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Stevens County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Stevens 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. Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties share three superior court judges (RCW 2.08.065) as the Tri-County Judicial District, established by Chapter 65, Section 2, Laws of Washington 1981, with the judges elected to four-year terms and a court commissioner appointed by them who sits as judge pro tempore when all parties agree. The court is divided into three numbered departments (LAR 1 of the counties' joint local rules, cited on this page as LAR and LCR) |
| Filing office | The Stevens County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court. The county's own page describes the office as created by the Washington State Constitution, with the County Clerk serving as Clerk of the Superior Court by virtue of the office. This is where the petition is filed, the will is lodged, letters are issued, and the county's estate records are kept. Stevens County being the district's administrative hub changes nothing about that: probate filings go to the Stevens County Clerk, not to court administration |
| Courthouse | Stevens County Courthouse, 215 South Oak Street, Room 206, Colville, WA 99114. Room 206 is the Clerk's counter. Other doors in the same building are not the filing office: Room 209 is Superior Court Administration for the three counties, Room 202 is the juvenile department, and Room 213 is the county's district court, which does not handle probate. Rooms 208 and 212 are courtrooms |
| Mailing address | 215 South Oak Street, Room 206, Colville, WA 99114. Stevens County has no PO Box for court filings: the street address takes both counter and mail traffic, and the Clerk's own e-filing guidance gives this address for mailing in an original will |
| Phone | (509) 684-7575, the Stevens County Clerk in Colville. Two other numbers at the same courthouse are different offices: Superior Court Administration for the three counties is (509) 684-7527, and the judicial assistant who handles civil and family law scheduling is (509) 684-7553. Call the Clerk for filing questions and court administration for calendar questions |
| Fax | (509) 684-7574 is published as the County Clerk's fax on the county's own contact block, but do not use it for filings: the Clerk's published fee schedule states plainly that no fax filings are accepted. The courts.wa.gov directory lists no fax for the Clerk at all; the faxes it does list belong to other offices, including (509) 685-0679 for Superior Court Administration |
| The Clerk publishes a general office mailbox on its own County Clerk page and asks that copy and records requests come by email with a case number. One address is published in the adopted local rules themselves: [email protected], which LCR 54(f)(4) names for arranging an ex parte docket slot and submitting the documents to be considered. Ask the Clerk before emailing anything you intend as a filing | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Clerk's own notice explains why the window is short: reduced staffing from budget cuts led to new window hours effective June 1, 2025, and the notice warns in-person filers to expect longer waits at the counter. E-filings submitted before 3 p.m. are filed the same day, and anything after 3 p.m. is stamped for the open of the next business day. One caution: the contact block on the same county pages shows a later morning close, 12:30 p.m., so call (509) 684-7575 before making a trip to Colville |
| 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 Stevens County Clerk's own schedule prints the probate filing line at $290 with those three statutory components, and states that fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). Confirm the current schedule with the Stevens County Clerk |
| Local forms | No local probate forms, and no statewide probate form set either (verified July 2026 on the courts.wa.gov Court Forms index, which has no probate category). The joint local rules for the three counties contain no case cover sheet rule and no probate-specific rule, so there is no mandatory local probate cover sheet here. What the tri-county court does publish and require reaches a probate anyway: a Notice of Hearing must be filed to set a hearing in any civil matter and it carries the court's video-hearing information, a Notice Striking Hearing takes a matter off the docket, and a Note for Trial Setting and Certificate of Readiness is required by LCR 40(a) when a contested matter is ready for trial. The court also publishes a Bench Copies cover sheet, and the Clerk's e-filing page provides an ex parte cover sheet. An Indigency Screening Form is how you ask the court to waive fees |
| E-filing | Yes, and this is where Stevens differs from its Ferry sibling. The Stevens County Clerk's Office transitioned e-filing platforms from TrueFile to E-File Washington effective January 8, 2026, and the Clerk links the live filing site. Accounts are free, documents must be in PDF format, and the limits are 25MB per document and 35MB per envelope. A probate can be e-filed with a copy of the will, which the Clerk says is enough to get orders signed, but before probate letters issue the original will must be on file with the Clerk, mailed to Room 206. E-filing does not substitute for bench copies to the judge, and the Clerk advises that urgent same-day filings be brought in on paper |
| Case search | Stevens County is one of the counties covered by Odyssey Portal, the current public case search for Washington superior courts (https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal), and the Clerk publishes its own guide to accessing it. 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. The tri-county court's online calendar is not a docket: the court states that it does not replace and is not a reliable substitute for the official docketing system the Superior Court Clerks maintain in Odyssey |
