's search for them and, in most cases, to give a general description of the major probate assets (RCW 11.28.110). Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Superior Court in Snohomish County serves all of Snohomish County from a single courthouse campus in Everett, and it hears probate for a Snohomish County decedent. That covers Everett, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Marysville, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Bothell, Brier, Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Monroe, Arlington, Stanwood, Sultan, Gold Bar, Granite Falls, Darrington, Index, Woodway, the Tulalip communities, and the unincorporated county from Puget Sound to the Cascade crest. There is no second clerk counter and no branch probate calendar: every Snohomish County estate is filed with the same County Clerk at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue in Everett, and heard by a court commissioner in the commissioner courtrooms on the first floor of that building. The Denney Juvenile Justice Center on 10th Street hosts some minor guardianship hearings, but it is not a probate location.
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)). Once letters have been granted, the rest of the estate stays in that county (RCW 11.96A.050(5)). A narrow exception removes the choice: a petitioner seeking appointment under RCW 11.28.120(3), the route open to a person not otherwise entitled after 90 days, must file where the decedent resided.
The Snohomish County angle on venue is the will, not the county line. Anyone holding a will has to get it to the court, and the Clerk's probate page reads the duty as filing the will within 40 days at the Clerk's Office of the Superior Court of the county where the decedent resided at death. The statute is slightly more demanding than that summary: a person having custody or control of a will has 30 days after learning of the death to deliver it to the court with jurisdiction or to the executor named in the will, and an executor holding the will has 40 days to deliver it to the court (RCW 11.20.010). Filing a will after death where no probate is contemplated costs $20 (RCW 36.18.012(7)); if a probate is opened at the same time, the full $290 filing fee applies instead. Wills filed after the testator's death become public record.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue and gather the death documentation. Snohomish County is the practical county when the decedent lived here at death (RCW 11.96A.050(4)). Before anything else, get a certified death certificate: Snohomish County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a) requires a death certificate or comparable documentation of the death of the decedent to be filed with any petition to open a probate matter, and the Clerk will look for it. If you are holding the original will, note the delivery deadlines in RCW 11.20.010, 30 days for a custodian and 40 days for a named executor.
- Choose the route. With a will, the petitioner asks the court to probate the will and issue letters testamentary, and the court may hear the proofs immediately and enter an order establishing the will (RCW 11.20.020). With no will, the applicant petitions for letters of administration in the statutory priority order (RCW 11.28.120(1)), and the 2026 amendments to RCW 11.28.110 require the application to state the heirs and the applicant's search for them and, unless the applicant is the spouse, domestic partner or next of kin, to describe the major probate assets. Most Washington personal representatives also petition for nonintervention powers so the estate can be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011). A modest estate holding only personal property may instead be collected by sworn affidavit with no court case opened (RCW 11.62.010); the routes and their thresholds are on the Washington state page.
- Prepare the documents. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, and the Snohomish County Clerk states plainly that its office does not provide the forms or instructions for filing a probate, so the petition, the oath or acceptance of appointment, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. The Snohomish County Law Library will print probate and small estate packet forms on request, in person, from $2.00 per packet, and WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language self-help packets. If the matter needs a hearing, complete the court's local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner form, which is the approved calendar note for this calendar (Snohomish County Local Civil Rule 7(b)(2)(a)).
- Decide paper or electronic, because in Snohomish County the will decides it. Attorneys shall e-file all documents through the Clerk's online eFile and Serve application unless Snohomish County Local General Rule 30 provides otherwise, and unrepresented parties are not required to e-file but may. SCLGR 30 then carves out documents that must be filed on paper, and the probate carve-out is broad: original paper wills and codicils other than electronic wills, including will-only filings and new probate cases that include an original paper will or codicil. A new case filed with a GR 34 fee waiver order, and a new case filing that requests immediate relief, are also paper. So a Snohomish County probate with an original paper will is a paper filing, at the counter or by mail, even for an attorney.
- File with the Snohomish County Clerk. In person, go to the Clerk's Office at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Mission Building, Floor 2, Room M206, and take fee-bearing documents straight to the cashier's counter. By mail, send the papers to 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201-4046 with payment, plus a self-addressed stamped envelope and a spare copy if you want a received-stamped copy back. Filing hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and anything received outside them is filed at the start of the next business day. The Clerk accepts cash, cashier's check, money order, and debit and credit cards at the counter, and a business check or money order payable to Snohomish County Clerk by mail; personal checks are not accepted.
- Pay the fee. $290 to open a 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)), listed as "$290.00 Probate Filing" on the Snohomish County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective July 8, 2026 and repeated on the Clerk's own probate page. All fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34 using the Clerk's fee waiver packet, which names filing a probate or estate action as one of the situations it covers; remember that a new case filed with a fee waiver order goes in on paper under SCLGR 30.
