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Yakima County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Yakima 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). The court has eight elected superior court judges and three appointed court commissioners, and the Court Administrator's Office sits in Room 314 of the same courthouse |
| Filing office | Yakima County Clerk, Clerk of the Superior Court. The office takes probate petitions, receives the will, issues letters testamentary and letters of administration, files the personal representative's oath, and keeps the estate record. The clerk's own page confirms this is an elected county office under Article IV, Section 26 of the Washington Constitution and chapter 36.23 RCW |
| Courthouse | Yakima County Courthouse, Clerk's Office main counter, 128 North 2nd Street, Room 323, Yakima, WA 98901 |
| Mailing | Yakima County Clerk, 128 North 2nd Street, Room 323, Yakima, WA 98901. The street address and the mailing address are the same, and mailed filings are accepted, including ex parte documents mailed in with the $30 ex parte fee |
| Not a probate location | 1728 Jerome Avenue is the clerk's Juvenile Division counter, and minor guardianship hearings moved there effective February 4, 2025. Probate is filed and heard at 128 North 2nd Street, not on Jerome Avenue |
| Phone | (509) 574-1430 for the Clerk's Office main counter. Other published lines a probate filer may need: the Court Administrator's Office (509) 574-2710, telephonic hearing requests for civil matters (509) 574-2704, hearing confirmation through the Court Administrator (509) 574-2705 or through the Clerk's Office (509) 574-2690, Odyssey Portal registration (509) 574-1458, and the Yakima County Law Library (509) 574-2692 |
| The Clerk's Office publishes no general filing mailbox, and no personal mailbox is reproduced here. It publishes purpose-specific office addresses: [email protected] for Odyssey Portal registration and [email protected] for confirming hearings on the clerk's civil dockets. The Court Administrator's Office is [email protected] | |
| Fax | No fax line for filings at the main clerk counter, and the Washington State Court Directory entry for the Yakima County Clerk lists none (the numbers it does list belong to the Juvenile Division counter and to the Superior Court's own office). The clerk's fee schedule provides for a fax contract at a $200 base adjusted by usage, so fax filing is by arrangement rather than a walk-up option. File in person, by mail, or through eFileWA |
| Hours | The Clerk's Office main counter is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, closed on holidays. No midday closure is published for that counter, but note it closes at 4:00 p.m., not 4:30. The Court Administrator's Office in Room 314 keeps 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and closes daily from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the Juvenile Division clerk counter closes from noon to 1:00 p.m. |
| 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). Yakima County's own schedule lists the same figure, "Probate/Guardianship/Tedra $290.00, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" (Yakima County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025). Confirm the current schedule with the Yakima County Clerk |
| Local forms | Yes. Under "Probate & Estate Matters" the clerk publishes a Creditor's Claim, a Small Estate Affidavit, a Written Notice To Successor Regarding Small Claim Affidavit, and Form K, the Department of Licensing Affidavit of Inheritance/Litigation the clerk signs for a vehicle or vessel; for the will repository it publishes a Will Repository Cover Sheet, a Motion and Order to Withdraw Will, and a Withdrawal of Will from Repository Cover Sheet, which it calls forms used locally in Yakima Superior Court. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition, oath, proposed order and proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney |
| E-filing | Available and optional. The Clerk's Office participates in the Administrative Office of the Courts eFileWA program, hosted by Tyler Technologies at efilewa.tylertech.cloud, for superior court filings only. No Yakima local rule makes electronic filing mandatory for anyone, and the clerk states that local policies will be developed as needed. There is no charge for the service, though filing fees and ecommerce transaction fees still apply. Three exclusions matter in a probate: ex parte filings must follow the court's ex parte process instead, civil protection orders are not accepted, and eFileWA does not support judicial working copies or bench copies |
| Case search | Through Odyssey Portal, odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal, which is the current superior court case search for Yakima and the other 36 counties outside King and Pierce; the clerk's own "Find My Case" link points to the Yakima dashboard there. 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, and it routes superior court lookups to Odyssey Portal. The clerk also posts a Probate calendar PDF updated the day before each session, and publishes an Odyssey Portal registration path for subscriber access |
| Remote appearance | Limited and by permission for probate. The criminal and domestic dockets run on Zoom, but for every other docket, probate included, Zoom is available only on the approval of the judge hearing the case. Submit the court's online Remote Appearance Request Form at least two days before the hearing; Zoom details are emailed after 4:00 p.m. the afternoon before, and courtroom and Zoom assignments post to the court's calendars by the end of business the day before. Telephonic argument is separately allowed on the hearing judge's approval through the Court Administrator (LCR 7(b)(4)) |
| Website | https://www.yakimacounty.us/154/Clerk-of-Superior-Court |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Yakima County question is not which form to use, it is what the estate actually holds. Washington's routes are a petition to probate the will with letters testamentary; a petition for letters of administration where there is no will, in the priority order the statute sets; nonintervention powers, which let a solvent estate be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011); and, for a modest estate holding only personal property, a sworn small estate affidavit collected without opening any court case (RCW 11.62.010). Which one fits turns on whether there is a will, what the estate holds, whether it is solvent, and who is entitled to serve. The routes and their thresholds are covered on the Washington state page.