| Hearing dates | Set from a shared calendar, not on a fixed Colville court day for probate. The Tri-County Superior Court operates on a master calendar system, virtually all issues are heard on the published dockets, and a special setting is scheduled only at a judicial officer's direction, which court administration staff cannot authorize on its own. Since January 1, 2023 parties and counsel may schedule a civil hearing without prior approval from the Office of the Court Administrator, and the court's own instructions state that family and civil dockets are heard on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 212, with the matter still needing to be scheduled, bench copies provided, and confirmed ready under the local rules. Motions go on a Law and Motion Docket unless arranged in advance through the court administrator (LAR 2), motion papers are due nine court days before the date you want the motion considered, opposing papers by 10 a.m. four court days before and strict reply by 10 a.m. two court days before (LCR 6(d)(2)), and motions other than summary judgment are limited to ten minutes each side (LCR 16(e)(5)). Many probate orders never need a docket date: see the ex parte routes below |
| Remote appearance | Available for argument, arranged for testimony. The tri-county court publishes video-hearing access for each courtroom, and Stevens County has four: Courtroom 1 in Room 208, Courtroom 2 in Room 212, Courtroom 3 in the board of equalization hearing room, and Courtroom 4. A filer without a computer can appear by telephone at (509) 684-7555 using the meeting code printed on the Notice of Hearing. The court's own rules apply: dress as if appearing in person, do not record, and note that video hearings are not the official record. Telephonic appearance is allowed except for protection orders, dispositive motions such as summary judgment, supplemental proceedings, and motions for dismissal, and you call the Clerk's office in the county where the hearing will take place for the call-in number. Witness testimony is different: witnesses may not testify remotely except upon prior court approval (LCR 43(a)(4), amended September 1, 2025) |
| Website | https://www.stevenscountywa.gov/20838/superior-court-clerk-county-clerk (the Stevens County Clerk's own page, with hours, the fee schedule, the e-filing pages, and the Odyssey guide) and https://www.stevenscountywa.gov/superiorcourt (the Tri-County Judicial District's Superior Court pages, run from Colville, with calendars, video hearings, bench copies, forms, scheduling instructions, and the local court rules). The courts.wa.gov directory entry for the county is https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/292.html |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything with the Stevens County Clerk, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Washington route fits depends on whether there is a will, on who is entitled to be appointed, and on the value and type of the assets, because a full probate with letters testamentary or letters of administration, an unsupervised administration under nonintervention powers (RCW 11.68.011), and a small estate affidavit that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010) are different routes with different filings. Those routes and their thresholds are statewide and are explained on the Washington state page. Identify the estate first so you, and if needed your attorney, file the right papers once. That matters more here than in a county with a full-day counter: the Clerk's window in Colville is open only 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., so a second trip costs a whole morning.
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 Colville or Chewelah, timber or grazing ground along the Columbia or the Colville River valley, or any other real property generally requires a probate in the superior court so that a personal representative has authority to sign a deed. Land held in trust or restricted status on the Spokane Indian Reservation, which lies almost entirely within Stevens County, is a separate question handled by the federal government, so check the status of reservation land early. 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 Stevens County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, is the single probate filing office for all of Stevens County, at one counter in Room 206 of the Stevens County Courthouse at 215 South Oak Street in Colville. There is no second location and no branch counter. The office serves the entire county, including the six incorporated cities and towns, Colville, Chewelah, Kettle Falls, Springdale, Marcus, and Northport, and the unincorporated communities and rural country around them, among them Loon Lake, Valley, Clayton, Addy, Arden, Rice, Gifford, Daisy, Hunters, Fruitland, Evans, Ford, and Wellpinit, from the British Columbia line down to the Spokane River. Estates from every part of the county are filed here, at the counter in Colville, by mail to the same address, or electronically through the Clerk's e-filing system.
Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties share three superior court judges (RCW 2.08.065) as the Tri-County Judicial District, established by Chapter 65, Section 2, Laws of Washington 1981, and Stevens County is the district's administrative hub. Superior Court Administration for all three counties sits in Room 209 of the Colville courthouse, the shared calendar and the shared court's forms are published from here, and working copies of dispositive motions go to Room 209 at the time of filing regardless of the county in which the motion was filed (LCR 6(d)(2)(B), whose hard-copy and electronic-copy subsections were rescinded effective September 1, 2025). Being the hub does not change where a Ferry or Pend Oreille estate is filed, and it does not change where a Stevens County estate is filed either: a Stevens County probate goes to the Stevens County Clerk in Room 206, keeps a Stevens County case number, and stays in the Stevens County records. What the shared bench changes is scheduling. The court operates on a master calendar system, virtually all issues are heard on the published dockets, and a special setting is scheduled only at a judicial officer's direction, which court administration staff cannot authorize on its own. Since January 1, 2023 parties and counsel may schedule a civil hearing without prior approval from the Office of the Court Administrator, and the court's own instructions place the family and civil dockets on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 212; motions otherwise go on a Law and Motion Docket unless arranged in advance through the court administrator, and the calendar is posted on the court's website (LAR 2). The tri-county calendar can be filtered by judicial officer and by location, but Stevens County has more than one courtroom in the filter, so select all of the Stevens County courtrooms to see everything set here, and treat the calendar as a schedule rather than a docket: the court states that it does not replace the official docketing system the Superior Court Clerks maintain in Odyssey.