- Present an uncontested matter ex parte, or note it for the Guardianship/Probate calendar. Under SCLSPR 98.04(a), all probate matters that are not contested and in which notice is not required by statute, rule, or a duly filed request for notice under RCW 11.28.240, or where notice has been waived, may be heard ex parte. In person, ex parte runs in Commissioner Courtroom 1B, Monday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., first come first served: enter quietly, sign in on the clipboard near the court clerk, and wait for your name. Matters in which notice is required go on the Guardianship/Probate calendar instead (SCLSPR 98.04(b)), and the court may require sworn testimony from someone with personal knowledge of the facts in certain probate proceedings (SCLSPR 98.04(c)).
- If a hearing is needed, note it, then confirm it. File the local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner with the Clerk not less than five court days before the date you request, and serve it with the motion and supporting papers. The calendar sits in Courtroom 1E on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 p.m., with a published limit of 14 hearings per session. Confirmation is required: confirm no later than 12:00 noon two court days before the hearing, online at snohomishcountywa.gov/Confirmations or by leaving a message at (425) 388-3587, or the matter will be stricken (Snohomish County Local Civil Rule 7(b)(2)(9)). Deliver working copies to the judicial officer no later than the day they are served, marked in the upper right corner with the hearing date and time and the department.
- Appear, in person or by Zoom. In-person commissioner hearings are held in the assigned commissioner courtroom, and Guardianship/Probate sits in Courtroom 1E. The court publishes a Zoom meeting for each commissioner courtroom and a dial-in number; connect 15 minutes early so you can be identified and admitted, and check the daily commissioner calendar to confirm your courtroom before you pick a meeting. Appearance by Zoom is subject to Administrative Order 39-22 and the court's direction, observers who are not litigants are not admitted, and recording a proceeding without the judicial officer's express permission is prohibited. Send remote appearance questions to [email protected].
- Receive the letters. Once the commissioner signs the order appointing the personal representative and the oath or acceptance is on file, the Clerk issues the letters testamentary or letters of administration. Letters are $5 each, and a certificate of qualification or certified copy of letters, the line the Clerk's schedule labels Form K, is also $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)); a certified copy of any other document is $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)(a)). Order the certified copies a bank or title company will ask for at the same time as presentation, because the Clerk's Ex Parte via the Clerk service lets related services such as certified copies and probate letters be requested and paid for with the presentation.
- Administer and close. Within 20 days after appointment, 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 nonprobate beneficiary, and file proof of mailing (RCW 11.28.237(1)). If you give notice to creditors, file it with the court and publish it once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered, which triggers the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051); the Clerk posts Snohomish County's Approved Legal Newspapers list under RCW 65.16.070, and the Everett Herald and ten other county papers are on it. Collect the assets, pay valid debts, sell Snohomish County real estate where the estate needs to, distribute, and close. A personal representative with nonintervention powers closes without returning to court for supervision; without them, later probate motions go back to the Guardianship/Probate calendar or, where no notice is required, into the ex parte session.
Executor duties
A Snohomish County personal representative carries the statewide Washington duties, which are covered on the Washington state page: notice of the appointment and pendency of the probate within 20 days (RCW 11.28.237(1)), creditor notice and the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051), collecting the assets, paying valid debts, and distributing and closing, with nonintervention powers removing the need for court supervision along the way (RCW 11.68.011). Snohomish County's local rules and clerk practice add a short list of local requirements on top of those, and they are the ones that most often send a Snohomish County filer back to the counter.
Bring the death certificate with the petition. Snohomish County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a) requires a death certificate or comparable documentation of the death of the decedent to be filed with any petition to open a probate matter. It is a small requirement that stops a filing cold when it is missing, and it is why ordering certified death certificates is the first errand in a Snohomish County estate rather than a later one.
Get the original will to the Clerk on paper, and on time. A person having custody or control of a will has 30 days after learning of the death to deliver it to the court with jurisdiction or to the executor named in it, and an executor holding the will has 40 days to deliver it to the court (RCW 11.20.010); the Clerk's probate page frames this as filing the will within 40 days with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the decedent resided. Because SCLGR 30 forbids e-filing an original paper will or codicil, including in a new probate case, the original goes to the counter or into the mail. If the will was already deposited in the Clerk's will repository before death, note that a non-testator who wants it withdrawn needs more than a request: under Snohomish County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.05, withdrawal of a will filed under seal pursuant to RCW 11.12.265 is granted only after a hearing and on good cause shown, with notice to the testator or, if the testator has died, to the named personal representatives, heirs and legatees as the court directs. Anyone may ask clerk staff to search whether a will has been deposited, but only the testator can view or remove it without a court order.
Publish the creditor notice in a paper that actually counts. Notice to creditors is published once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered (RCW 11.40.020(1)), and the Snohomish County Clerk posts and keeps posted the county's Approved Legal Newspapers list as RCW 65.16.070 requires. The Everett Herald sits on that list alongside the Arlington Times, the Edmonds Beacon, the Everett News Tribune, the Lake Stevens Journal, The Marysville Globe, the Mukilteo Beacon, The Monroe Monitor and Valley News, North County Outlook, the Snohomish County Tribune and the Stanwood-Camano News. Confirm the current list with the Clerk before you place the notice, and keep the publisher's affidavit for the file.
