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Thurston County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Thurston County, Washington's general-jurisdiction trial court. 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). Thurston County assigns all Title 11 actions, including probate, to its Family and Juvenile Court division unless the court transfers a case to Main Campus by order, and trials on Title 11 matters are heard at Main Campus (Thurston County Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.00(a)(5) and Local Civil Rule 77(o)(1)(B)). Thurston County has its own resident superior court judges and court commissioners and shares its bench with no other county |
| Filing office | Thurston County Clerk, Clerk of the Superior Court. The clerk takes probate petitions, receives the original will, issues the letters, keeps the estate record, and maintains the fee schedule (Local Civil Rule 79(g)) |
| Filing address | Thurston County Clerk's Office, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, Olympia, WA 98502. This is the Thurston County courthouse complex on Lakeridge Drive, where the Clerk occupies Building 2. Filings are dropped in the lobby, mailed, or e-filed; there is no open service counter |
| Where probate is heard | Family and Juvenile Court, 2801 32nd Avenue SW, Tumwater, WA 98512. The Probate and Guardianship calendar and the daily ex parte calendar both sit there, and the building's own mail goes to 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, Olympia, WA 98502 |
| Mailing | Thurston County Clerk's Office, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, Olympia, WA 98502. Mail is the clerk's published route for filings, for document requests, and, under Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.03C(c), for presenting agreed and record-based ex parte orders, though that mail and drop box route is reserved except for good cause to counsel licensed to practice law |
| Phone | (360) 786-5430 for the Clerk's Office, and (360) 709-3260 for the Clerk's Office number the court publishes for Family and Juvenile Court filing questions, facilitator appointments and the domestic violence liaison. Family and Juvenile Court Administration is (360) 709-3201 and the Superior Court at Main Campus is (360) 786-5560 |
| [email protected] for general questions and copy requests, [email protected] for Family and Juvenile Court filing questions, and [email protected] for the facilitator. The office states it is available by email during regular business hours, which is now its main channel | |
| Fax | The Washington State Court Directory lists (360) 753-4033 for the Thurston County Clerk, but the clerk's own answer to whether documents can be faxed for filing is no. Fax is not a filing route in Thurston County; file in the lobby, by mail, or through the clerk's eFile service |
| Hours | The Clerk's Office answers phone and email 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but its in-person customer service counters have been closed since January 20, 2026 because of budget reductions. The lobby doors are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so filings can be dropped off earlier in the day, and public terminals for viewing documents are available 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. The Family and Juvenile Court building is open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and its Court Administration office is open 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Everything closes on county and state holidays |
| 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). Thurston County's own probate page prints the same figure, and the clerk's Probate and Guardianship schedule lists "Estate (Probate) $290.00" as a $200 filing fee plus $90 in judicial surcharges (Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026). Confirm the current schedule with the Thurston County Clerk |
| Local forms | Yes for the procedural sheets, no for the probate pleadings. The clerk states plainly that it does not provide forms or packets for probate, so the petition, the oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. The clerk does publish the Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet for case types 3, 4, 5 and 7, which carries the probate cause codes and its definitions page; a Notice of Hearing for Court Commissioner Motions covering probate, guardianship and minor guardianship, effective June 1, 2026; a Cover Sheet for Proposed Orders; a Notice of Hearing for Family Law and Juvenile Court ex parte and emergency motions; a Notice of Continued or Stricken Hearing; a Notice of Change of Address; a Will Repository Cover Sheet; and a title page |
| E-filing | Available and optional. The clerk runs its own eFile service, and Local General Rule 30(b)(1)(A) permits electronic filing of documents and bench copies through that service or through an electronic service provider that uses it, in a manner the clerk approves. Nothing in the rule makes e-filing mandatory for attorneys or for anyone else. Original wills and codicils must be filed on paper (LGR 30(b)(2)(A)(i)), and a document received by the clerk's computer by 5:00 p.m. Pacific on a business day is filed that day. Statutory filing fees are collected electronically at the time of e-filing. Set up access with the Clerk's Office before your first e-filing, because the portal requires an account |
| Case search | Through Odyssey Portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov, which the clerk names as the search for Thurston County superior court case and hearing information. Public case and hearing information is free, but the clerk states that associated public documents are not viewable over the internet: view them free on the Odyssey Portal terminals at either clerk location, or purchase copies through the Clerk Documents app at clerkdocs.thurstoncountywa.gov. Full document access by subscription is for attorneys of record. The Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov is a pointer index across Washington courts whose own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate |
| Remote appearance | Available on the probate calendar. The Probate and Guardianship calendar sits Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 1 at Family and Juvenile Court, and the court's published rule for it is that attorneys appear in person while all other parties may appear in person or by Zoom. The court publishes a standing Zoom meeting for each Family and Juvenile Court courtroom on its calendar page. Agreed ex parte orders on the daily 2:30 p.m. calendar must be presented in person; an emergency ex parte motion may be attended in person or by Zoom. Local Civil Rule 7(b)(5) also lets the court permit remote participation generally or on a timely motion |
| Website | https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/county-clerk |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Thurston County question is not which form to use, because the clerk publishes no probate forms. It is what the estate actually holds and which route fits. 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 a 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 Thurston County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir, legatee and devisee by name and address. Thurston makes that front work matter twice over. 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). And because the clerk's counters are closed, a Thurston filing that is incomplete comes back by mail or email rather than being fixed at a window. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Superior Court in Thurston County serves all of Thurston County, from Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater through Yelm, Tenino, Rainier, Bucoda and the unincorporated county, and it hears probate for a Thurston County decedent. 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.
Within Thurston County the estate then sits in two places at once, and that is the local fact most people get wrong. Filing, mail, the original will, the fee and the case record all go to the Thurston County Clerk at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, in Olympia, the courthouse complex on Lakeridge Drive. The hearing side of the case belongs to Family and Juvenile Court at 2801 32nd Avenue SW in Tumwater, because Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.00(a)(5) provides that all actions under Title 11 RCW, including probate, conservatorships and trusts, shall be conducted at Family and Juvenile Court unless transferred to Main Campus by court order, and Local Civil Rule 77(o)(1)(B) makes that division the one that hears Titles 11, 13 and 26. A trial on a Title 11 matter is the exception: trials are heard at Main Campus. A case can also be relocated between the two buildings on a party's motion and supporting declaration, or by a judge's order (LSPR 94.00(b)).