Part of Stevens County is federal probate country. The Spokane Indian Reservation lies almost entirely within the county, centered on Wellpinit in the southwest, and land or other property held in trust or restricted status for a deceased Indian owner is probated by the United States Department of the Interior rather than by the Superior Court: the Bureau of Indian Affairs assembles the estate package, and an administrative law judge or Indian probate judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals Probate Hearings Division determines the heirs, under the American Indian Probate Reform Act amendments to the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 and following) and 43 CFR part 30. The same person's other property, a bank account, a vehicle, or fee land held outside trust status, still passes under Washington law and can still require a probate with the Stevens County Clerk, so an estate near Wellpinit or Ford can involve both processes at once. Ask the Bureau of Indian Affairs about the trust property and the Stevens County Clerk about the rest.
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 Stevens County, file with the Stevens 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. If the estate includes trust or restricted land on the Spokane Indian Reservation, that part goes to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior instead, under 25 U.S.C. 2201 and following and 43 CFR part 30.
- 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 Stevens County publishes no local probate forms of its own. The joint local rules for the superior courts of Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties, effective September 1, 2025, impose no case cover sheet requirement and contain no probate-specific rule, which is worth knowing before you assemble a packet. Two tri-county forms do apply once a hearing is involved: the Notice of Hearing, which must be filed to set a hearing in any civil matter and which carries the court's video-hearing information, and the Note for Trial Setting and Certificate of Readiness required by LCR 40(a). One Stevens-specific formatting rule catches paper filers: any document or set of documents over fifty pages presented to the Stevens County Superior Court Clerk's Office must arrive pre-punched with two holes 2 1/2 inches apart and 5/8 inch from the top of the page, and a two-hole punch is available at the counter (LCR 1). WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets a self-represented filer can work from, including the small estate affidavit kit.
- File with the Stevens County Clerk. You have three routes. Electronically: the Clerk moved from TrueFile to E-File Washington effective January 8, 2026, accounts are free, documents must be PDF, and the size limits are 25MB per document and 35MB per envelope; a probate can be e-filed with a copy of the will, which the Clerk says is enough to get orders signed. In person: bring the papers to Room 206 of the Stevens County Courthouse, 215 South Oak Street in Colville, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and the Clerk asks that urgent same-day filings come in on paper. By mail: send them to the Stevens County Clerk at the same address, which is also how the original will has to arrive, because before probate letters issue the original will must be on file with the Clerk. Anything e-filed after 3 p.m. is stamped for the open of the next business day. Do not plan to fax a filing: the Clerk's fee schedule states that no fax filings are accepted.
- Pay the filing fee. Opening a probate costs $290, set by statute and the same in every Washington county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and the Stevens County Clerk's own schedule prints the probate filing line at exactly that. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). The Clerk accepts cash, check, or money order at the counter, and states that select fees may be paid by card through the county's card payment service. A filer who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the tri-county court publishes an Indigency Screening Form for a request to waive fees or costs. The small estate affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no court case; the Clerk's schedule has no separate line for it, so ask whether the $20 charge for filing a paper not related to any proceeding applies.
- 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 Stevens 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)). Stevens County designates an official county newspaper by bid, and the county's most recent published designation named the Chewelah Independent as a legal newspaper qualified under RCW 36.72; the Colville Statesman-Examiner also carries Stevens County legal notices. Ask the Stevens County Clerk for the county's current list and ask the paper for its rate and schedule before you count on a date, because first publication starts the four-month claim period (RCW 11.40.051).
- Get your orders signed. Most probate orders here never need a contested hearing, and there are three ex parte routes. By mail: routine ex parte or stipulated matters based on the record in the file may be presented by mail addressed to the Clerk, with self addressed stamped envelopes for the return of conformed materials or rejected orders and the ex parte fee submitted before presentation (LCR 54(f)(3)). Electronically: the Clerk's e-filing instructions tell you to e-file the motion, complete the ex parte cover sheet, pay the $30 ex parte fee online, and email the order with the cover sheet and proof of payment to the Clerk. On the ex parte docket: contact the Stevens County Superior Court Clerk at least two hours before the docket to reserve a five-minute slot and provide copies of anything you want considered, which can be arranged by email to [email protected]; only uncontested matters are heard there (LCR 54(f)(4)). If a matter is contested, it goes on a docket instead: family and civil dockets are heard Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 212, motion papers are due nine court days before the date you want the motion considered, opposing papers by 10 a.m. four court days before, strict reply by 10 a.m. two court days before (LCR 6(d)(2)), and working copies of a dispositive motion go to the judge at 215 South Oak Street, Room 209, Colville at the time of filing (LCR 6(d)(2)(B)). E-filing does not substitute for those bench copies.