Keep the calendar mechanics in your own diary. Any probate matter that needs a hearing needs the local calendar note filed at least five court days ahead, working copies delivered no later than the day they are served, and a confirmation by noon two court days before the hearing, or the matter is stricken. A personal representative administering under nonintervention powers may never see that calendar; a supervised estate will see it more than once.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Snohomish County
Washington has no statewide probate form set, and that is worth saying plainly because it surprises people who expect a fill-in packet. The Washington Courts forms index at courts.wa.gov publishes statewide forms for family law, guardianship and conservatorship, criminal, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, protection order and access-to-court matters, among others, and it publishes case information cover sheets and the GR 34 fee-waiver forms, but there is no probate category. Snohomish County says the same thing in its own words: the Clerk's probate page states that its office does not provide the forms or instructions on how to file a probate, and the purchasable self-help packets the Clerk does sell cover family law, parentage, domestic partnership, guardianship, adoption break seal and miscellaneous civil, criminal and juvenile matters, with no probate packet among them. A Snohomish County probate petition, the oath or acceptance of appointment, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney.
What Snohomish County does publish are the local forms that surround the petition, and a probate uses them. The court's Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner is the approved calendar note for noting a probate hearing before the commissioner, and Snohomish County Local Civil Rule 7(b)(2)(a) requires the note for motion calendar to be on the form approved by the court; the form itself states that it and the motion must be filed with the Clerk not less than five court days before the date requested, and that confirmation is required. The Clerk publishes an Ex Parte via the Clerk coversheet and an Ex Parte Submission Cover Sheet for matters presented through the clerk rather than in the courtroom, and a Will Repository Cover Sheet for depositing an original will under seal before death. The court's forms page also publishes a New Case Information Cover Sheet for probate, guardianship and mental illness cases and a general cover sheet for probate, guardianship and mental illness filings. All of them are on the Clerk's forms pages and the court's Snohomish County Superior Court Forms page at snohomishcountywa.gov.
For the petition itself, two Snohomish County resources fill the gap. The Snohomish County Law Library, in Room 0-051 of the courthouse, will print probate packet forms and small estate packet forms on request, in person, from $2.00 a packet, and gives free access to Westlaw and LexisNexis on its research computers. WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org), published by the Northwest Justice Project, is Washington's main plain-language self-help publisher for estates, including its small estate guidance and Small Estate Affidavit packet. Neither the Clerk's staff nor the law librarian can give legal advice or tell you how to complete a form. Check a Snohomish County form's current version before relying on it, and remember that an original paper will cannot be e-filed under SCLGR 30.
Fees
The $290 fee to open a probate is statutory and identical in every Washington county (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and all fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). What Snohomish County adds are local service charges and payment rules that a Snohomish County estate runs into in practice. Every figure below is published by the Snohomish County Clerk, chiefly on the Snohomish County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective July 8, 2026 and the Clerk's records and e-filing pages. Fee waivers are available under GR 34 through the Clerk's fee waiver packet, which names filing a probate or estate action as one of the situations it covers, and a fee waiver request submitted with an Ex Parte via the Clerk submission also waives the $30 presentation fee.
| Charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Ex Parte via the Clerk presentation fee | $30 (RCW 36.18.016(12)) | A single submission of one to five proposed orders per cause number presented to the commissioner by the Ex Parte Clerk instead of in the courtroom. Original probate filings cannot be submitted this way |
| Letters testamentary or letters of administration | $5 per letter | Each set of letters the Clerk issues after the order appointing the personal representative |
| Certificate of qualification or certified copy of letters | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The certified proof of authority a bank or title company asks for, the line Snohomish County's schedule labels Form K |
| Certified copy of a document | $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)(a)) | Certified copies of the order, the letters or anything else in the estate file. Non-certified copies are $0.50 per page, exemplified copies are $9 for the first page plus $1 per additional page, and viewing public records in person at the Clerk's Office is free |
| Filing a will after death with no probate | $20 (RCW 36.18.012(7)) | Lodging the original will with the Clerk when no probate of the estate is contemplated. If a probate is opened at the same time, the full $290 applies instead |
| Will repository deposit | $20 (RCW 36.18.016(28)) | Depositing an original will under seal with the Clerk before death, with the Will Repository Cover Sheet; another $20 to deposit a codicil or a later will. Withdrawal by the testator is free on proof of identity |
| Card processing charge on e-filed payments | 2.89 percent of total fees for credit and debit cards | Paying a statutory filing fee through the Clerk's eFile and Serve application. There is no charge for using the e-filing system itself |
| Dishonored payment service charge | $35 per item (Snohomish County Code 4.10.010) | A payment to the Clerk that is returned unpaid. The Clerk does not accept personal checks at all: pay by cash, cashier's check, money order, or debit or credit card at the counter, or by business check or money order payable to Snohomish County Clerk by mail |
| Postage and handling on mailed copy requests | Cost of postage and mailing plus a $2.00 handling fee (RCW 36.18.016(4)(g)) | Any mailed copy request submitted without a prepaid self-addressed envelope. Allow 10 business days for a mailed records request to be completed |
| Records research by staff | $30 per hour, one hour minimum (RCW 36.18.016(11)) | Historical or exceptional record searches, which the Clerk says most cases filed before 1978 will require. Submit the Research Request Form with payment |
| Odyssey Portal document subscription | $100 to $600 a year by organization size, billed annually on February 1 and pro-rated for a mid-year start (Snohomish County Code 4.119) | Frequent users who want online access to Superior Court documents, including probate and guardianship. Occasional users buy individual copies through the Washington State Digital Archives instead, and free case-information searching needs no subscription |
| Copy of a recorded hearing | $25 per hearing date or case, plus a $5 digital delivery fee (RCW 36.18.016(13)) | Audio of a digitally recorded probate hearing, where the minute entry shows the hearing was recorded |
Timeline
- File the calendar note at least five court days out. The local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner form states that, unless a rule or statute provides otherwise, the form and the motion must be filed with the Clerk not less than five court days before the date requested. The Guardianship/Probate calendar sits in Courtroom 1E on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 p.m. with a published limit of 14 hearings, so a preferred date can fill.