Before you file, identify every bank and credit union account, brokerage and retirement account, life insurance policy, vehicle, orchard or farm interest, business interest, and parcel of Yakima County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir, legatee and devisee by name and address. Washington law now makes that front work part of the filing itself: a 2026 amendment requires an application for letters of administration to describe the heirs and the applicant's reasonable search for them and, unless the applicant is the spouse, domestic partner or next of kin, to give a general description of the major probate assets (RCW 11.28.110). It also decides the route, because the affidavit route reaches personal property only and cannot change title to Yakima County real estate. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
One courthouse serves all of Yakima County. The Superior Court in Yakima County sits at 128 North 2nd Street in Yakima, and every probate in the county is filed with the Yakima County Clerk at the main counter in Room 323 of that building. The court hears estates from across the county: the city of Yakima and its neighbors Union Gap, Moxee, Selah, Naches and Tieton, and the Lower Yakima Valley communities of Wapato, Harrah, Zillah, Toppenish, Granger, Sunnyside, Grandview and Mabton, together with the unincorporated valley and upland areas between them. There is no branch probate counter and no second probate courthouse. The clerk does keep a second counter at 1728 Jerome Avenue, but that is the Juvenile Division, and the only estate-adjacent matters that moved there are minor guardianship hearings, which have been heard at Juvenile Court since February 4, 2025.
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 proceedings stay in that county (RCW 11.96A.050(5)). A narrow exception removes the choice altogether: a petitioner seeking appointment under RCW 11.28.120(3), the route open to a person not otherwise entitled once 90 days have passed, must file where the decedent resided, or, for a nonresident decedent, in a county where part of the estate might be.
So for a decedent who lived anywhere in Yakima County, Yakima County is the practical venue, and the publication rule reinforces it: the creditor notice for a Yakima County resident's estate belongs in a Yakima County legal newspaper whichever county the case is filed in. Yakima County is not part of any joint judicial district. It has its own bench of eight elected superior court judges and three court commissioners, so hearings are set on this court's own calendars rather than on a judge's rotation between counties.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue. Yakima County is the practical county when the decedent lived here at death, even though the statute lets a petitioner select any county (RCW 11.96A.050(4)). If the decedent lived elsewhere in Washington, file there instead: an interested party can move venue to the county of residence within four months of the notice of appointment, and the creditor notice has to be published in the county of residence anyway (RCW 11.40.020(2)).
- 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 reasonable 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, and the clerk's own materials say plainly that title to real estate cannot be changed that way.
- Prepare the documents. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition, the oath of the personal representative, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney; the clerk's Deceased Persons page says the same thing in its own words. Yakima County adds its own local forms where they exist, including a Creditor's Claim and, for the will repository, a Will Repository Cover Sheet and a Motion and Order to Withdraw Will. Use the statewide superior court case cover sheet for the new case, and check the clerk's Format Guidelines for Pleadings and Attachments before you print: under GR 14 filed papers may not include colored pages, highlighting or other colored markings, only original inked signatures are accepted at the counter, and a document that does not comply with GR 14 needs a case cover sheet.
- File with the Yakima County Clerk. Three ways in. In person at the main counter, 128 North 2nd Street, Room 323, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. By mail to the same address. Or electronically through eFileWA, the Administrative Office of the Courts program hosted by Tyler Technologies, which the Yakima County Clerk participates in for superior court filings; it is optional here, no Yakima local rule requires it, and there is no charge for the service itself. Three eFileWA exclusions matter in a probate: ex parte filings must follow the court's ex parte process instead, civil protection orders are not accepted, and judicial working copies and bench copies are not supported. Whichever way you file, the original will is lodged with the clerk, which is a paper step.
- 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)), and listed as "Probate/Guardianship/Tedra $290.00, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" on the Yakima County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025. A filer who cannot afford it may ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the clerk publishes the GR 34 motion, statement and order forms. Note that fee waivers do not reach copy charges, and that copies bought at the counter are cash or business check only, with card payments taken online.
- Present the petition on the ex parte docket, or mail it in. An ex parte docket sits 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (Clerk's Docket Schedule, effective June 1, 2026), and all ex parte dockets are in person. A party who cannot attend has a published alternative: mail the documents to the County Clerk with a $30.00 ex parte fee, which the clerk's schedule prices as a single submission of one to five proposed orders per case (RCW 36.18.016(12)). Because nobody argues a mailed submission, everything the court needs has to be in the envelope.
- Note a hearing where the matter needs one. A Note for Motion Docket, on the form published with the court's local rules, accompanies any motion not agreed by all parties (LCR 7(b)(1)). Yakima's probate docket sits Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (Clerk's Docket Schedule, effective June 1, 2026), while civil motions other than family law are heard Fridays at 1:30 p.m. and the Court Administrator posts the schedule of special calendars, including the probate motion calendar (LCR 7(b)(3)). Probate cases are exempt from filing a Case Scheduling Order (LCR 40(a)(3)(B)(13)), and probate hearings need no confirmation call, unlike most other civil hearings (LCR 7(b)(5)).
