Washington's New Probate Laws: What Changed in 2026 (And What It Means for You)

If you're planning an estate, serving as a personal representative, or expecting to inherit from a loved one in Washington, there's a significant update you need to know about. Effective June 11, 2026, Washington State overhauled key parts of its probate code through EHB 2445, informally known as the "Ending Probates for Profit" legislation. Separately, the state's estate tax thresholds have also shifted over the past year. Together, these changes represent the most substantial rewrite of Washington probate practice in years.

Here's a plain-language breakdown of what's different, why lawmakers made these changes, and what it means for you.

An Important Note: May of these new laws do not apply to those probates where the deceased individual had a Last Will and Testament and that Will clearly nominates a Personal Representative and Beneficiaries.

Why the Law Changed

The push for reform came out of a troubling pattern uncovered by the Washington Attorney General's Office. Investigators found that a group of individuals had been petitioning courts to become personal representatives (administrators) for estates of people who died without a will, often strangers with no real connection to the deceased. Once appointed, they collected excessive fees and commissions, sold estate property, and in some documented cases took personal items for themselves, all while the rightful heirs remained unaware a probate was even underway. That case alone involved more than 200 estates and tens of millions of dollars in assets.

The legislature's response, HB 2445, passed unanimously and was signed into law to close the loopholes that made this kind of exploitation possible.

What's Different: Old Law vs. New Law

1. Who Can Serve as Personal Representative

Before: Washington's probate code gave courts relatively broad discretion to appoint a personal representative, and there were few explicit restrictions on unrelated third parties stepping in to administer an intestate estate (one where the person died without a will).

Now: The law creates a clear hierarchy of who may petition to serve, surviving spouses or domestic partners, next of kin, trustees, guardians, agents under a power of attorney, and creditors all have priority. For anyone outside those categories, essentially, people without a meaningful legal connection to the decease, new restrictions apply. Under amended RCW 11.28.120, an unconnected petitioner:

• Cannot be appointed until 90 days after the date of death, giving family time to come forward first

• Can only be paid for actual hours worked, not a percentage-based commission

• Cannot receive any estate assets for themselves

• Cannot be granted nonintervention powers, meaning they must get court approval before selling assets, paying creditors, or distributing funds to heirs

• Must post a bond equal to the estimated value of the estate's assets

• Cannot serve as a personal representative for more than two estates per year

2. Who Is Disqualified from Serving

Now: Amended RCW 11.36.010 expands the list of people who are barred outright from serving as a personal representative — in both testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will) probates. Disqualifying factors now include:

• Being a minor

• Having letters testamentary or letters of administration revoked for cause within the past 24 months

• Being found by a court or administrative agency to have engaged in dishonesty, theft, or a breach of fiduciary duty within the past 36 months

• Acting in concert with someone likely to be involved in buying, selling, repairing, or otherwise handling a major probate asset (closing off a common workaround where a bad actor would use an associate as a front)

Before: Washington's disqualification standards were narrower and didn't address recent findings of dishonesty or coordinated self-dealing.

3. New Reporting Requirements for Supervised Estates

Now: For probates that proceed under full court supervision (i.e., without nonintervention powers), EHB 2445 adds new transparency requirements to RCW 11.76.010:

• Declaration and Report Confirming Notice to Third Parties — due within 30 days of appointment, detailing who was notified, when, and how

• Declaration and Report Regarding Estate Financial Account — due within 30 days of opening the account, disclosing the bank, the date opened, and who's authorized on it

• Annual status reports, verified under oath, covering claims, assets received, and funds collected and distributed

• The right for any interested person to request a report at any time, generally due within 90 days

• Court authority to require a personal representative to appear in person, impose sanctions, or revoke their letters for failing to report

Before: Reporting obligations in supervised probates existed but were less structured, with fewer built-in deadlines and enforcement triggers.

4. A New "Closure Expectation" for Supervised Probates

Before: There was no clear statutory benchmark for how long a supervised probate should stay open.

Now: Under amended RCW 11.76.030, courts may presume an estate is ready to close 24 months after the personal representative's appointment. If it's still open at that point, the court can order the personal representative to file a final report and petition for distribution. It's not a hard deadline, but it signals a legislative push toward faster resolution.

What This Means for You

• If you're naming an executor in your will: Choosing a trusted family member or friend as your personal representative remains the best way to keep your estate out of the new restrictions aimed at unrelated third parties. It's also a strong argument for having an up-to-date will in the first place — dying intestate is what opens the door to these situations.

• If you're already serving as a personal representative: Nonintervention estates aren't heavily affected in day-to-day terms, but it's worth double-checking that you don't fall under any of the newly expanded disqualification categories. If your estate is under full court supervision, budget time for the new 30-day and annual reporting deadlines.

• If you're an heir or beneficiary: You now have clearer, faster tools to request status reports and hold a personal representative accountable if you suspect mismanagement, particularly in supervised administrations.

Washington's 2026 probate reforms are aimed squarely at closing the loopholes that allowed strangers to profit off deceased people's estates while leaving families in the dark. For the average family with a will and a nonintervention probate, day-to-day practice won't look dramatically different. But the expanded disqualification rules, new restrictions on unrelated administrators, and added reporting requirements for supervised estates mark a real shift toward transparency, and they're a good reminder to make sure your own estate plan is current.