- 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 Stevens County Clerk issues certified copies. Remember that the original will must be on file with the Clerk before probate letters issue, so mail it in if you opened the case electronically. 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 Clerk's schedule charges $5 for a certificate of qualification or a certified copy of letters of administration or letters testamentary (RCW 36.18.016(9)), and $5 for the first page of any other certified copy plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)).
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, pay valid claims in the order set by law, handle the four-month creditor period (RCW 11.40.051), file any Washington estate tax return that is required (chapter 83.100 RCW), distribute what remains, and close the estate. A personal representative with nonintervention powers closes by declaration of completion rather than by a court accounting (RCW 11.68), while a supervised estate returns to the court for approval.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Stevens County
Stevens County publishes no local probate forms, and Washington publishes no statewide probate form set either. That is worth stating plainly, because filers arrive expecting a packet. The courts.wa.gov Court Forms index has categories for family law, guardianships and conservatorships, criminal, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, protection orders, and accessing the courts, among others, and no probate category (verified July 2026). Washington probate pleadings, the petition, the order admitting the will, the oath, the notice of appointment, and the declaration of completion, are drafted by the filer or the attorney.
Stevens County is also worth knowing for what its local rules do not require. The joint local rules for the superior courts of Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties, effective September 1, 2025, contain no case cover sheet provision and no probate-specific rule, so there is no mandatory local probate cover sheet of the kind several other Washington counties impose. One formatting rule does bind paper filers: under LCR 1, any document or combination of documents over fifty pages presented to the Stevens County Superior Court Clerk's Office must be pre-punched with two holes 2 1/2 inches apart and 5/8 inch from the top, and the Clerk keeps a two-hole punch at the counter. Ask the Stevens County Clerk at (509) 684-7575 what the office wants on intake before you file.
What the Tri-County Judicial District does publish is a short set of mandatory civil forms, and a probate is a civil matter, so they reach an estate. The Notice of Hearing must be filed to set a hearing in all civil and family law matters, and it carries the court's video-hearing information for a remote appearance. A Notice Striking Hearing takes a matter off the docket. The Note for Trial Setting and Certificate of Readiness is required by LCR 40(a) when a contested matter is ready to be set for trial. The Indigency Screening Form is how you ask the court to waive fees or costs, which pairs with the GR 34 fee waiver forms on the courts.wa.gov forms pages if you cannot afford the $290 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). The court publishes a Bench Copies cover sheet for emailing court administration the copies that must reach the bench before a hearing, and the Clerk's e-filing page provides the ex parte cover sheet used with the e-filed and emailed ex parte route. The court's Automatic Temporary Order and its informal trial selection form are family law only and have nothing to do with a probate, and the county's Family Court Facilitator service, available by appointment at $20 per hour, is a family law service rather than probate help. WashingtonLawHelp publishes the practical self-help packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the no-court-case route under RCW 11.62.010.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Stevens County Clerk (stevenscountywa.gov) | The Clerk's own page: the counter in Room 206, window hours, phone, the Clerk's fee schedule, the e-filing and e-filing FAQ pages, the guide to accessing Odyssey Portal, and the Clerk's page on how to get an order signed in Stevens County Superior Court |
| Stevens County e-filing (stevenscountywa.gov) | The Clerk's e-filing instructions: the January 8, 2026 move from TrueFile to E-File Washington, the link to the live filing site, the PDF and file-size requirements, the 3 p.m. cutoff, and the steps for submitting an order for ex parte review with the ex parte cover sheet and the $30 fee |
| Tri-County Judicial District Superior Court (stevenscountywa.gov) | The shared court's pages for Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties, run from Colville: the mandatory Notice of Hearing, Notice Striking Hearing, Note for Trial Setting and Certificate of Readiness, Indigency Screening Form, and Bench Copies cover sheet, plus calendars, video hearings, scheduling instructions, and self-representation resources |
| Local rules for the superior courts of Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties (courts.wa.gov) | The current adopted joint local rules, effective September 1, 2025, from the Administrative Office of the Courts: hole-punching under LCR 1, motion timing under LCR 6, trial setting under LCR 40(a), remote testimony under LCR 43(a)(4), ex parte presentation and the ex parte docket under LCR 54(f), and conference calls under LCR 77(o) |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide case cover sheets and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no probate category here, which is the point: Washington has no statewide probate forms |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | Plain-language Washington probate self-help, including the guide to managing a small estate yourself and the small estate affidavit packet (RCW 11.62.010) |
| Washington Courts directory: Stevens County (courts.wa.gov) | The government listing that confirms the Stevens County Clerk's room number, address, and phone, and the separate Superior Court Administration listing in Room 209 |
Fees
The $290 that opens a probate is statutory and identical statewide, but the Stevens County Clerk publishes its own fee schedule with a probate section, so several charges a probate filer actually meets are set out locally. The one most people miss is the ex parte charge: processing an order ex parte costs $30, and because the joint local rules let you present a routine ex parte or stipulated order by mail to the Clerk with self addressed stamped envelopes and the ex parte fee paid in advance (LCR 54(f)(3)), and because the Clerk's e-filing instructions have you pay the same $30 online before emailing the order, that charge is the price of moving an estate along from a distance. The schedule states that fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060) and that no fax filings are accepted, and the Clerk takes cash, check, or money order at the counter with select fees payable by card. Confirm amounts with the Clerk at (509) 684-7575 before you pay. The county's page labels the schedule as effective July 27, 2025, and the schedule PDF itself is footed as updated November 30, 2025.