- Appear at the courthouse, or ask for permission to appear remotely. Probate is not one of the dockets that runs on Zoom by default. Criminal and domestic dockets do; for probate and every other docket, Zoom is available only on the approval of the judge hearing the case. Submit the court's online Remote Appearance Request Form at least two days ahead, and if you are inside two court days call (509) 574-2721 as well. The Zoom link is emailed after 4:00 p.m. the afternoon before, and courtroom and Zoom assignments post to the court's calendars by the end of business the day before. Telephonic argument is a separate route, allowed on the hearing judge's approval obtained through the Court Administrator, with the requesting party initiating and paying for the conference call and the moving party supplying a proposed order beforehand (LCR 7(b)(4)); email requests go to the Court Administrator on the civil line, (509) 574-2704.
- Receive the letters. The clerk issues letters testamentary or letters of administration and files the oath of the personal representative appointed in the case, a function its own page describes as quasi-judicial. A certified copy of the letters, which is what a bank or title company will ask for, is $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)); a certified copy of any other document in the file is $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)). If the court awards a vehicle or vessel, complete the Department of Licensing Affidavit of Inheritance/Litigation, the form the clerk calls Form K, and present it to the clerk for signature and verification ($5, RCW 36.18.016(5)).
- 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 the notice 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 opens the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051); the Yakima County court has signed orders designating five newspapers for that purpose. Collect the assets, pay valid claims, sell Yakima 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 and sale confirmations go back on the probate docket.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Yakima County
Washington has no statewide probate form set, and that is worth saying plainly because it surprises people who expect a fill-in packet. The Washington Courts forms index at courts.wa.gov publishes statewide forms for family law, guardianship and conservatorship, criminal, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, protection order and access-to-court matters, among others, and it publishes the superior court case cover sheets and the GR 34 fee-waiver forms, but there is no probate category. The Yakima County Clerk's own Deceased Persons page says the same thing about probate litigation: the Washington State Courts do not have forms to assist you with it. The petition, the oath of the personal representative, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney.
Yakima County does publish local forms, and it labels them that way. Under "Probate & Estate Matters" on the clerk's forms page you will find a Creditor's Claim; a Small Estate Affidavit for a decedent who was a Washington resident; a Written Notice To Successor Regarding Small Claim Affidavit, which is filed together with the affidavit; and Form K, the Washington State Department of Licensing Affidavit of Inheritance/Litigation, which the clerk signs and verifies to retitle a vehicle or vessel. The clerk's Living Persons page adds what it calls forms used locally in Yakima Superior Court for the will repository: a Will Repository Cover Sheet to deposit an original will under RCW 11.12.265, and a Motion and Order to Withdraw Will, on which the order is the first page and the motion begins on the second, together with a Withdrawal of Will from Repository Cover Sheet.
Two more sheets apply to any case type and are easy to overlook. The statewide superior court case cover sheet goes with a new case, and the clerk's eFileWA guidance adds that a case cover sheet is required for any pleading that does not comply with GR 14. The clerk also publishes a Generic Pleading Cover Page, a Notice of Hearing form, a Notice of Address Change, a Request for an Interpreter, and Format Guidelines for Pleadings and Attachments, and the court publishes the Note for Motion Docket form with its local rules for any motion that is not agreed (LCR 7(b)(1)).
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; the clerk's own pages link it. Confirm a Yakima County form's current version on the clerk's forms page before relying on it, and be aware that Clerk's Office staff are prevented by law from giving legal advice and cannot tell you which form your situation needs.
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 Yakima County adds are the service charges on its own schedule that an estate runs into in practice. Every figure below is published by the Yakima County Clerk on the Yakima County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025, and several carry their own statutory authority. Note two counter rules the clerk publishes alongside them: fee waivers do not apply to copy charges, and copies bought in person are cash or business check only, with cards accepted for copies ordered online.
| Charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Ex parte presentation fee | $30 (RCW 36.18.016(12)) | A single submission of one to five proposed orders per case, including the mail-in route for a party who cannot attend the in-person ex parte docket |
| Certified copy of the letters testamentary, letters of administration or letters of guardianship | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The certified proof of authority a bank, brokerage or title company asks for; the clerk's schedule prices a certificate of qualifications separately at $20 |
| Form K, Affidavit of Inheritance/Litigation | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(5)) | The clerk's signature and verification on the Department of Licensing affidavit used to retitle a vehicle or vessel from the estate |
| Certified copy of a document | $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)) | Certified copies of the order, the will or anything else in the estate file; an exemplified copy is $9 for the first page plus $1 per additional page |
| Filing a will after death with no probate | $20 (RCW 36.18.012(7)) | Lodging the original will with the clerk where no probate of the decedent's estate is contemplated |
| Will repository deposit or withdrawal | $20 (RCW 36.18.016(28)) | Depositing or withdrawing the original will of a living person; the clerk notes a new fee is required to re-deposit a withdrawn will |
| Trust and estate dispute filings | $20 for a nonjudicial binding agreement filed in an existing case (RCW 36.18.012(8)); $290 filed as a new case or as a summons and petition (RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)) | Proceedings under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act; a certification of trust is $20 and registration of a trust is $290 |
| Petition to contest a will, admit a rejected will, or object to a written agreement | $290 (RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)) | Estate litigation opened after the probate; a nonprobate notice to creditors where no probate is filed is also $290 |
| Electronic working copies | $40 | Submitting judges' working copies electronically; eFileWA does not carry working copies, so check with the clerk before choosing this route |
| Extra handling or faulty document fee | $15 per document | Each incomplete or incorrect document presented to the clerk |
| Records search by staff | $30 per hour, one hour minimum (RCW 36.18.016(11)) | Asking the clerk to research records rather than searching Odyssey Portal yourself |
| Copies | Paper at the counter $1 for the first page plus $0.50 per page after; paper mailed $2 for the first page plus $0.50 after; emailed $0.25 per page (RCW 36.18.016(4)) | Copies of anything in the estate file. Postage is $3, and a $7 handling fee applies to mailed items when no self-addressed stamped envelope is provided |
| Copy of a court hearing recording | $25 per hearing (RCW 36.18.016(13)) | Ordering the recording of a probate hearing; a copy on compact disc adds $20 |
| Dishonored payment service charge | $35 per item | A returned check or failed payment on a filing or service fee |
Timeline
- Ex parte first, if the matter needs no notice. An ex parte docket sits 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (Clerk's Docket Schedule, effective June 1, 2026), so there is an ex parte session every weekday afternoon rather than a weekly window. All ex parte dockets are in person; a party who cannot attend may instead mail the documents to the County Clerk with the $30.00 ex parte fee.
- The probate docket sits Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (Clerk's Docket Schedule, effective June 1, 2026). Separately, civil motions other than family law are heard Fridays at 1:30 p.m., and the Court Administrator posts the schedule of special calendars, including the probate motion calendar, on the court's website (LCR 7(b)(3)). Because a judge's personal motions and special-set hearings run through the Court Administrator's Office, check the current calendars rather than assuming a day.
- A Note for Motion Docket accompanies any motion that is not agreed by all parties (LCR 7(b)(1)). The Clerk's Office tells filers in non-family-law cases to file their motion and supporting papers with the clerk at least five days before the day they want the matter heard, so build that into the date you pick.
- Probate hearings do not need to be confirmed. Confirmation is required for most non-criminal hearings, and an unconfirmed hearing is stricken, but LCR 7(b)(5) expressly exempts probate, along with guardianship, protection order, paternity, unlawful detainer, supplemental proceedings, dependency and adoption hearings. Probate cases are also exempt from filing a Case Scheduling Order (LCR 40(a)(3)(B)(13)).
- Request remote attendance at least two days before the hearing. Probate is not a Zoom-by-default docket: Zoom is available for it only on the approval of the judge hearing the case. Submit the online Remote Appearance Request Form, and if you are inside two court days also call (509) 574-2721. The Zoom details are emailed after 4:00 p.m. the afternoon before the hearing, and courtroom and Zoom assignments post to the court's calendars by the end of business the day before.
- Check the calendar the day before. The Clerk's Office publishes a Probate calendar PDF that it updates the day before the session, alongside the court's daily main calendar, so you can confirm your matter and its courtroom without calling.
- Build in the statutory clocks that run alongside the court's calendar: notice of the 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 a designated Yakima County legal newspaper, opening the four-month claim bar, with a creditor given actual notice having the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after first publication (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)); 40 days after death before a small estate affidavit may be used, and 10 days after written notice to the other successors (RCW 11.62.010); and four months from the mailing of the notice of appointment for any party who wants the case moved to the county of residence (RCW 11.96A.050(4)(a)).
Local nuance
Yakima County-specific considerations
Yakima County publishes its own docket schedule, and that is the most useful local fact for an estate. Under the Clerk's Docket Schedule effective June 1, 2026, the probate docket sits Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., and an ex parte docket sits 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. every weekday. The local rules add the rest of the picture: civil motions other than family law are heard Fridays at 1:30 p.m., and the Court Administrator posts a schedule of special calendars, including the probate motion calendar, on the court's website (LCR 7(b)(3)). Two exemptions cut in the filer's favor. Probate hearings are among the hearings that need no confirmation call, where most other non-criminal hearings are stricken if they are not confirmed (LCR 7(b)(5)), and probate cases do not have to file a Case Scheduling Order (LCR 40(a)(3)(B)(13)). The current rule set is the Yakima County Superior Court Local Court Rules, effective September 1, 2025; in 2025 the court amended six rules, none of them probate rules, and in 2026 it published proposed amendments to LCR 59 and to its family law, guardianship and criminal rules for comment.