- Serve the papers and get working copies in. Working copies of the motion and everything filed in support or opposition must reach the judicial officer no later than the day they are served on the other parties, and each working copy must show, in the upper right corner, the hearing date and time, the assigned jurist if any, and the department or room where the motion will be heard (Snohomish County Local Civil Rule 7(b)(2)(b)). Working copies that are not suitable for e-filing stay in paper.
- Confirm by noon two court days before the hearing, or the matter is stricken. Confirmations are accepted for a 24-hour period beginning at 12:00 p.m. the court day before the deadline, weekends and court holidays do not count, and the court prefers online confirmation at snohomishcountywa.gov/Confirmations over a message left at (425) 388-3587 (SCLCR 7(b)(2)(9)). Only by stipulation of the parties and agreement of the court can an unconfirmed matter be heard.
- Do not move a confirmed hearing late. The court must be notified immediately if a confirmed matter will be stricken or continued, and no confirmed matter may be continued after 5:00 p.m. two court days before the hearing except by leave of the court. Failing to give notice of a strike or continuance can draw sanctions or terms.
- An uncontested matter that needs no notice does not wait on a calendar at all. Take it into the ex parte session in Commissioner Courtroom 1B, which runs Monday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., first come first served (SCLSPR 98.04(a)). Alternatively, drop non-emergent proposed orders into the first-floor Commissioners Working Copies inbox, which the court reviews as judicial time allows, or submit them through the Clerk's Ex Parte via the Clerk portal.
- Allow 10 business days for records. The Clerk completes mailed copy requests and research requests within about 10 business days of receiving payment in full, and mails them or holds them for pick-up.
- Build in the statutory clocks that run alongside the calendar: the will delivery deadlines of 30 days for a custodian and 40 days for a named executor (RCW 11.20.010); notice of appointment and pendency of the probate within 20 days after appointment (RCW 11.28.237(1)); creditor notice published once each week for three successive weeks in an approved Snohomish County legal newspaper, opening the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051); and, for any party who wants the case moved to the county of residence, four months from the mailing of that notice of appointment (RCW 11.96A.050(4)(a)).
Local nuance
Snohomish County-specific considerations
The Snohomish County distinctive is that its e-filing system is mandatory for attorneys and has been for years, and that the rule's biggest exception lands squarely on probate. Under Snohomish County Local General Rule 30, attorneys shall electronically file all documents using the Clerk's online e-filing application unless the rule provides otherwise, while unrepresented parties are not required to e-file but may. The system is the Clerk's eFile and Serve application, hosted by Tyler Technologies with registration through eFile WA, and it has accepted most new Superior Court cases and subsequent documents since December 1, 2020. There is no charge for the system itself: filers pay the statutory fees plus a 2.89 percent eCommerce charge on card payments, and the Clerk's e-filing support mailbox is [email protected]. An attorney who cannot e-file may request a waiver on a showing of good cause, must explain why paper is needed in that case, gets a written response, files a copy of the waiver in each case, and captions paper documents "Exempt from e-filing per waiver filed on (date)"; without a waiver, the Clerk is authorized to reject an attorney's paper document and return it for e-filing.
Then read the exception list, because it changes how a Snohomish County probate is filed. SCLGR 30 lists documents that must be filed in paper form and not e-filed, and the first entry is original paper wills and codicils, other than electronic wills, including will-only filings and new probate cases that include original paper wills or codicils. Also paper: new cases or fee-based documents filed with an order to waive fees or in accordance with GR 34, new case filings that request immediate relief, certified records for appeal, interpleader or surplus funds petitions, documents handed up during a hearing, and documents for in camera review. The practical upshot is that a Snohomish County probate opened with an original paper will is a paper filing at the counter or by mail even when an attorney brings it, and a probate opened on a fee waiver is a paper filing too. One more e-filing wrinkle matters at presentation time: a proposed order received through e-filing is not presented to the bench for signature, it is simply filed in the court file, so orders have to reach the commissioner another way.