| Item | Stevens County charge |
|---|---|
| Opening a probate | $290 total: $200 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)) plus a $40 surcharge ((5)(c)) plus a $50 surcharge ((6)). Statutory and the same in every Washington county. Fee waivers under GR 34, and the tri-county court publishes an Indigency Screening Form for a request to waive fees or costs |
| Ex parte processing of an order | $30 (RCW 36.18.016(12)). This is the fee LCR 54(f)(3) requires you to submit in advance when you present a routine ex parte or stipulated order to the Clerk by mail, and the fee the Clerk's e-filing instructions have you pay online before emailing an order for ex parte review |
| Certificate of qualification, or a certified copy of letters | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)). The Clerk's schedule lists letters of administration, letters testamentary, and letters of guardianship on this one line |
| Certified copy of a document | $5 for the first page plus $1 for each additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)). A physical uncertified copy prepared by staff is $0.50 per page and an emailed copy without a seal is $0.25 per page; administering an oath or a seal on a document requiring the Clerk's signature is $2; an authenticated or exemplified copy is $9 for the first page plus $1 per additional page, and a conformed copy with the state seal is $2 |
| Filing a will with no probate | $20 to file a will only, with no probate of the decedent's estate (RCW 36.18.012(7)), and $20 for the Clerk's will repository (RCW 36.18.016(28)). The Clerk's e-filing guidance states this $20 charge applies solely to will-only filings, so if you mail in the original will for a probate you opened electronically, ask the Clerk whether any charge applies |
| Nonprobate notice to creditors | $290 where no probate is filed in the state, the same three statutory components as a probate filing (RCW 36.18.020(2), (5), (6)) |
| Contesting a will, or admitting a rejected will | $290 each, as is a petition objecting to a written agreement or memorandum (RCW 36.18.020(2), (5), (6)). A TEDRA summons and petition is also $290, and a TEDRA nonjudicial binding agreement is $20 in an existing case or $290 filed as a new case (RCW 36.18.012(8)) |
| Filing a paper not part of a proceeding | $20 (RCW 36.18.012(3)). The Clerk's schedule has no separate small estate affidavit line, so ask the Clerk whether this charge applies to an affidavit under RCW 11.62.010, which opens no court case |
| Records research, returned payments, and recordings | $30 per hour with a one-hour minimum for record searches (RCW 36.18.016(11)); $25 for a dishonored payment; $25 for a compact disc of the audio recording of a day of proceedings plus the hourly search fee (RCW 36.18.016(13)); $20 plus $0.25 per page for copies delivered on a compact disc |
Publication of the creditor notice is not a court fee. It is billed by the newspaper. Stevens County designates an official county newspaper by bid, and the county's most recent published designation named the Chewelah Independent as a legal newspaper qualified under RCW 36.72; the Colville Statesman-Examiner also carries Stevens County legal notices. Ask the Stevens County Clerk for the county's current list and the paper for its rate before you commit to a publication date.