Electronic filing here is real but optional, and its exclusions matter. The Yakima County Clerk's Office participates in the Administrative Office of the Courts eFileWA program, hosted by Tyler Technologies, for superior court case filings; there is no charge for the service, registration and training run through Tyler, and support comes from Tyler rather than court staff. Yakima has no local general rule making e-filing mandatory for attorneys or anyone else, and the clerk states that local clerk policies will be developed and updated as needed. Three exclusions bite in a probate: ex parte filings are told to stay off the platform and follow the court's ex parte process, civil protection orders are not accepted, and eFileWA does not support judicial working copies or bench copies, so bench copies still follow the local rules. Fax filing is not a walk-up alternative either: the clerk publishes no fax line for filings and its fee schedule prices a fax contract at a $200 base adjusted by usage.
The in-person ex parte docket has a published mail-in alternative, which is what makes a Yakima County probate workable from a distance. All ex parte dockets have returned to in-person appearance, but a party who cannot attend may mail the documents to the County Clerk with a $30.00 ex parte fee, priced on the clerk's schedule as a single submission of one to five proposed orders per case (RCW 36.18.016(12)). Nothing gets argued on a mailed submission, so the packet has to be complete. Remote attendance is the narrower route: criminal and domestic dockets run on Zoom, but for probate and every other docket Zoom is available only on the approval of the judge hearing the case, requested through the court's online Remote Appearance Request Form at least two days ahead.
Two more Yakima specifics are worth knowing before you file. First, the court has signed orders designating five legal newspapers, which is where the creditor notice under RCW 11.40.020 gets published: the Yakima Herald-Republic, a daily, designated in 1968; the Daily Sun News, weekly every Wednesday, 1989; the Grandview Herald, weekly, 1941; the Review Independent, weekly, 2008, formed by the merger of the Wapato Independent and the Toppenish Review; and the Selah Independent, weekly, 2008. Second, the Clerk's Office is also a will repository for living persons under RCW 11.12.265, with its own cover sheets, a $20 fee to deposit or withdraw, a sealed file that only the index is public in, and a rule that the testator may withdraw a will with identification while anyone else needs a court order. Once the person has died, that same file can be converted to a will-only filing for $20 with a copy of the death certificate where no probate is contemplated (RCW 36.18.012(7)), or the will can be lodged in a probate the ordinary way. The court also has a local route for a will locked in a safe deposit box: on a petition showing the jurisdictional facts and the belief that the will is in a box the decedent could reach, the court may order the custodian to open the box in the petitioner's presence and deliver any document purporting to be the will to the petitioner's counsel or to the Clerk's Office for immediate filing (LCR 90). Once a will or estate claim is in the file, it cannot leave the Clerk's Office without a court order (LCR 79(d)(1)).
Small-estate Alternatives
Yakima County is one of the counties that publishes its own small estate paperwork, so the affidavit route has a concrete local path here rather than a statute to read alone. The clerk's Deceased Persons page publishes a Small Estate Affidavit and a companion Written Notice To Successor Regarding Small Claim Affidavit that is filed with it, and it states the conditions in its own words: the decedent was a Washington resident at death, the value of the entire estate does not exceed $100,000, and title to real estate cannot be changed by this procedure (RCW 11.62.010). A certified copy of the death certificate has to be attached at the time of filing, and the clerk's fee schedule sets the filing charge, so check the current schedule rather than assuming the affidavit is free to file.
Two local steps are easy to miss. Once the affidavit is filed, the claiming successor is responsible for sending a conformed copy to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Financial Recovery (RCW 11.62.010(5)); the clerk does not do it for you. And if the estate includes a vehicle or vessel, those are personal property that the affidavit reaches, but retitling them takes the Department of Licensing Affidavit of Inheritance/Litigation, the form the clerk calls Form K, completed first and then presented to the clerk for signature and verification for $5 (RCW 36.18.016(5)). The clerk's own guidance is to consult an attorney if real property is involved or the decedent was not a Washington resident, because the affidavit route cannot carry either. The statewide timing and eligibility rules for this route are on the Washington state page.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2026 | A new Clerk's Docket Schedule took effect. It sets the probate docket on Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and an ex parte docket 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and it moves minor guardianships and adoptions to the Juvenile Justice Center. Check the current schedule before noting a hearing. | Clerk's Docket Schedule Effective June 1, 2026, yakimacounty.us Calendars & Schedules |
| July 27, 2025 | The Yakima County Clerk's current fee schedule took effect. It carries the $290 probate filing fee with the RCW 36.18.020(2), (5) and (6) authority, the $30 ex parte presentation fee, the $20 will-only and will repository fees, the $5 letters and Form K fees, and the $15 faulty document fee. The summary table on the clerk's web page is older than the schedule itself, so use the schedule. | Yakima County Clerks Fees, Transaction Codes & Fees, yakimacounty.us Fee Schedule / Price List |
| September 1, 2025 | The current Yakima County Superior Court Local Court Rules took effect. In 2025 the court amended six rules, none of them probate rules: Local General Rule 16, Local Civil Arbitration Rule 3.1, Local Family Law Rules 3 and 8, Local Guardianship Rule 2, and Local Administrative Rule 13 with three attachments. | Yakima County Superior Court Local Court Rules, courts.wa.gov local rules index |
| May 18, 2026 | The comment period closed on the bench's proposed amendments to Local Civil Rule 59 and to the Local Family Law, Local Guardianship and Local Criminal Rules. Under the court's own rulemaking schedule adopted rules take effect the following September 1, so check the current rule set before relying on a rule number. | Current Local Rules and Forms, yakimacounty.us |