Second, Snohomish County splits probate work between a daily ex parte session, a commissioner calendar, and a clerk presentation service, and which one you use depends on notice. Snohomish County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a) allows any probate matter that is not contested and in which notice is not required by statute, rule, or a duly filed request for notice under RCW 11.28.240, or where notice has been waived, to be heard ex parte. In-person ex parte runs in Commissioner Courtroom 1B on a first come, first served basis, Monday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.; you sign in on the clipboard by the court clerk and wait for your name. Matters that do require notice go on the Guardianship/Probate calendar in Courtroom 1E, Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 p.m., limit 14 and confirmation required, and the court's published motion locations table sends all non-TEDRA probate motions there while sending initial Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act motions under RCW 11.96A.100(8) to the Judge's Civil Motions calendar, Tuesday through Friday at 9:30 a.m. The court may also require sworn testimony from a person with personal knowledge of the facts in certain probate proceedings (SCLSPR 98.04(c)).
Third, there is Ex Parte via the Clerk, and it has a probate-shaped hole in it. The service lets attorneys and self-represented parties submit selected matters to be presented to the judge or commissioner by the Ex Parte Clerk rather than appearing, under SCLAR 0.02(f), for a $30 presentation fee covering up to five orders in one case, with related services such as certified copies and probate letters requested and paid for at the same time. Probate orders are on the Clerk's list of commonly submitted orders. But original probate filings are on the excluded list, so you cannot open a Snohomish County probate this way, and the Clerk does not review the court file on these submissions, so every supporting document the court needs has to be in the packet, including copies of anything the proposed order refers to. Submissions go through the county's electronic ex parte portal, and mail submissions are limited to adoption break seals. The Clerk's e-filing page still carries older wording that Ex Parte via the Clerk requests must be submitted in paper form, so confirm the current channel with the Clerk before you send anything. A separate option is the ex parte dropoff: non-emergent proposed orders left in the first-floor Commissioners Working Copies inbox are reviewed as judicial time allows and then filed, with any rejection notice filed in the case and no notification to the party, so you check Odyssey Portal or the Digital Archives to see what happened.
Fourth, do not build a plan around presenting orders by mail, because the rule changed on May 1, 2026. SCLSPR 98.04(a) still refers mail applications to SCLAR 0.02(f)(2), but that rule, amended effective May 1, 2026, now requires the Ex Parte via the Clerk Portal for all ex parte submissions intended for presentation to a judicial officer when the party is not appearing in person, and mailed submissions are not accepted, with adoption break seal requests the only exception. The portal's paperwork rules carry the old formalities forward: every document must bear the personal original signature of the presenting party or counsel, or an electronic signature under GR 30, plus the endorsement of approval or waiver of notice of presentation signed by all non-presenting parties not in default, and every submission needs the Ex Parte coversheet and a self-contained packet (SCLAR 0.02(f)(2)). Filing documents with the Clerk by mail is still allowed; it is the presentation of proposed orders that has moved online. Conformed or certified copies from an Ex Parte via the Clerk submission can be mailed back on request, and the Commissioner Calendar lists an Ex Parte Mail and E-Petitions session in chambers on Monday mornings.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 8, 2026 | The Snohomish County Clerk's Fee Schedule now posted carries an effective date of July 8, 2026. It lists the $290 probate filing fee with the RCW 36.18.020(2), (5) and (6) authority, the $290 nonprobate notice to creditors and will-contest filings, the $5 Form K letters line, the $20 will-only filing and will repository fees, and the $30 ex parte orders fee. The link to the schedule on the Clerk's site is still labelled with the older 2025 date, so open the document and check its own effective date before paying. | Filing Fees and Waivers, snohomishcountywa.gov/5564 |
| May 1, 2026 | SCLAR 0.02 was amended on an emergent basis effective May 1, 2026. Ex parte submissions for presentation to a judicial officer without an in-person appearance must now go through the Ex Parte via the Clerk Portal, and mailed submissions are not accepted, except adoption break seal requests. Probate orders remain among the accepted submissions, and original probate filings remain excluded. The Clerk's E-Filing page still carries older wording that Ex Parte via the Clerk requests must be submitted in paper form, so confirm the current channel before sending anything. | SCLAR 0.02(f)(2), Local Court Rules for Superior Court of Snohomish County; Ex Parte via the Clerk, snohomishcountywa.gov/5561 |
| October 2025 | The court reissued its local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner form, the approved calendar note for noting a probate hearing. Use the current version, which carries the five-court-day filing requirement, the Courtroom 1E session times and the confirmation instructions. | Snohomish County Superior Court Forms, snohomishcountywa.gov/5523 |
| September 1, 2025 | The current compilation of the Local Court Rules for Superior Court of Snohomish County took effect, including SCLGR 30 on mandatory attorney e-filing and the paper-only document list, amended on an emergent basis August 13, 2025, SCLCR 7(b) on calendar notes, working copies and the confirmation deadline, SCLCR 77(f) on court sessions, and SCLSPR 98.04 and 98.05 on estates, probate and the withdrawal of sealed wills. | Local Court Rules for Superior Court of Snohomish County, courts.wa.gov/court_rules |