Recent updates
| Change | What it means for a Stevens County probate |
|---|---|
| E-filing moved from TrueFile to E-File Washington, effective January 8, 2026 | The Stevens County Clerk's Office changed e-filing platforms, and the Clerk now links the live E-File Washington site on Odyssey File and Serve Cloud. Accounts are free, filings must be PDF, and the limits are 25MB per document and 35MB per envelope. A probate can be e-filed with a copy of the will, which the Clerk says is enough to get orders signed, but the original will must be on file with the Clerk before probate letters issue. Anything submitted after 3 p.m. is stamped for the open of the next business day, and e-filed documents do not take the place of bench copies to the judge |
| Clerk's window hours reduced, effective June 1, 2025 | The Clerk's notice attributes the change to budget cuts that reduced staffing: the window is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and the notice warns in-person filers to expect longer waits at the counter. E-filings received before 3 p.m. are filed the same day. A contact block on the same county pages shows a later morning close, so call (509) 684-7575 before making the trip to Colville |
| Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025 | The Clerk's published schedule prints the probate filing line as $290 with its three statutory components (RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)), which retires the lower total that older sources still circulate. It also sets out the charges a probate filer actually meets: $30 to process an order ex parte, $5 for a certificate of qualification or a certified copy of letters, $20 to file a will only with no probate, $0.25 per page for emailed copies and $0.50 for physical ones, and $30 per hour for record searches. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060), and the schedule states flatly that no fax filings are accepted. The county's page labels the schedule effective July 27, 2025; the PDF itself is footed as updated November 30, 2025 |
| Local rules for the superior courts of Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties, effective September 1, 2025 | The current adopted joint rule set. Two changes matter to a probate filer. The hard-copy and electronic-copy subsections of LCR 6(d)(2)(B) were rescinded, leaving the requirement that working copies of dispositive motions go to the judge at 215 South Oak Street, Room 209, Colville at the time of filing, regardless of which county the motion was filed in. And LCR 43(a)(4) now provides that witnesses may not testify remotely except upon prior court approval, so remote testimony needs an order even though remote argument does not. The set still contains no case cover sheet requirement and no probate-specific rule |
| Civil hearings scheduled without prior approval, since January 1, 2023 | Parties and their counsel may schedule a civil hearing without prior approval from the Office of the Court Administrator, and the court's instructions place the family and civil dockets on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 212. The hearing must still be scheduled, bench copies provided, and the matter confirmed ready under the local rules. Special settings are still made only at a judicial officer's direction, and the court remains on a master calendar system |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Stevens County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Colville 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 Stevens County to admit the will and issue letters testamentary; with no will, the surviving spouse has first priority for letters of administration (RCW 11.28.120(1)). Either way the spouse can ask for nonintervention powers so a solvent estate is administered without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011). The petition goes to the Stevens County Clerk in Room 206 of the courthouse in Colville, or through the Clerk's e-filing system, and the original will still has to reach Room 206 on paper before letters issue. | 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 Stevens 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 is unusually well served here: the case can be opened through the Clerk's E-File Washington system without a trip to Colville, and a routine order can then be presented by mail to the Clerk with self addressed stamped envelopes and the $30 ex parte fee, or e-filed and emailed with the ex parte cover sheet and proof of payment (LCR 54(f)(3)). The original will still travels by mail to 215 South Oak Street, Room 206. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the affidavit or the probate petition, prepared so an out-of-state filer can proceed electronically or by mail. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that has to be sold, the affidavit route does not reach it and the estate goes through probate: with no will the parent petitions for letters of administration in the priority order of RCW 11.28.120(1) and now must also describe the search for the heirs (RCW 11.28.110); with a will the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. With nonintervention powers the personal representative can sell the Stevens County house and distribute the proceeds without returning to court for approval (RCW 11.68.011). If a matter does have to be argued, it is heard by one of the three judges who serve Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties, on the family and civil docket that sits Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 212 in Colville, and it can be attended by video or, for most matters, by telephone. If the property is trust or restricted land on the Spokane Indian Reservation, that part is handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior instead. | 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 |
|---|---|
| Stevens County Clerk (stevenscountywa.gov), (509) 684-7575 | The filing office for probate: the counter in Room 206 at 215 South Oak Street in Colville, the window hours, the Clerk's fee schedule, the e-filing and e-filing FAQ pages, and the guide to accessing Odyssey Portal. Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| E-File Washington (efilewa.tylertech.cloud) | The Clerk's e-filing platform since January 8, 2026, on Odyssey File and Serve Cloud. Accounts are free, filings must be PDF, and the vendor publishes user guides and training videos for individual and firm accounts |
| Tri-County Judicial District Superior Court (stevenscountywa.gov), (509) 684-7527 | The shared court for Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties, administered from Room 209 in Colville: calendars, scheduling instructions, video hearings, bench copies, the mandatory civil forms, and a self-representation page collecting links for people without a lawyer |
| Tri-County Superior Court calendar (calendarwiz.com) | The court's public calendar, filterable by judicial officer and by location. Stevens County has more than one courtroom in the filter, so select them all to see everything set here, and use Odyssey for the official docket |
| Local rules for Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties (courts.wa.gov) | The current joint local rules, effective September 1, 2025, from the Administrative Office of the Courts: hole-punching, motion timing, trial setting, remote testimony, ex parte presentation by mail, and the ex parte docket |
| Washington Courts court directory (courts.wa.gov) | The government directory of superior court and county clerk addresses, phones, and room numbers, including the separate Superior Court Administration and County Clerk listings for Stevens County |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | Washington's main plain-language legal self-help publisher, with probate and small estate guides and the small estate affidavit packet (RCW 11.62.010) |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov) | The public case search for Washington superior courts, including Stevens County, and the system the tri-county court calls its official docketing system. Probate cases appear as superior court civil cases; document coverage varies |
| Washington Courts case search (dw.courts.wa.gov) | The statewide pointer index across municipal, district, superior, and appellate courts. Useful for finding a case number, but its own notice warns that case status may be inaccurate |
| Washington Courts court forms (courts.wa.gov) | The statewide case cover sheets and the GR 34 fee waiver forms. There is no statewide probate forms category |
| Bureau of Indian Affairs, probate (bia.gov) | The federal probate process for trust or restricted property of a deceased Indian owner, which reaches the Spokane Indian Reservation land in southwestern Stevens County. Heirs are determined by the Office of Hearings and Appeals rather than by the Superior Court (25 U.S.C. 2201 and following, 43 CFR part 30) |
| 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 tri-county court's own self-representation page points litigants here. 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 Stevens 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 Stevens County lists no law library among its departments |
When to hire an attorney
Many Stevens County estates are uncontested, and a personal representative granted nonintervention powers administers and closes a solvent estate without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011), which is why plenty of families here get through probate with limited legal help, especially now that a case can be opened electronically. Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim, when timber, farm or grazing ground, a mining interest, a business, or property in another state or in British Columbia has to be valued or divided, when the estate includes trust or restricted land on the Spokane Indian Reservation and the federal and state processes have to run side by side, 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). Local practice is its own reason: the tri-county court runs a master calendar with strict motion deadlines and a working-copy rule that sends dispositive motion papers to Room 209 in Colville at the time of filing, and a lawyer who already appears on that calendar can present an order without a wasted trip. The Stevens County Clerk can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Washington probate attorney serving Stevens 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, Stevens County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Washington route fits before estate settlement begins.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, whether a probate with letters testamentary or letters of administration, a request for nonintervention powers, or a small estate affidavit, ready to file with the Stevens County Clerk through the Clerk's e-filing system, at the counter in Colville, or by mail.