| February 4, 2025 | All minor guardianship hearings moved to Juvenile Court at 1728 Jerome Avenue. Probate filing and the probate docket stay at the courthouse, 128 North 2nd Street. | Superior Court notice, yakimacounty.us |
| Current practice | The Clerk's Office participates in the Administrative Office of the Courts eFileWA program for superior court filings and states that local clerk policies will be developed and updated as needed. Ex parte filings, civil protection orders and judicial working copies stay off the platform. All ex parte dockets have returned to in-person appearance, with a mail-in option carrying a $30.00 ex parte fee. | eFileWA and Court Docket Information by case type, yakimacounty.us |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Yakima County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Yakima, Selah or Sunnyside 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 by recording with the Yakima County Auditor's Recording division rather than by a Superior Court order. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need probate. Where they do, the survivor petitions the Superior Court in Yakima County for letters and for nonintervention powers, which RCW 11.68.011 directs the court to grant a surviving spouse or domestic partner in a solvent all-community-property intestate estate with no outside issue, and the estate is then administered without further court supervision. The petition can be presented on the ex parte docket, which sits every weekday afternoon, or mailed in with the $30 ex parte fee. If the sole-name property is only personal property and modest, the clerk's own Small Estate Affidavit may reach it 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 with its companion notice to successor, or for the petition, cover sheet and nonintervention powers request. Guidance on the recording step for title. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Yakima County and left a modest estate holding only personal property, a claiming successor can often collect it with the clerk's Small Estate Affidavit presented to whoever holds the property, with no Yakima County court case at all (RCW 11.62.010); the certified death certificate is attached at filing and a conformed copy goes to the Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Financial Recovery. Where a probate is needed, the child can file by mail to Room 323 or electronically through eFileWA, and can present an ex parte matter by mailing the documents to the County Clerk with the $30 ex parte fee instead of attending the in-person docket. Remote attendance at a probate hearing is possible but not automatic: it takes the hearing judge's approval, requested at least two days ahead. 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 and proposed letters, ready to mail or e-file. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger or contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Probate in the Superior Court in Yakima County. With no will, the parent applies for letters of administration under the RCW 11.28.120(1) priority order, and the application must now set out the heirs and the applicant's reasonable search for them under the 2026 amendments to RCW 11.28.110. The parent petitions for nonintervention powers and then sells the child's Yakima County real estate under that authority before distributing; a probate needing a hearing goes on the probate docket, which sits Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Without nonintervention powers, a motion to confirm the sale of real estate goes back on that same docket. The affidavit route is unavailable once real property is in the estate, and the clerk says so directly. If heirs disagree, a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed for $290 as a new case, or $20 as a nonjudicial binding agreement in the existing one. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, policies and property, which is also what RCW 11.28.110 now expects the application to describe. Packet generation for the administration application, the nonintervention powers petition and the sale papers. Attorney referral to handle a contested step or a disputed sale. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Yakima County Clerk of Superior Court (yakimacounty.us/154/Clerk-of-Superior-Court) | The filing office's own site: hours and locations, the Wills, Probate & Guardianship pages, the local probate and will repository forms, the fee schedule, the eFileWA page, Odyssey Portal registration, the legal newspaper list, and the clerk's docket calendars |
| Wills, Probate & Guardianship, Deceased Persons and Living Persons pages (yakimacounty.us) | The clerk's own plain-language pages on small estates, probate litigation, Form K for vehicles and vessels, the creditor's claim form, and the will repository, including the step of sending a conformed small estate affidavit to the Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Financial Recovery |
| Clerk's Docket Schedule and the court's calendars (yakimacounty.us Calendars & Schedules) | The published docket schedule effective June 1, 2026, showing the probate docket Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and an ex parte docket 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, plus the Probate calendar PDF the Clerk's Office updates the day before each session and the court's daily main calendar with courtroom assignments |
| Yakima County Superior Court Local Court Rules (courts.wa.gov and yakimacounty.us/2457/Current-Local-Rules) | The rules that actually govern a Yakima County probate: LCR 7 on motions, calendars, confirmation and telephonic argument; LCR 40 on the case scheduling exemption for probate; LCR 79 on records kept by the clerk; and LCR 90 on producing a will from a safe deposit box. Current set effective September 1, 2025, with proposed amendments published for comment |
| eFileWA (efilewa.tylertech.cloud) | The Administrative Office of the Courts electronic filing program the Yakima County Clerk participates in, for superior court filings; optional here, free to use, with registration and training through Tyler Technologies and support at [email protected] or 800-297-5377. Ex parte filings, civil protection orders and judicial working copies are excluded |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal) | The superior court case search covering Yakima County; the clerk's own Find My Case link points to the Yakima dashboard. For subscriber access the clerk publishes a subscription agreement, a registration form and a confidentiality agreement submitted to [email protected], (509) 574-1458 |