| April 16, 2025 | The current Commissioner Calendar took effect, setting the Guardianship/Probate calendar in Courtroom 1E on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 p.m. with a 14-hearing limit and confirmation required, and the ex parte sessions in Courtroom 1B. | Calendars and Schedules, snohomishcountywa.gov/1338 |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Snohomish County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | An Everett, Lynnwood or Marysville home held with a right of survivorship, or covered by a community property agreement between the spouses (RCW 26.16.120), passes to the survivor outside probate, and title is cleared through the Snohomish County Auditor's recording office rather than the Superior Court. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need probate. Where they do, the survivor petitions the Superior Court in Snohomish County for letters and for nonintervention powers, which RCW 11.68.011 directs the court to grant a surviving spouse or domestic partner in a solvent all-community-property intestate estate with no outside issue, and the estate is then administered without further court supervision. An uncontested petition needing no notice can be taken into the ex parte session in Courtroom 1B; bring the death certificate, which SCLSPR 98.04(a) requires with any petition to open a probate. If the sole-name property is only personal property and modest, the survivor may be able to use the small estate affidavit instead, with no case opened (RCW 11.62.010). | Asset discovery to separate survivorship and community property agreement property from sole-name assets. Packet generation for the small estate affidavit or for the petition, the calendar note and the nonintervention powers request. Guidance on clearing title through the county recording office. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Snohomish County and left a modest estate holding only personal property, a claiming successor can often collect it with a sworn affidavit presented directly to whoever holds the property, with no Snohomish County court case at all (RCW 11.62.010). Where a probate is needed, Snohomish County is workable from a distance: the petition and supporting papers can be filed with the Clerk by mail with payment by business check or money order, later uncontested orders can be submitted through the Clerk's electronic Ex Parte via the Clerk portal under SCLAR 0.02(f)(2), though the original probate filing itself is excluded from that service and mailed presentations are no longer accepted, and a noted hearing on the Guardianship/Probate calendar can usually be attended by Zoom or by phone. The one step that resists distance is the original paper will, which cannot be e-filed under SCLGR 30 and has to reach the Clerk at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue on paper. | Asset discovery to confirm what the estate holds and whether the affidavit route reaches it. Packet generation for the affidavit or for the petition, the calendar note and the proposed letters, ready to mail. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger or contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Probate in the Superior Court in Snohomish County. With no will, the parent applies for letters of administration under the RCW 11.28.120(1) priority order, and the application must now set out the heirs and the applicant's search for them under the 2026 amendments to RCW 11.28.110. The parent petitions for nonintervention powers and then sells the child's Snohomish County real estate under that authority before distributing. Where notice is required, the petition goes on the Guardianship/Probate calendar in Courtroom 1E on five court days' notice with a confirmation by noon two court days out; without nonintervention powers, later steps such as confirming a sale come back to the same calendar, and the court can require sworn testimony from someone with personal knowledge of the facts (SCLSPR 98.04(c)). A dispute among heirs becomes a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act matter, and an initial TEDRA motion under RCW 11.96A.100(8) is heard on the Judge's Civil Motions calendar instead. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, policies and property, which is also what RCW 11.28.110 now expects the application to describe. Packet generation for the administration application, the nonintervention powers petition and the sale papers. Attorney referral to handle a contested step or a disputed sale. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Snohomish County Superior Court Clerk (snohomishcountywa.gov/5492/Superior-Court-Clerk) | The filing office's own site: hours and location, filing information, the e-filing pages and waiver request, Ex Parte via the Clerk, the fee schedule and fee waiver packet, the forms pages, the Probate and Wills page, and court records access. Contact [email protected] or (425) 388-3466 |
| Probate and Wills page, Snohomish County Clerk (snohomishcountywa.gov/5503/Probate) | The Clerk's own probate page: the will repository and its cover sheet, the duty to file a will after death, the $20 will filing fee and the $290 probate filing fee, and the Clerk's plain statement that its office does not provide probate forms or instructions |
| Snohomish County Superior Court, Commissioner Hearings (snohomishcountywa.gov/5657/Commissioner-Hearings) | The court's own pages on the commissioner calendars, the daily commissioner calendars, the in-person ex parte session in Courtroom 1B, hearing confirmations, and how to find case documents |
| Calendars and schedules, Snohomish County Superior Court (snohomishcountywa.gov/1338/Calendars-and-Schedules) | The Commissioner Calendar showing the Guardianship/Probate sessions in Courtroom 1E on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 p.m. with a 14-hearing limit, plus hearing availability charts and the daily readerboard |
| Table A, common motion locations (snohomishcountywa.gov/6297/Motions) | The court's alphabetical table of where each kind of motion is heard, which sends non-TEDRA probate motions to the Commissioner Guardianship/Probate calendar and initial TEDRA motions to the Judge's Civil Motions calendar. Noting a motion in the wrong place can get the hearing stricken |
| Remote appearances (snohomishcountywa.gov/5660/TelephonicRemote-Appearances-Zoom-Hearing) | Zoom and dial-in details for each commissioner courtroom, the requirement to connect 15 minutes early, Administrative Order 39-22 on remote appearance requirements, and the [email protected] mailbox |
| Snohomish County Superior Court local rules (courts.wa.gov/court_rules) | The current set of Local Court Rules for Superior Court of Snohomish County, including amendments effective September 1, 2025 and emergent amendments adopted through June 1, 2026: SCLGR 30 on mandatory attorney e-filing, SCLCR 7(b) on calendar notes, working copies and confirmations, SCLCR 77(f) on court sessions, SCLAR 0.02(f), amended effective May 1, 2026, on ex parte presentation through the Ex Parte via the Clerk Portal, and SCLSPR 98.04 and 98.05 on estates, probate and wills |
| Snohomish County Superior Court forms (snohomishcountywa.gov/5523) | The court's local forms, including the Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner and the Ex Parte Submission Cover Sheet. Washington State Court Forms at courts.wa.gov carry the case information cover sheets and GR 34 fee-waiver forms, but no probate category |