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 Stevens 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 Stevens County?
With the Stevens County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at the counter in Room 206 of the Stevens County Courthouse, 215 South Oak Street in Colville, by mail to that same address, or electronically through the Clerk's e-filing system. Washington has no separate probate court: the Superior Court in Stevens County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, and the County Clerk is the filing office. Watch the room number, because the courthouse holds several court offices and only Room 206 takes filings; Room 209 is Superior Court Administration for the three counties and Room 213 is the county's district court, which does 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 probate in Stevens County?
Yes. The Stevens County Clerk's Office transitioned e-filing platforms from TrueFile to E-File Washington effective January 8, 2026, and the Clerk links the live filing site. Setting up an account is free, documents must be submitted as PDFs, and the limits are 25MB per document and 35MB per envelope. The Clerk answers the probate question directly: you can e-file your probate case with a copy of the will, and that is enough to get your orders signed, but before probate letters issue the original will must be on file with the Clerk's Office, so mail the original to 215 South Oak Street, Room 206, Colville, WA 99114. The $20 will filing charge on the Clerk's schedule applies only where a will is filed with no probate, so ask the Clerk whether any fee applies when you send in the will for an open case. Two other cautions: anything e-filed after 3 p.m. is date stamped for the open of the next business day, and e-filing does not substitute for the bench copies the local rules require you to get to the judge. If you are filing urgently for a same-day hearing, the Clerk asks that you come in with paper.
Can I file a Stevens County probate by mail, and can I get an order signed by mail?
Yes to both. Mail the petition to the Stevens County Clerk at 215 South Oak Street, Room 206, Colville, WA 99114; there is no PO Box, and the same address takes counter and mail traffic. Include payment for the $290 filing fee (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), which the Clerk's schedule requires in advance (RCW 36.18.060) and takes as cash, check, or money order, with select fees payable by card. Later in the case the joint local rules let you present routine ex parte or stipulated matters based on the record in the file by mail addressed to the Clerk, provided you enclose self addressed stamped envelopes for the return of conformed materials or rejected orders and submit the $30 ex parte fee before presentation (LCR 54(f)(3)). One thing you cannot do is fax a filing: the Clerk's fee schedule states that no fax filings are accepted, even though the office publishes a fax number for other business.
When does the superior court hear a Stevens County probate?
On dockets set from a shared calendar. Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties share three superior court judges (RCW 2.08.065) as the Tri-County Judicial District, the court operates on a master calendar system in which virtually all issues are heard on the published dockets, and a special setting happens only at a judicial officer's direction, which court administration staff cannot authorize on its own. Since January 1, 2023 parties and counsel may schedule a civil hearing without prior approval from the Office of the Court Administrator, and the court's own instructions place family and civil dockets on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 212; the matter must still be scheduled, bench copies provided, and confirmed ready under the local rules. Timing is strict: motion papers are due nine court days before the date you want the motion considered, opposing papers by 10 a.m. four court days before, strict reply by 10 a.m. two court days before, and motions other than summary judgment are limited to ten minutes each side (LCR 6(d)(2), LCR 16(e)(5)). Many probate orders never need a docket date at all, because a routine order can be presented ex parte by mail, e-filed and emailed with the ex parte cover sheet, or heard on the ex parte docket, where only uncontested matters are considered (LCR 54(f)).
How do I get on the ex parte docket in Stevens County?