The practical effect is narrower than it sounds. There is one County Clerk and one place to file, and both buildings share a single mailing address on Lakeridge Drive, so a mailed or e-filed probate does not require you to pick a building at all. What the split controls is where you go if you go: the Probate and Guardianship calendar and the daily ex parte calendar are in Tumwater, Thurston County District Court occupies Building 3 on Lakeridge Drive and does not handle probate at all, and the law library keeps a room at Main Campus and an annex on the second floor of the Family and Juvenile Court building.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue. Thurston County is the practical county when the decedent lived here at death (RCW 11.96A.050(4)). You do not choose a courthouse: you file with the Thurston County Clerk, and the county's local rules place the hearing at Family and Juvenile Court in Tumwater (Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.00(a)(5)).
- 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 the clerk asks for. Thurston County publishes the list: a case cover sheet, the petition, the original will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, a notarized oath, and either an order admitting the will and issuing letters testamentary or an order granting letters of administration. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set and the Thurston County Clerk states that it does not provide forms or packets for probate, so the petition, oath, order and letters are drafted by you or your attorney. Use the clerk's Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet for case types 3, 4, 5 and 7 and pick the probate cause of action on it, and follow Local Civil Rule 10(d)(4) by putting a hearing date, hearing time and judge or calendar block in the top left corner of the first page of anything filed for a hearing. If the filing needs the clerk to do something, put "CLERK'S ACTION REQUIRED" in the caption beneath the case number (LCR 79(h)(2)). A self-represented filer must also give a phone or message number, a mailing address, a physical address for service and, if the filer has one, an email address on every document, and a post office box alone is not enough (LCR 11(c)).
- File with the Thurston County Clerk. There is no open service counter: the in-person customer service counters have been closed since January 20, 2026, and the clerk's routes are the lobby drop-off at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, in Olympia while the doors are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the mail to the same address, and the clerk's own eFile service. E-filing is permitted rather than required (Local General Rule 30(b)(1)(A)), a document received by the clerk's computer by 5:00 p.m. Pacific on a business day is filed that day, and the clerk emails the filer if a document is rejected. The one document that cannot be electronic is the will: original wills and codicils must be filed on paper (LGR 30(b)(2)(A)(i)). Ask for conformed copies by including an extra copy and a self-addressed stamped envelope (LCR 79(h)(3)).
- 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 "Estate (Probate) $290.00" on the Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026 and printed as $290.00 on the clerk's own probate page. A filer who cannot afford it may ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and Thurston's local rule on waiver of court and clerk's fees on the basis of indigency is LGR 34; the clerk's fee exemption schedule carries the in forma pauperis waiver at RCW 36.18.022. Statutory fees are collected electronically when a document is e-filed. Card and electronic check payments carry a service fee of $2.50 or 2.95 percent of the amount charged, whichever is greater (Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026).
- Present the petition and the proposed order. An uncontested probate matter in which notice is not required by statute, by rule, or by a filed request for notice under RCW 11.28.240, or in which notice has been waived, may be heard ex parte, and may be presented by mail in compliance with Local Civil Rule 7 (Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a)). Ex parte matters are heard at Family and Juvenile Court on the published schedule, and the court calls for uncontested ex parte matters at the start of each morning and afternoon calendar (LSPR 94.03C(a)). The court's daily ex parte calendar runs Monday through Friday at 2:30 p.m. and takes agreed orders signed by every party, motions and orders to serve by mail, motions and orders to show cause, and requests for letters of administration, and no notice of hearing is required for an in-person agreed ex parte matter. Ex parte orders presented for entry must come with a written motion, supporting documents and a proposed order (LCR 7(b)(1)(A)), and the clerk publishes a Cover Sheet for Proposed Orders to go with them. Two Thurston limits matter: if you are self-represented, your ex parte motion and proposed order, other than a fee waiver, must first be reviewed and approved for form and completeness by a legal professional, meaning an attorney, a Limited License Legal Technician, a courthouse facilitator or a legal aid volunteer, unless the court waives that by order (LSPR 94.03C(b)); and presentation by mail or drop box is available, except for good cause, only to counsel licensed to practice law (LSPR 94.03C(c)).
- Note a hearing where one is required. A contested probate matter, or one needing notice, goes on the Probate and Guardianship calendar, which sits Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 1 at Family and Juvenile Court. Use the clerk's Notice of Hearing for Court Commissioner Motions covering probate, guardianship and minor guardianship, the version effective June 1, 2026, and schedule the hearing by 5:00 p.m. at least six business days ahead. The briefing clock matches: the motion, brief and supporting materials are filed and served before 5:00 p.m. at least six business days before the hearing, opposing materials by noon three business days before, and any reply by noon two business days before (LCR 5(d)(1)(A)(iii)). Provide the judge's copy to court administration at or before the time of filing (LCR 5(k)). If the hearing will not go forward, strike or continue it at least two business days ahead using the clerk's notice of hearing continued or stricken form, because failing to do so can draw sanctions (LCR 7(b)(8)).
- Appear, in person or remotely. On the Probate and Guardianship calendar, attorneys appear in person and all other parties may appear in person or by Zoom, with the court publishing a standing Zoom meeting for each Family and Juvenile Court courtroom on its calendar page. Agreed ex parte orders on the 2:30 p.m. calendar must be presented in person. An emergency ex parte motion is filed with its notice of hearing, motion, supporting materials and proposed order cover sheet by 11:00 a.m. on the day of the 2:30 p.m. calendar, and may be attended in person or by Zoom. The court asks that you check Odyssey Portal to see whether your order was signed rather than calling court administration, states that it will make every effort to consider proposed orders within two working court days of presentation, and asks that you wait five working court days before following up.