| Snohomish County Law Library (snohomishcountywa.gov/196/Law-Library) | Courthouse Room 0-051, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed noon to 1 p.m.; (425) 388-3010. Free Westlaw and LexisNexis on four research computers, primary Washington legal materials, and probate and small estate packet forms printed on request in person from $2.00. Staff cannot give legal advice |
| Odyssey Portal and court records (snohomishcountywa.gov/5508/Access-Court-Records) | Free case-information searching for Snohomish County Superior Court at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov, free in-person viewing at the Clerk's Office, individual document copies through the Washington State Digital Archives, and an annual Odyssey Portal document subscription for frequent users. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov is a pointer only |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | The Northwest Justice Project's plain-language self-help library, Washington's main publisher of estate guidance, including small estate guidance and a Small Estate Affidavit packet. The site blocks some automated fetchers, so open it in a browser |
| Snohomish County Bar Association Lawyer Consultation Referral (snobar.org) | A referral to a Snohomish County attorney for a 30-minute phone consultation, with a $75 processing fee that the association says it cannot waive. The attorneys do not review documents during the consultation and it can take a few weeks to arrange, so it is not for emergencies. Confirm the attorney handles probate when you request the referral |
| Snohomish County Legal Services (snocolegal.org) | Free civil legal aid for eligible low-income Snohomish County residents, linked from the county law library's legal resources list. Its published areas of focus are family law, housing, and wills for seniors, along with bankruptcy and appointed counsel work, so probate is not among them; confirm coverage before relying on it. Interpreter services are provided at no cost to the client |
| Northwest Justice Project and CLEAR (nwjustice.org) | Statewide intake for free civil legal help for income-eligible Washington residents, and the publisher of WashingtonLawHelp. Confirm that probate is within current intake priorities before relying on it |
When to hire an attorney
Many Snohomish County families complete a probate without counsel, because a solvent estate with nonintervention powers is administered and closed without court supervision (RCW 11.68.011), a self-represented filer may still file on paper at the counter or by mail, and an uncontested matter that needs no notice can be walked into the ex parte session in Courtroom 1B. Counsel makes more sense when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt, because nonintervention powers depend on solvency; when there is a will contest, a petition to admit a rejected will, or a fight over who should serve; when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed, since an initial TEDRA motion under RCW 11.96A.100(8) is heard on the Judge's Civil Motions calendar rather than the Guardianship/Probate calendar; when the court signals it wants sworn testimony under Snohomish County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(c); when a sealed will has to be withdrawn by someone other than the testator and needs a hearing on good cause under SCLSPR 98.05; when the estate holds a business interest, out-of-state property, or Washington real estate whose sale terms are disputed; when the estate may owe Washington estate tax; or when the personal representative is appointed under RCW 11.28.120(3) and therefore cannot receive nonintervention powers. An attorney also brings e-filing with them, since attorneys must e-file under Snohomish County Local General Rule 30. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Snohomish County probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.
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, Snohomish County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value during estate settlement, can pick the right Washington route before you file, and can describe the major assets and the heirs the way RCW 11.28.110 now expects.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Snohomish County filing: the small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the oath, the proposed order, the proposed letters and the local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner where a hearing is needed, plus the nonintervention powers request, ready to file at the Clerk's counter in Everett, to send by mail, or to e-file through a Washington attorney in the Clerk's eFile and Serve system.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is insolvent or contested, or a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed, Sunset connects families to a vetted Snohomish County probate attorney to file, e-file and appear.
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 probate in Snohomish County, Washington?
With the Snohomish County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Mission Building, Floor 2, Room M206, M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201. Mail goes to 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201-4046. Filing hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and anything received outside them is filed at the start of the next business day; the public lobby also closes from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. Washington has no separate probate court, so the Superior Court in Snohomish County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11. Venue is any county the petitioner selects (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but in practice you file where the decedent lived, because an interested party can move venue 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)).
Is e-filing required for probate in Snohomish County?
For attorneys, yes. Under Snohomish County Local General Rule 30, attorneys shall electronically file all documents using the Clerk's online eFile and Serve application, hosted by Tyler Technologies, unless the rule provides otherwise, and an attorney who cannot comply must request a waiver on a showing of good cause; without a waiver the Clerk may reject the paper document and return it for e-filing. Unrepresented parties are not required to e-file but may. The catch in probate is the exception list: original paper wills and codicils other than electronic wills, including will-only filings and new probate cases that include an original paper will or codicil, must be filed on paper, as must a new case filed with a GR 34 fee waiver order. So a Snohomish County probate opened with an original paper will goes in on paper, even for an attorney.