| Yakima County Law Library (yakimacounty.us/807/Law-Library) | The county law library at 18 E Lincoln Ave, Yakima, WA 98901, (509) 574-2692, with print and online legal research resources and two terminals offering free Westlaw access. Public access is Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or by appointment by leaving a message; printing, copying and scanning are $0.15 per copy. Confirm hours before going |
| Court Facilitator, Yakima County Superior Court (yakimacounty.us Court Facilitator) | Help choosing, completing and filing court documents, and scheduling hearings, by appointment only with a $75 fee paid before the appointment, and for family law matters only: contempt, custody modification, divorce, legal separation, minor guardianship and guardianship, paternity and support modification. The facilitator does not assist with probate, so do not plan an estate around it |
| 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 clerk's pages link it. The site blocks some automated fetchers, so open it in a browser |
| Washington Courts court forms and directory (courts.wa.gov/forms and courts.wa.gov/court_dir) | The statewide superior court case cover sheets and the GR 34 fee waiver forms, plus the court directory entry confirming the Yakima County Clerk's address, room and phone. There is no statewide probate forms category |
| Court interpreters and language assistance (yakimacounty.us) | The court publishes interpreter request instructions and a Request for Interpreter Services form, and the county site offers page translation, which matters in a county where court materials are routinely published in English and Spanish |
| Washington State Bar Association and CLEAR (wsba.org and nwjustice.org) | Statewide lawyer referral through the bar association, and free civil legal help for income-eligible residents through the Northwest Justice Project's CLEAR intake line. Confirm that a program handles probate before relying on it, because probate is not among every legal aid program's intake priorities |
When to hire an attorney
Many Yakima 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), because a self-represented filer can file at the counter, and because the clerk publishes the local forms and the docket schedule you need. Counsel makes more sense when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt, because nonintervention powers depend on solvency; when there is a will contest, a petition to admit a rejected will, or a fight over who should serve, each of which opens as a $290 filing of its own; when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed; when the estate holds an orchard, farm, or other business interest, out-of-state property, or Yakima 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; and when a matter has to be argued rather than mailed in, because Clerk's Office staff are prevented by law from giving legal advice and the Court Facilitator handles family law rather than probate. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Yakima 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, Yakima County real estate, agricultural and 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 Yakima County filing: the small estate affidavit with its companion notice to successor where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the superior court case cover sheet, the oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters, plus the nonintervention powers request, ready to file at the Room 323 counter, to mail, or to submit through eFileWA.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is insolvent or contested, when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed, or when a matter has to be argued on the probate docket, Sunset connects families to a vetted Yakima 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 Yakima County, Washington?
With the Yakima County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, at the main counter in the Yakima County Courthouse, 128 North 2nd Street, Room 323, Yakima, WA 98901, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Mail goes to the same address, and the clerk's phone is (509) 574-1430. Washington has no separate probate court, so the Superior Court in Yakima County handles probate as a case type under Title 11 of the Revised Code of Washington. Do not go to 1728 Jerome Avenue: that is the clerk's Juvenile Division counter, where minor guardianship hearings have been heard since February 4, 2025, and it is not a probate filing location. Washington law lets the petitioner file a probate in the superior court of any county in the state (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but in practice you file in the county where the decedent lived, 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 e-file a probate in Yakima County?
Yes, and you do not have to. The Yakima County Clerk's Office participates in eFileWA, the Administrative Office of the Courts electronic filing program hosted by Tyler Technologies at efilewa.tylertech.cloud, for superior court case filings. No Yakima County local rule makes e-filing mandatory for attorneys or for self-represented filers, and the clerk says local clerk policies will be developed and updated as needed, so paper at the counter and filing by mail both remain available. There is no charge for the service itself, though filing fees and ecommerce transaction fees still apply. Three exclusions matter in a probate: ex parte filings should not use the platform and must follow the court's ex parte process instead, civil protection order filings are not accepted, and eFileWA does not support judicial working copies or bench copies. Registration, training and technical support all run through Tyler at [email protected] or 800-297-5377.
When is the probate calendar in Yakima County?
The Clerk's Docket Schedule effective June 1, 2026 puts the probate docket on Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., and an ex parte docket runs 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Separately, civil motions other than family law are heard Fridays at 1:30 p.m., and the Court Administrator posts the schedule of special calendars, including the probate motion calendar, on the court's website (LCR 7(b)(3)). A Note for Motion Docket goes with any motion not agreed by all parties (LCR 7(b)(1)), and the Clerk's Office tells non-family-law filers to file the motion and supporting papers at least five days before the day they want it heard. One thing you do not have to do: probate hearings need no confirmation call, even though most other non-criminal hearings are stricken if they are not confirmed (LCR 7(b)(5)).
How much does it cost to file probate in Yakima County?