- Receive the letters. Letters testamentary or letters of administration are issued in a Thurston County probate by court order, as the clerk states on its probate page, so the order directing issuance has to be signed before the letters exist. Once it is, a certified copy of the letters is $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page, and a certificate of qualification is $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9), Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026). That certified copy is the document a bank, a transfer agent or a title company will ask for. Request it, or any other estate document, through the Clerk Documents app at clerkdocs.thurstoncountywa.gov, by email to [email protected], or by mail with a cashier's check or money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope; the clerk does not accept personal checks for mailed copy requests.
- 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); Thurston County's legally approved newspapers are The Olympian, the Nisqually Valley News and The Tenino Independent. Collect the assets, pay valid debts, sell Thurston 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, accountings, sale confirmations and similar matters go back to the Probate and Guardianship calendar on the six-business-day notice above, and a party who wants a commissioner's decision reviewed by a judge files a motion for revision within ten days and sets it on the Family and Juvenile Court revision calendar (LCR 53.2(e)).
Executor duties
A Thurston 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). Thurston County's local rules add a short list on top of those, and they are the ones that most often send a Thurston filing back.
Sign the bond as the principal, with the sureties. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(c) requires that all bonds required of personal representatives be signed by the principal and the sureties, and the clerk's schedule carries a separate $2 charge for approving bonds in matters other than civil and probate (RCW 36.18.016(8)). Most Thurston estates avoid a bond because the will waives it or the court grants nonintervention powers, but where the court requires one, an unsigned principal line is a reason letters do not issue.
Get the paperwork shape right on every filing. Every document filed for a hearing carries a hearing date, a hearing time and the judge or calendar in the top left corner of the first page (Local Civil Rule 10(d)(4)); anything that needs the clerk to act carries "CLERK'S ACTION REQUIRED" in the caption beneath the case number (LCR 79(h)(2)); pleadings are printed on one side of white letter-size paper with a three-inch top margin on the first page, one-inch margins elsewhere, and no colored pages or highlighting; and a self-represented personal representative gives a phone or message number, a mailing address, a physical address where service can be made and, if there is one, an email address on every document, with a post office box alone not sufficient (LCR 11(c)). If the personal representative moves, the clerk publishes a notice of change of address form for exactly that purpose.
Know the two local routes that only come up in estates. Where a will is believed to be in a safe deposit box the decedent could reach, a petition showing the jurisdictional facts and that belief lets the court order the person controlling the box to open it in the petitioner's presence, and the custodian must deliver any document purporting to be the will to the County Clerk, who issues a receipt with a copy of the will attached on payment of fees, with the custodian's witness fees and mileage paid by the petitioner (LSPR 98.04(d)). And where a surviving spouse petitions for an allowance in lieu of homestead, vouchers showing payment of funeral expenses, expenses of the last sickness and expenses of administration including appraiser fees, or that payment has been provided for, must be filed at or before the time of the hearing (LSPR 98.04(e)). Testimony required to open the proceedings may be presented orally, by affidavit or by verified petition (LSPR 98.04(b)), which is what lets most uncontested Thurston probates open on paper.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Thurston County
Washington has no statewide probate form set, and Thurston County says the same thing about its own. 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. The Thurston County Clerk is equally direct: it does not provide forms or packets for probate, and it says the question of whether you need to file a probate at all is best answered by an attorney. So the petition, the oath, the proposed order admitting the will and issuing letters testamentary, the proposed order granting letters of administration, and the letters themselves are drafted by the filer or the attorney.
What Thurston County does publish are the procedural sheets a probate filing needs, and they are not optional. The Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet for case types 3, 4, 5 and 7 is the cover sheet a new probate uses, and it carries the probate and guardianship causes of action, including estate, small estate affidavit, will only, sealed will repository, foreign will, non-probate notice to creditors, and trust and estate dispute resolution, with a definitions page explaining each. The Notice of Hearing for Court Commissioner Motions covering probate, guardianship and minor guardianship, in the version effective June 1, 2026, is the form that puts a matter on the Friday Probate and Guardianship calendar, and it carries the rule that the hearing be set by 5:00 p.m. at least six business days ahead. The Cover Sheet for Proposed Orders goes with proposed orders presented ex parte, and there is a separate Notice of Hearing for Family Law and Juvenile Court ex parte and emergency motions. Beyond those, the clerk publishes a Notice of Continued or Stricken Hearing, a Notice of Change of Address, a Will Repository Cover Sheet for a will deposited under seal before death (RCW 11.12.265), and a title page. All of them are on the Clerk's Office legal forms page at thurstoncountywa.gov, printed on white letter-size paper, single sided, with no colored pages or highlighting.
For plain-language guidance and the practical self-help packets, WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org), published by the Northwest Justice Project, is Washington's main self-help publisher for estates, including its small estate guidance and Small Estate Affidavit packet, and the Thurston County Clerk links to it directly. The Thurston County Law Library, with a room at Main Campus and an annex on the second floor of the Family and Juvenile Court building, gives free Westlaw Patron Access on public workstations and lets patrons download documents at no cost. Confirm the current version of any Thurston County form on the clerk's legal forms page before you rely on it, because the probate notice of hearing form was reissued in June 2026.
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)). What Thurston County adds are local line items and service charges, all published on the Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026, which the clerk maintains under Local Civil Rule 79(g) and posts on its website. Several of them are specific to estates and are easy to miss when budgeting a Thurston probate. Fee waivers are available: GR 34 and the county's Local General Rule 34 cover waiver of court and clerk's fees on the basis of indigency, and the clerk's fee exemption schedule carries the in forma pauperis waiver at RCW 36.18.022.
| Charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Estate (probate) filing fee | $290 (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)) | Opening a probate: a $200 filing fee plus $90 in judicial surcharges. The same $290 applies to a petition to admit a rejected will, a non-probate notice to creditors where no probate is filed, a trust registration or transfer, and a petition objecting to a non-judicial resolution or contesting a will or trust under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act |
| Small estate affidavit filing | $20 (RCW 36.18.050) | Filing a small estate affidavit with the clerk under RCW 11.62.010. The affidavit route opens no probate, and it is indexed as its own Thurston County cause of action on the Family and Juvenile Court cover sheet |
| Will only, filed 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 |
| Will repository deposit before death | $20 (RCW 36.18.016(28)) | Depositing an original will or codicil with the clerk under seal before death (RCW 11.12.265), using the clerk's Will Repository Cover Sheet |
| Notice of probate to creditors | $20 (RCW 36.18.050) | Filing the creditor notice where the fee applies under RCW 11.40.020(2), the provision that governs a probate commenced outside the county of the decedent's residence |
| Certificate of qualification | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The clerk's certificate that the personal representative is qualified to act |
| Certified copy of the letters | $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The certified proof of authority a bank, transfer agent or title company asks for. Thurston County's probate page prints this as "Issued Letter: $5.00" |
| Executing a certificate | $2 (RCW 36.18.016(5)) | Executing a certificate with or without a seal; the schedule also lists $2 for approving bonds in matters other than civil and probate |
| Department of Revenue affidavit in an escheat probate | $2 (RCW 11.08.300) | Filing the Department of Revenue affidavit in an escheat probate proceeding |
| Copies of court documents | $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page certified; $0.50 per page without a seal, electronic or hard copy; $5 per electronic storage medium; $2 mail handling plus postage | Getting anything out of the estate file. Viewing documents on the public terminals at either clerk location is free |
| Ex parte presentation of order | $30 (RCW 36.18.016(12)) | The clerk's own service of presenting a proposed order to the court. Note that the Clerk's Office suspended its Ex Parte services effective March 16, 2026 until further notice, so confirm availability before relying on this line |
| Researching records | $30 per hour (RCW 36.18.016(11)) | Asking clerk staff to search records rather than searching Odyssey Portal or the public terminals yourself |
| Facilitator appointment | $25 per 30-minute appointment, $50 for a 60-minute slot | A review appointment with a Clerk's Office facilitator, paid before booking. The facilitators sit at the Family and Juvenile Court building, and the clerk publishes their scope as family law cases only, so confirm coverage before booking one to satisfy the Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.03C(b) review requirement |
| Card and electronic check service fee | The greater of $2.50 or 2.95 percent of the amount charged for credit cards; $2.50 for debit cards and electronic checks | Paying a filing fee or a copy charge online or by card. A returned check carries a $50 service fee |
| Local court rules, per copy | $10 (RCW 36.18.050) | Buying a paper copy of the local court rules from the clerk. Paper copies are also available free to read in the law libraries at Main Campus and Family and Juvenile Court |
Timeline
- Set the hearing first if the matter needs one. The clerk's probate notice of hearing form and Local Civil Rule 5(d)(1)(A)(iii) agree: the hearing must be scheduled by 5:00 p.m. at least six business days ahead, and the motion, brief and all supporting materials must be filed and served before 5:00 p.m. at least six business days before the hearing.
- Opposing materials are filed and served by noon three business days before the hearing, and any reply by noon two business days before (LCR 5(d)(1)(A)(iii)). Provide the judge's copy of anything you want the court to read to court administration at or before the time of filing (LCR 5(k)).
- The Probate and Guardianship calendar sits Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 1 at Family and Juvenile Court, a change that took effect June 1, 2026 and moved the calendar's courtroom while keeping its times. Attorneys appear in person; all other parties may appear in person or by Zoom.
- An uncontested matter that needs no notice does not wait on that calendar at all. It can be heard on the daily ex parte calendar, which runs Monday through Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Family and Juvenile Court and takes agreed orders, motions and orders to serve by mail, motions and orders to show cause, and requests for letters of administration, with no notice of hearing required for an in-person agreed matter. The court also calls for uncontested ex parte matters at the start of each morning and afternoon calendar (Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.03C(a)).
- An emergency ex parte motion has a same-day clock: file the motion, the notice of hearing, the supporting materials and the proposed order cover sheet by 11:00 a.m. to be heard at 2:30 p.m. that day, and appear in person or by Zoom.
- After presentation, the court states that it will make every effort to consider proposed orders within two working court days, and asks that you check Odyssey Portal rather than calling, and that you wait five working court days before contacting court administration if the order has not appeared.
- Strike or continue a hearing at least two business days before the date, using the clerk's notice of hearing continued or stricken form, and provide a judge's copy of the notice to court administration. Hearings that must be set on 28 days notice are stricken or continued at least five business days ahead. Failing to strike properly can draw sanctions of up to $500 payable to the court plus costs (LCR 7(b)(8)).
- E-filing has its own cutoff: a document received by the clerk's designated computer by 5:00 p.m. Pacific on a business day is filed that date, and anything later is filed the next business day (Local General Rule 30(c)(1)(A)). The lobby drop-off closes at 4:00 p.m.
- A commissioner's probate order can be reviewed by a judge, but the window is short: a motion for revision is filed within ten days after the order is entered (RCW 2.24.050 and LCR 53.2(e)(2)), set on the Family and Juvenile Court revision calendar, and heard within 45 days of the order unless the court grants a continuance for good cause.
- Build in the statutory clocks that run alongside the calendar: 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 The Olympian, the Nisqually Valley News or The Tenino Independent, opening the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051), with a creditor given actual notice having the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)); 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
Thurston County-specific considerations
The first Thurston distinctive is that a probate lives at two addresses. You file with the Thurston County Clerk at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, in Olympia, and everything the clerk does happens there: the petition is filed, the original will is received, the fee is paid, the letters are entered into the file and the record is kept. But the hearing side of the case belongs to Family and Juvenile Court at 2801 32nd Avenue SW in Tumwater, because Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.00(a)(5) provides that all actions under Title 11 RCW, including probate, guardianships, conservatorships and trusts, shall be conducted there unless transferred to Main Campus by court order, and Local Civil Rule 77(o)(1)(B) makes that division the one that hears Titles 11, 13 and 26. Trials on Title 11 matters go back to Main Campus, and a minor settlement is split the same way: filed as a civil case at Main Campus unless a guardianship, conservatorship or trust is also sought, in which case it is filed as a probate or guardianship case and heard at Family and Juvenile Court (LSPR 98.16W(b)(5)). Both buildings share the Lakeridge Drive mailing address, so mail and e-filing sidestep the question entirely. One more consequence: probate cases are not issued a Case Schedule Notice by the clerk (LSPR 94.03G(c)(4)), so nothing arrives to tell you what is due when.