What day is the probate calendar in Snohomish County?
A court commissioner hears the Guardianship/Probate calendar in Courtroom 1E on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 p.m., with a published limit of 14 hearings per session and confirmation required. All non-TEDRA probate motions go there under the court's motion locations table, while an initial Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act motion under RCW 11.96A.100(8) goes to the Judge's Civil Motions calendar, heard from 9:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. Separately, uncontested probate matters that need no notice can be heard in the daily ex parte session in Commissioner Courtroom 1B, Monday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., first come first served.
How far in advance do I have to note and confirm a Snohomish County probate hearing?
File the court's local Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner with the Clerk not less than five court days before the date you request, unless a rule or statute says otherwise, and serve it with the motion. Then confirm the hearing no later than 12:00 noon two court days before it, online at snohomishcountywa.gov/Confirmations or by leaving a message at (425) 388-3587, or the matter will be stricken; confirmations are accepted in a 24-hour window and weekends and court holidays do not count (Snohomish County Local Civil Rule 7(b)(2)(9)). Working copies must reach the judicial officer no later than the day they are served on the other parties. No confirmed matter may be continued after 5:00 p.m. two court days before the hearing except by leave of the court.
How much does it cost to file probate in Snohomish County?
$290 to open a probate. The fee is set by statute and is 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 Snohomish County's own schedule lists it as "$290.00 Probate Filing, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" (Snohomish County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective July 8, 2026). Fees must be paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), and a filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34 using the Clerk's fee waiver packet, which names filing a probate or estate action as one of the covered situations. Filing a will after death with no probate is $20, letters are $5 each, and a certificate of qualification or certified copy of letters, the line the Clerk labels Form K, is $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)). The Clerk does not accept personal checks.
Can I attend a Snohomish County probate hearing by Zoom?
Usually, yes. Snohomish County Superior Court publishes a Zoom meeting and a dial-in number for each commissioner courtroom, and Guardianship/Probate sits in Courtroom 1E. Connect 15 minutes before the hearing so you can be identified and admitted, because parties who are late may not be able to participate, and check the daily commissioner calendar to confirm your courtroom before selecting a meeting. Appearance by Zoom is subject to Administrative Order 39-22 and the specific direction of the court, observers who are not litigants are not admitted, and recording a proceeding without the judicial officer's express permission is prohibited. Send questions to [email protected], and expect that a matter needing testimony may be set in person.
Do I have to travel to Everett to settle a Snohomish County estate?
Often not. Papers can be filed with the Clerk by mail at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201-4046, with payment by business check or money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope for a received-stamped copy. A noted hearing can usually be attended by Zoom or phone, and non-emergent proposed orders can be submitted through the Clerk's electronic Ex Parte via the Clerk portal for a $30 presentation fee, though original probate filings are excluded from that service and mailed presentations are no longer accepted, except adoption break seal requests (SCLAR 0.02(f)(2), amended effective May 1, 2026). The step that resists distance is the original paper will, which cannot be e-filed and has to reach the Clerk's counter or arrive by mail.
How do I look up a Snohomish County probate case?
Search case information free through the Washington Courts Odyssey Portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov, which covers Snohomish County Superior Court along with 36 other counties; the Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov routes Snohomish lookups there, and its own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate. Documents are a separate layer: viewing public records in person at the Clerk's Office is free, occasional users buy copies through the Washington State Digital Archives, and frequent users take an annual Odyssey Portal document subscription from the Clerk under Snohomish County Code 4.119, priced from $100 to $600 a year by organization size. The Clerk does not take requests for copies of court records by phone, and mailed requests take about 10 business days.
What probate forms does Snohomish County require?
Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, and the Snohomish County Clerk states that its office does not provide the forms or instructions for filing a probate, so the petition, oath or acceptance, proposed order and proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. What the county does publish are the forms around the petition: the court's Calendar Note: Guardianship/Probate-Commissioner for noting a hearing, the Ex Parte via the Clerk coversheet and Ex Parte Submission Cover Sheet for matters presented through the Clerk, and the Will Repository Cover Sheet for depositing a will before death. One local requirement is easy to miss: a death certificate or comparable documentation of the death must be filed with any petition to open a probate (SCLSPR 98.04(a)). The Snohomish County Law Library prints probate and small estate packet forms on request, in person, from $2.00.
Where do I publish the creditor notice for a Snohomish County estate?
In a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered, once each week for three successive weeks, which is what opens the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020(1) and RCW 11.40.051). The Snohomish County Clerk posts and keeps posted the county's Approved Legal Newspapers list, as RCW 65.16.070 requires. The Everett Herald is on that list, along with the Arlington Times, the Edmonds Beacon, the Everett News Tribune, the Lake Stevens Journal, The Marysville Globe, the Mukilteo Beacon, The Monroe Monitor and Valley News, North County Outlook, the Snohomish County Tribune and the Stanwood-Camano News. Confirm the current list with the Clerk before placing the notice, and if the probate was filed outside the county where the decedent lived, publication still belongs in the county of residence (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.