Contact the Stevens County Superior Court Clerk at least two hours before the docket starts to reserve a five-minute time slot, and provide copies of anything you want the court to consider when you reserve the slot. Arrangements and the documents can be handled by email to [email protected], and the docket is held on the schedule published on the Tri-County Judicial District's online calendar. Only uncontested matters are heard there (LCR 54(f)(4)). If you would rather not appear at all, the same rule lets you mail a routine ex parte or stipulated order to the Clerk with self addressed stamped envelopes and the $30 ex parte fee paid in advance, or follow the Clerk's e-filing route: e-file the motion, complete the ex parte cover sheet, pay the $30 online, and email the order with the cover sheet and proof of payment. Confirm the current mailbox with the Clerk at (509) 684-7575 before you send anything.
Can I appear by phone or video in a Stevens County probate?
For argument, generally yes. The tri-county court publishes video-hearing access for each of its courtrooms, and Stevens County has four: Courtroom 1 in Room 208, Courtroom 2 in Room 212, Courtroom 3 in the board of equalization hearing room, and Courtroom 4. A filer without a computer can appear by telephone at (509) 684-7555 using the meeting code printed on the Notice of Hearing. The court's own conditions apply: dress as if you were in the courtroom, do not record, and understand that a video hearing is not the official record. Telephonic appearance is allowed except for protection orders, dispositive motions such as summary judgment, supplemental proceedings, and motions for dismissal, and the court directs you to call the Clerk's office in the county where the hearing will take place for the call-in number. Witness testimony is treated differently: witnesses may not testify remotely except upon prior court approval (LCR 43(a)(4), amended September 1, 2025), so if a probate matter needs live testimony from someone out of town, ask for that order in advance.
How do I look up a Stevens County probate case online?
Use Odyssey Portal, the public case search for Washington superior courts, which covers Stevens County; the Clerk publishes its own guide to getting into it. The statewide index at dw.courts.wa.gov will also find a case, but it carries its own notice that dockets and case status may be inaccurate and directs users to Odyssey Portal or the court of record. Do not use the tri-county court's online calendar as a docket: the court states that it does not replace and is not a reliable substitute for the official docketing system the Superior Court Clerks maintain in Odyssey, and that it carries descriptions for trials and special settings but not for cases on regularly scheduled dockets. For the file itself, contact the Stevens County Clerk at (509) 684-7575; emailed copies are $0.25 per page and physical copies prepared by staff are $0.50 per page.
Are there local Stevens County probate forms?
No. Stevens 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. The joint local rules for the three counties impose no case cover sheet requirement and contain no probate-specific rule, so there is no mandatory local probate cover sheet. What does apply is the tri-county court's short set of civil forms, above all the Notice of Hearing required to set a hearing in any civil matter, plus the Notice Striking Hearing, the Note for Trial Setting and Certificate of Readiness under LCR 40(a), the Indigency Screening Form for a fee waiver request, the court's Bench Copies cover sheet, and the Clerk's ex parte cover sheet. One formatting rule catches paper filers: a document or set of documents over fifty pages must arrive at the Clerk's Office pre-punched with two holes 2 1/2 inches apart and 5/8 inch from the top, and the Clerk keeps a punch at the counter (LCR 1). WashingtonLawHelp publishes the plain-language packets, including the small estate affidavit kit for the route that opens no court case (RCW 11.62.010).
How much does it cost to file probate in Stevens 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)), and the Stevens County Clerk's own schedule prints that line at exactly $290. There is no Stevens County add-on to that figure, and a filer who cannot afford it can ask the court to waive it under GR 34, with the tri-county court's Indigency Screening Form for the request. Budget for the local charges around it: $30 to process an order ex parte, which is what makes the mail-in and emailed order routes work; $5 for a certificate of qualification or a certified copy of letters (RCW 36.18.016(9)); $5 for the first page of any other certified copy plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)); $20 to file a will only where no probate is contemplated; and the newspaper's own charge for publishing the creditor notice. Fees are paid in advance (RCW 36.18.060). Confirm the current schedule with the Stevens County Clerk.
Do I have to travel to Colville to settle an estate in Stevens County?
Often not. Stevens County is one of the easier Washington counties to handle from a distance: the case can be opened through the Clerk's E-File Washington system, later filings can be e-filed or mailed to Room 206, a routine order can be presented by mail with self addressed stamped envelopes and the $30 ex parte fee or e-filed and emailed with the ex parte cover sheet (LCR 54(f)(3)), certified copies can be mailed back to you, and a personal representative granted nonintervention powers administers and closes a solvent estate without returning to court for supervision (RCW 11.68.011). Where an appearance is needed, most argument can be handled by video or telephone. Two things still travel on paper: the original will, which must be on file with the Clerk before probate letters issue, and the working copies of any dispositive motion, which go to the judge at 215 South Oak Street, Room 209, Colville at the time of filing (LCR 6(d)(2)(B)). Distance matters most for a contested matter with live testimony, because witnesses may not testify remotely without prior court approval (LCR 43(a)(4)).
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.