The second distinctive is that Thurston County no longer has a probate counter. The Clerk's Office closed its in-person customer service counters from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday effective January 20, 2026, citing budget reductions, and moved its services online: applying for and requesting copies of court documents, filing documents, accessing public cases and documents, making payments and scheduling appointments. In February 2026 the office extended its lobby hours to 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. specifically so filings could be dropped off earlier in the day, and public terminals for viewing documents are available in the lobbies 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. The office remains reachable by email and phone during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Plan a Thurston probate as a drop-off, mail or e-filing matter, keep a self-addressed stamped envelope with anything you want returned conformed (LCR 79(h)(3)), and do not count on fax: the clerk's own answer to whether documents can be faxed for filing is no.
The third distinctive is the same budget story reaching the ex parte counter. The Clerk's Office suspended its own Ex Parte services effective March 16, 2026 until further notice, describing Ex Parte, bench copies, legal forms and packets and the facilitator program as non-mandated services it had been straining to keep. That suspension is about the clerk's service of presenting your proposed order for you, the $30 line the fee schedule still carries at RCW 36.18.016(12) and the alternative presentation route Local Civil Rule 7(b)(1)(C) describes. The court's own ex parte calendar continues: it sits Monday through Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Family and Juvenile Court, the clerk's probate page still routes probate documents and orders to it, and the court's list of what it takes there names requests for letters of administration outright. Because the two sources point different ways, confirm with the Clerk's Office at (360) 709-3260 or [email protected] how it wants a probate order presented on the day you plan to present it. Local Civil Rule 7(b)(1)(B) also describes a telephonic ex parte route with a call-in window the clerk publishes for Main Campus civil matters; ask whether it reaches a probate matter, since probate sits at Family and Juvenile Court.
The fourth distinctive is a review requirement that catches self-represented probate filers by surprise. Under Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.03C(b), a self-represented party's ex parte motion and proposed order, other than a motion for a fee waiver, must be reviewed by and approved for form and completeness by a legal professional before it is presented to a judicial officer, and the rule defines a legal professional as an attorney, a Limited License Legal Technician, a courthouse facilitator or a legal aid volunteer. The court may waive both the review requirement and the facilitator fee by order. The wrinkle is that the Clerk's Office facilitators charge $25 per 30-minute appointment and publish their own scope as family law cases only, saying they cannot provide assistance in any other case types, so a self-represented probate filer should ask the Clerk's Office how to satisfy the rule before booking an appointment. The companion limit is in the next subsection: presentation of agreed and record-based ex parte orders by mail or drop box is available, except for good cause, only to counsel licensed to practice law (LSPR 94.03C(c)), and a person using it sends the original order, the supporting materials, the fee, copies of the order to be signed, and self-addressed stamped envelopes for the return of conformed or rejected orders.
The fifth distinctive is that Thurston is an e-filing county without an e-filing mandate. The clerk runs its own eFile service, and Local General Rule 30(b)(1)(A) permits electronic filing of documents and bench copies through that service or through an electronic service provider that uses it, in a manner the clerk approves; nothing in the rule requires attorneys, or anyone else, to e-file. A document received by the clerk's designated computer by 5:00 p.m. Pacific on a business day is filed that date, the clerk may reject a non-compliant document and will email the filer the reason, and statutory filing fees are collected electronically at the time of filing. Five categories still have to be paper, and the first one is the probate one: original wills and codicils, certified records of proceedings for appeal, documents presented during a hearing or trial, documents for in camera review under GR 15, and affidavits for writs of garnishment and execution (LGR 30(b)(2)(A)). Plan on a paper trip or a mailing for the will even in a fully electronic case, and note that bench copies go to court administration rather than the clerk, though the clerk will provide a bench copy from an e-filing for a fee.
Small-estate Alternatives
Thurston County treats the small estate affidavit as its own filing rather than as an informal document, and that is worth knowing before you assume the route is free of the courthouse. The affidavit route under RCW 11.62.010 opens no probate and reaches personal property only, and it is presented directly to whoever holds the property, so many Thurston families never file anything. Where the affidavit is filed with the court, the Thurston County Clerk charges $20 (RCW 36.18.050, Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026) and indexes it as its own cause of action, small estate affidavit, on the Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet, alongside the estate, will only, sealed will repository and non-probate notice to creditors causes. The statewide waiting period, ceiling and notice rules are on the Washington state page; what is local is the $20 charge, the cover sheet cause code, and the fact that the affidavit is a clerk filing rather than a hearing, which means it can be dropped in the lobby, mailed or e-filed without any appearance.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 11, 2026 | The Thurston County Clerk's Office updated its fee schedules, in five parts covering civil, probate and guardianship, appeals, miscellaneous and fee exemptions. The probate section carries the $290 estate filing fee as a $200 filing fee plus $90 in judicial surcharges with the RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) and (5)(c) and (6) authority, the $5 certificate of qualification and certified letters, the $20 small estate affidavit, will only and will repository filings, and the $30 ex parte presentation of order. Confirm any figure against the current schedule before paying. | Fee schedule, Thurston County Clerk, thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/county-clerk |
| June 1, 2026 | Family and Juvenile Court changed its calendars. The Probate and Guardianship calendar continues to be heard Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. but now sits in Courtroom 1, and the judges' motion, revision and relocation calendars moved from Wednesdays to Fridays at 9:00 a.m. The clerk reissued the affected notice of hearing forms, including the probate, guardianship and minor guardianship commissioner motions form, with an effective date of June 1, 2026. | Family & Juvenile Court Calendar Changes Effective June 1, 2026, and the Available Forms page, thurstoncountywa.gov |
| March 16, 2026 | The Clerk's Office suspended its Ex Parte services until further notice, citing budget reductions and the loss of staff. The same February 27 announcement extended lobby hours to 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so filings could be dropped off earlier in the day. The court's own daily 2:30 p.m. ex parte calendar at Family and Juvenile Court continues, so confirm with the Clerk's Office how it wants a probate order presented. | Thurston County Clerk announces changes in service, February 27, 2026, thurstoncountywa.gov |