$290 to open a probate. The fee is set by statute and is the same in every Washington county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and Yakima County's own schedule lists it as "Probate/Guardianship/Tedra $290.00, RCW 36.18.020(2,5,6)" (Yakima County Clerk's fee schedule, effective July 27, 2025). A filer who cannot afford it may ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the clerk publishes the GR 34 motion, statement and order forms. Yakima County also charges service fees a probate runs into: $30 to present an ex parte submission of up to five orders (RCW 36.18.016(12)), $5 for a certified copy of the letters (RCW 36.18.016(9)), $5 for Form K on a vehicle or vessel, $20 to file a will after death where no probate is contemplated (RCW 36.18.012(7)), and $15 for each incomplete or incorrect document. Fee waivers do not reach copy charges, and counter copies are cash or business check only.
Can I attend a Yakima County probate hearing by Zoom?
Only with permission. Yakima County Superior Court runs its criminal and domestic dockets on Zoom, but for every other docket, probate included, Zoom is available only on the approval of the judge hearing the case, and in-person appearance is the default. Submit the court's online Remote Appearance Request Form at least two days before the hearing; if you are inside two court days, also call the Court Administrator's Office at (509) 574-2721. The Zoom meeting ID and passcode are emailed after 4:00 p.m. the afternoon before the hearing, and courtroom and Zoom assignments post to the court's calendars by the end of business the day before. Telephonic argument is a separate route allowed on the hearing judge's approval through the Court Administrator, with the requesting party initiating and paying for the conference call and the moving party supplying a proposed order in advance (LCR 7(b)(4)); requests for civil matters go to (509) 574-2704.
How do I look up a Yakima County probate case?
Through Odyssey Portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal, which is the current superior court case search for Yakima County and for the other 36 Washington counties outside King and Pierce; the clerk's own Find My Case link opens the Yakima dashboard there. The Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov is a pointer index only, and its own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate before routing superior court lookups to Odyssey Portal. For subscriber-level portal access the clerk publishes a subscription agreement, a registration form and a confidentiality agreement submitted to [email protected], (509) 574-1458. If you just want to know when your matter is up, the Clerk's Office posts a Probate calendar PDF that it updates the day before each session. Asking the clerk to research records instead costs $30 per hour with a one hour minimum (RCW 36.18.016(11)).
What probate forms does Yakima County require?
Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, and the Yakima County Clerk says the same thing on its own Deceased Persons page: the state courts do not have forms for probate litigation. The petition, the oath of the personal representative, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. Yakima County does publish local forms for the pieces around them: a Creditor's Claim, a Small Estate Affidavit, a Written Notice To Successor Regarding Small Claim Affidavit filed with it, Form K for retitling a vehicle or vessel, and for the will repository a Will Repository Cover Sheet, a Motion and Order to Withdraw Will, and a Withdrawal of Will from Repository Cover Sheet. Add the statewide superior court case cover sheet for the new case, the Note for Motion Docket for any motion that is not agreed, and the clerk's Format Guidelines for Pleadings and Attachments, which reflect GR 14's ban on colored pages, highlighting and colored markings and the requirement of original inked signatures.
Where does the creditor notice for a Yakima County estate get published?
In a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered, once each week for three successive weeks, which opens the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051). Yakima County Superior Court has signed orders designating five: the Yakima Herald-Republic, a daily paper designated in 1968; the Daily Sun News, published weekly every Wednesday, 1989; the Grandview Herald, weekly, 1941; the Review Independent, weekly, 2008, formed by the merger of the Wapato Independent and the Toppenish Review; and the Selah Independent, weekly, 2008. The list matters beyond convenience: if a probate for a Yakima County resident is filed in a different county, the creditor notice still has to be published here in the county of residence (RCW 11.40.020(2)). A creditor given actual notice has the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after first publication (RCW 11.40.051(1)(a)).
Can the Yakima County Court Facilitator help me with a probate?
No. Yakima County Superior Court employs a Court Facilitator who will explain procedures, help you choose and complete documents, review them for completeness, file them and schedule hearings, by appointment only and with a $75 fee paid before the appointment, but the published list of matters covers family law only: contempt, custody modification, divorce, legal separation, minor guardianship and guardianship, paternity and support modification. Probate is not on it. Clerk's Office staff are separately prevented by law from giving legal advice and cannot tell you which form your estate needs. For self-help on an estate, use the clerk's own Wills, Probate & Guardianship pages, WashingtonLawHelp at washingtonlawhelp.org, or the Yakima County Law Library at 18 E Lincoln Ave, (509) 574-2692, which offers free Westlaw terminals with public access Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or by appointment.
Do I have to travel to Yakima to settle the estate?
Often not, though the county leans in person more than some. You can file the petition by mail to 128 North 2nd Street, Room 323, or electronically through eFileWA. All ex parte dockets are in person, but a party who cannot attend may mail the documents to the County Clerk with a $30.00 ex parte fee, which is the practical route for an out-of-area personal representative. Remote attendance at a probate hearing is possible but not automatic: it needs the hearing judge's approval, requested at least two days ahead on the court's online Remote Appearance Request Form. Two things are hard to do at a distance. The original will is lodged with the clerk on paper, and copies bought at the counter are cash or business check only, though copies ordered through the county's website can be paid by card and mailed for $2 for the first page plus $0.50 per page after, with a $7 handling fee where no self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.
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.