| February 2, 2026 | Thurston County Superior Court adopted emergency local rules after Family and Juvenile Court stopped conducting settlement conferences, amending LCR 87 on alternative dispute resolution along with LSPR 94.03D, LSPR 94.03E, LSPR 94.12 and LJuCR 4. The court expects the emergency rules to be readopted every 90 days under GR 7(f) and to become permanent with the next annual rules update. | Court Rules and Court News, Thurston County Superior Court, thurstoncountywa.gov |
| January 20, 2026 | The Thurston County Clerk's Office closed its in-person customer service counters from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday because of budget reductions, moving filing, copy requests, case access, payments and appointment scheduling online. Public terminals for document viewing remain available in the lobbies, and the office stays reachable by email during regular business hours. | Thurston County Clerk announces closure of in-person services, December 31, 2025, thurstoncountywa.gov |
| September 1, 2025 | The current Thurston County Superior Court Local Court Rules took effect, including LSPR 94.00 sending Title 11 matters to Family and Juvenile Court, LSPR 94.03C on ex parte requests and the legal-professional review requirement for self-represented filers, LSPR 98.04 on probate hearings, bonds, will production and homestead vouchers, LGR 30 on permissive electronic filing, and LCR 5 and LCR 7 on filing deadlines and motions. | Thurston County Superior Court Local Court Rules, effective September 1, 2025, thurstoncountywa.gov and courts.wa.gov/court_rules |
| Planned, no date set | Thurston County is planning a phased move of law and justice services to a downtown Olympia site. The Board of County Commissioners approved a $34.9 million purchase of a seven-acre, four-building site near Plum Street and 8th Avenue SE on July 30, 2025 for a Regional Justice Center, concluded the feasibility study period on March 31, 2026, and posted a Request for Qualifications for design, space planning and adaptive reuse in April 2026. No court has moved yet: probate filings still go to the County Clerk at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, in Olympia, and the probate calendar still sits at Family and Juvenile Court in Tumwater. Confirm the address before filing in person once the county announces a phase date. | Courthouse and Regional Administrative Buildings Project, Thurston County Board of County Commissioners, thurstoncountywa.gov |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Thurston County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | An Olympia, Lacey or Tumwater 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 Thurston County Auditor's recording function rather than the Superior Court. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need probate. Where they do, the survivor files a petition with the Thurston County Clerk 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 heard on the daily 2:30 p.m. ex parte calendar at Family and Juvenile Court. If the survivor petitions for an allowance in lieu of homestead, Thurston County requires vouchers showing payment of funeral expenses, expenses of the last sickness and expenses of administration to be filed at or before the hearing (Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(e)). 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 Family and Juvenile Court cover sheet and the nonintervention powers request. Guidance on clearing title through the county's recording office. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Thurston 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 Thurston County court case at all (RCW 11.62.010); filed with the clerk, that affidavit is a $20 filing rather than a hearing. Where a probate is needed, the child prepares the petition, the oath, the proposed order and the Family and Juvenile Court cover sheet and mails them to the Clerk's Office at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, in Olympia, or e-files them through the clerk's eFile service, since the in-person counters are closed anyway. An uncontested matter needing no notice may be presented by mail under Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a) and Local Civil Rule 7, though the mail and drop box presentation route in LSPR 94.03C(c) is reserved except for good cause to licensed counsel, so an out-of-state child acting alone should confirm the route with the clerk. On the Friday Probate and Guardianship calendar a non-attorney party may appear by Zoom. The original will still has to reach the clerk 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, cover sheet, oath and proposed letters, ready to mail or e-file. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger, contested, or dependent on the counsel-only presentation route. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Probate with the Thurston County Clerk. 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. Requests for letters of administration are among the matters the court takes on its daily 2:30 p.m. ex parte calendar at Family and Juvenile Court, and agreed ex parte orders there must be presented in person. The parent petitions for nonintervention powers and then sells the child's Thurston County real estate under that authority before distributing. Without nonintervention powers, a motion to confirm the sale goes on the Friday Probate and Guardianship calendar in Courtroom 1, set by 5:00 p.m. at least six business days ahead with the clerk's probate notice of hearing form, and a commissioner's ruling can be taken to a judge on a motion for revision filed within ten days (Local Civil Rule 53.2(e)). A dispute among heirs is a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act matter, filed for $290 as its own cause of action. | 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, a disputed sale, or a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act petition. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Thurston County Clerk (thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/county-clerk) | The filing office's own site: the current lobby and service hours, the closure notices, the mailing address, the office email boxes, the legal forms page, the fee schedule, the clerk calendars, eFiling, and the payment and document apps |
| Probate & Estate Information page, Thurston County Clerk | The clerk's own probate page: the statement that it does not provide forms or packets for probate, the exact document list to open a probate case, the note that letters are issued by court order, the $290 filing fee, the $5 issued letter, and the referral to the court's walk-in ex parte calendar |
| Available Forms page, Thurston County Clerk | The local sheets a probate needs: the Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet for case types 3, 4, 5 and 7 with its definitions page, the Notice of Hearing for Court Commissioner Motions covering probate and guardianship effective June 1, 2026, the Cover Sheet for Proposed Orders, the ex parte and emergency motions notice of hearing, the notice of continued or stricken hearing, the notice of change of address, the will repository cover sheet, and the title page |
| Fee schedule, Thurston County Clerk | The clerk's full schedule updated July 11, 2026, in five parts: civil, probate and guardianship, appeals, miscellaneous, and fee exemptions. It carries the $290 estate filing fee with its statutory cites, the $5 certificate of qualification and certified letters, the $20 small estate affidavit, will only and will repository filings, the copy charges, and the card and check service fees |
| Obtaining Documents and Performing Case Searches pages, Thurston County Clerk | How to get Thurston estate records: Odyssey Portal for free case and hearing information, the Odyssey Portal terminals at both clerk locations for free document viewing, the Clerk Documents app at clerkdocs.thurstoncountywa.gov for purchases, the email route to [email protected], and the mail route with a cashier's check or money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope |
| Thurston County Superior Court (thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/superior-court) | The court's own site: the Main Campus and Family and Juvenile Court addresses, phones and hours, the court calendars with Zoom links, the ex parte pages, the court news notices, the court rules, and the self-represented party page |
| Ex Parte Motions, Family and Juvenile Court | The court's own page on presenting an ex parte order: what qualifies as ex parte, the Monday through Friday 2:30 p.m. calendar, the list of matters it takes including requests for letters of administration, the note that no notice of hearing is required for an in-person agreed matter, the 11:00 a.m. same-day filing deadline for an emergency motion, and the two working court day and five working court day expectations for a signed order |
| Court Calendars, Family and Juvenile Court | The commissioner and judge calendars, including the Probate and Guardianship calendar on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 1, who must appear in person, who may appear by Zoom, and the standing Zoom meeting for each courtroom |
| Thurston County Superior Court Local Court Rules (thurstoncountywa.gov and courts.wa.gov/court_rules) | The rules that actually govern a Thurston County probate, current set effective September 1, 2025: LSPR 94.00 on Title 11 matters at Family and Juvenile Court, LSPR 94.03C on ex parte requests and the legal-professional review requirement, LSPR 98.04 on probate hearings, bonds, will production and homestead vouchers, LGR 30 on electronic filing, LCR 5 and LCR 7 on filing deadlines and motions, LCR 10 and LCR 11 on the form of pleadings, LCR 53.2 on revising a commissioner's order, and LCR 79 on the clerk's records and fee schedule. The Washington Courts local rules index links Thurston out to this page |
| Thurston County Law Library, Thurston County Superior Court | A public law library room at the Superior Court Main Campus plus an annex on the second floor of the Family and Juvenile Court building, open whenever the courthouse is open, generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays. Both have workstations with internet access and Westlaw Patron Access at no cost, and patrons may download documents free. The library is not continuously staffed and staff cannot give legal advice, but research appointments can be scheduled |
| 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 Thurston County Clerk links to it directly. The site blocks some automated fetchers, so open it in a browser |
| Northwest Justice Project CLEAR (nwjustice.org) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible Washington residents by phone: CLEAR at 1-888-201-1014, published by the county as taking calls 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and 1-888-387-7111 for people 60 and over regardless of income. Confirm that a probate question is within intake before relying on it; the same organization publishes WashingtonLawHelp |
| Sound Legal Aid (soundlegalaid.org) | Free civil legal help for people in Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties, reached at (360) 705-8194 or 1-844-211-6916. The county describes its clinics as giving legal advice and a list of next steps, usually for evictions in Thurston County and occasionally for other civil matters, so confirm that a probate question is covered before relying on it |
| Washington State Bar Association Moderate Means Program (wsba.org) | A partnership between the state bar and Washington's three law schools connecting people between 200 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level with lawyers who charge reduced fees |
| Thurston County Bar Association (thurstoncountybar.com) | The county bar association the Clerk's Office links to, publishing a member directory with practice areas through its Find an Attorney page, along with legal resources and volunteer legal opportunities |
| Washington Courts court forms and directory (courts.wa.gov/forms and courts.wa.gov/court_dir) | The statewide case information cover sheets and the GR 34 fee waiver forms, plus the court directory entry confirming the Thurston County Clerk's address, phone and fax. There is no statewide probate forms category |
When to hire an attorney
Many Thurston 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) and an uncontested matter needing no notice can be heard ex parte or presented on paper (Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a)). Thurston has two local reasons counsel matters more here than in some counties: a self-represented party's ex parte motion and proposed order must be reviewed and approved for form and completeness by a legal professional before presentation (LSPR 94.03C(b)), and presentation by mail or drop box is available, except for good cause, only to counsel licensed to practice law (LSPR 94.03C(c)). Beyond that, counsel makes 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 petition is filed; when the estate holds a business interest, out-of-state property, or Thurston County real estate whose sale terms are disputed; when the estate may owe Washington estate tax; when the personal representative is appointed under RCW 11.28.120(3) and therefore cannot receive nonintervention powers; or when a commissioner's ruling needs to be taken to a judge on the ten-day revision clock (LCR 53.2(e)). Sunset can connect families to a vetted Thurston 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, Thurston County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value for 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 Thurston County filing: the small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet, the notarized oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters, plus the nonintervention powers request and the clerk's probate notice of hearing form where a hearing is needed, ready to drop in the clerk's lobby, mail to Building 2 on Lakeridge Drive, or e-file through the clerk's eFile service.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is insolvent or contested, when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act petition is filed, or when Thurston County's counsel-only presentation routes are the practical path, Sunset connects families to a vetted Thurston County probate attorney to 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 Thurston County, Washington?
With the Thurston County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, Olympia, WA 98502, which is also the mailing address. Washington has no separate probate court, so the Superior Court in Thurston County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, and the county's local rules send Title 11 estate matters to its Family and Juvenile Court at 2801 32nd Avenue SW in Tumwater to be heard. 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)).
Can I still file a probate in person at the Thurston County courthouse, and which courthouse hears it?
Not at a counter. The Thurston County Clerk's Office closed its in-person customer service counters from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday effective January 20, 2026, citing budget reductions, and moved its services online. What is still open is the lobby at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, in Olympia: the doors are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so filings can be dropped off, and public terminals for viewing court documents are available 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. The office answers phone and email 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, reachable at (360) 786-5430 or [email protected], with (360) 709-3260 and [email protected] published for Family and Juvenile Court filings, and you cannot fax documents for filing. The hearing happens somewhere else: Local Special Proceedings Rule 94.00(a)(5) provides that all actions under Title 11 RCW, including probate, guardianships, conservatorships and trusts, shall be conducted at Family and Juvenile Court, 2801 32nd Avenue SW in Tumwater, unless transferred to Main Campus by court order, and Local Civil Rule 77(o)(1)(B) makes that division the one that hears Titles 11, 13 and 26. Trials on Title 11 matters are heard at Main Campus, and both buildings share the Lakeridge Drive mailing address.
Is e-filing required for probate in Thurston County?
No. Thurston County's Local General Rule 30(b)(1)(A) permits electronic filing of documents and bench copies through the Clerk's own eFile service, or through an electronic service provider that uses it, in a manner the clerk approves. It does not make e-filing mandatory for attorneys or for anyone else, which makes Thurston different from counties that require attorney e-filing. A document received by the clerk's designated computer by 5:00 p.m. Pacific on a business day is filed that date, statutory fees are collected electronically at the time of filing, and the clerk emails the filer if a document is rejected. Five categories must still be paper, and the first one is the probate one: original wills and codicils. Set up portal access with the Clerk's Office before your first e-filing.
How much does it cost to file probate in Thurston 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)). Thurston County's own probate page prints "Probate Filing Fee: $290.00", and the clerk's Probate and Guardianship schedule lists "Estate (Probate) $290.00" as a $200 filing fee plus $90 in judicial surcharges (Thurston County Clerk's Office fee schedule, updated July 11, 2026). A filer who cannot afford it may ask the court to waive it under GR 34 and the county's Local General Rule 34. Thurston also charges local line items an estate runs into: $5 for a certificate of qualification or a certified copy of the letters, $20 to file a small estate affidavit, $20 to file a will after death with no probate, $20 to deposit a will in the repository before death, and the greater of $2.50 or 2.95 percent for a card payment.
When is the Thurston County probate calendar, and how far ahead do I schedule?
The Probate and Guardianship calendar sits Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 1 at Family and Juvenile Court, before a court commissioner; a June 1, 2026 calendar change kept those times and moved the calendar into Courtroom 1. Schedule the hearing by 5:00 p.m. at least six business days ahead using the clerk's Notice of Hearing for Court Commissioner Motions covering probate, guardianship and minor guardianship, and file and serve the motion, brief and supporting materials on the same six-business-day clock, with opposing materials due by noon three business days before and any reply by noon two business days before (Local Civil Rule 5(d)(1)(A)(iii)). An uncontested matter needing no notice does not use that calendar at all: it can go on the daily ex parte calendar, Monday through Friday at 2:30 p.m.
How long does it take to get letters testamentary in Thurston County?
That depends on how the matter is presented, because Thurston publishes no clerk-window wait. An uncontested probate in which notice is not required or has been waived may be heard ex parte and may even be presented by mail under Local Civil Rule 7 (Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a)); the court's daily ex parte calendar runs Monday through Friday at 2:30 p.m., and requests for letters of administration are on the court's own list of what it takes there. A matter needing notice goes on the Friday Probate and Guardianship calendar on the six-business-day clock above. After presentation the court states that it will make every effort to consider proposed orders within two working court days, asks that you check Odyssey Portal rather than calling, and asks that you wait five working court days before contacting court administration. Letters are then issued by court order, and a certified copy is $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(9)).
Can I attend a Thurston County probate hearing by Zoom?
On the Probate and Guardianship calendar, usually yes if you are not an attorney: the court's published rule for that calendar is that attorneys appear in person while all other parties may appear in person or by Zoom, and the court publishes a standing Zoom meeting for each Family and Juvenile Court courtroom on its calendar page. The daily 2:30 p.m. ex parte calendar is different: agreed ex parte orders must be presented in person, while an emergency ex parte motion may be attended in person or by Zoom after filing the papers by 11:00 a.m. that day. Local Civil Rule 7(b)(5) also lets the court permit remote participation generally or on a timely motion, including as a disability accommodation. Confirm the format for your date on the court's Family and Juvenile Court calendar page before appearing.
What probate forms does Thurston County require?
The Thurston County Clerk states that it does not provide forms or packets for probate, and Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition, the oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. The clerk's own document list for opening a probate is a case cover sheet, the petition, the original will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, a notarized oath, and either an order admitting the will and issuing letters testamentary or an order granting letters of administration. The local sheets the clerk does publish are the Family and Juvenile Court Case Information Cover Sheet for case types 3, 4, 5 and 7, which carries the probate cause codes; the Notice of Hearing for Court Commissioner Motions covering probate and guardianship, effective June 1, 2026; the Cover Sheet for Proposed Orders; the ex parte and emergency motions notice of hearing; the notice of continued or stricken hearing; the notice of change of address; the will repository cover sheet; and a title page.
How do I look up a Thurston County probate case?
Through Odyssey Portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov, which the Thurston County Clerk names as the search for its superior court case and hearing information. Public case and hearing information is free, but the clerk states that associated public documents are not viewable over the internet: view them at no cost on the Odyssey Portal terminals at either clerk location during lobby hours, or buy copies through the Clerk Documents app at clerkdocs.thurstoncountywa.gov, by email to [email protected], or by mail with a cashier's check or money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Full document access by subscription is for attorneys of record. The Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov is a pointer index whose own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate. Odyssey Portal itself does not include King or Pierce County case information; the clerk directs you to those counties' own websites for their records.
Do I have to travel to Olympia to settle a Thurston County estate?
Often not, and Thurston's counter closure has pushed the county further toward remote handling. Filings are dropped in the clerk's lobby, mailed to 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 2, Olympia, WA 98502, or e-filed through the clerk's eFile service; documents are purchased online; and payments are made online. An uncontested probate needing no notice may be presented by mail under Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.04(a) and Local Civil Rule 7, and on the Friday Probate and Guardianship calendar a party who is not an attorney may appear by Zoom. Two things pull toward a trip: the original will must reach the clerk on paper, and an agreed order on the daily 2:30 p.m. ex parte calendar must be presented in person. Presentation by mail or drop box under LSPR 94.03C(c) is available, except for good cause, only to licensed counsel, so ask the Clerk's Office how it wants a self-represented probate order presented.
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