Forms for Planning Your Estate in Washington

In Washington, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony.

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8 forms for Washington

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Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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Free

Last Will and Testament

In Washington, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony.

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Free

Pour-Over Will

In Washington, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

Washington allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2 witnesses or a notary.

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Free

Financial Power of Attorney

Washington requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacity, and it is signed before 2 witnesses or a notary.

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Free

Transfer on Death Deed

In Washington, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notary, then recorded with the county before the owner's death.

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Free

Vehicle Transfer on Death

Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.

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Free

Living Will

In Washington, the living will is the Health Care Directive, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.

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Washington requires 2 witnesses present when the testator signs. A gift to a witness who is also a beneficiary raises a rebuttable presumption of undue influence in Washington and can limit that witness to an intestate share, so the usual practice is disinterested witnesses.

No. Washington does not recognize holographic (handwritten) wills. A will must be typed or printed and signed with the formalities Washington requires; a Washington probate court will not accept an unwitnessed handwritten document.

Washington requires 2 witnesses, each at least 18 years old and present when you sign, and your healthcare provider cannot serve as one.

Washington does not require notarization when the witnesses sign, and accepts a notary acknowledgment in their place; the document carries both blocks.

Washington prescribes no form. The deed must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor's death.

Forms for Planning Your Estate in Washington

A complete estate plan is a small set of documents, each with its own job. A last will names who inherits, names an executor, and names a guardian for minor children, and it takes effect only after death and through probate. A revocable living trust holds property during life and passes it at death without a court process; a pour-over will sits beside it to catch anything left outside the trust. A financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney name who acts if you cannot, and they end at death. A transfer on death deed, in the states that allow one, passes a home to a named beneficiary outside probate.

A healthcare power of attorney in Washington is signed before 2 witnesses or a notary. In Washington, probate on a $500,000 estate costs about $27,599, and a simple estate closes in 4 months to 6 months. Washington levies an estate tax above $3,000,000 and no inheritance tax.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

Legal Sources

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RCW 64.80.010 to 64.80.904
RCW 83.100.020(1)(a)(x), 83.100.040(2)(a)(iii); ESB 6347 (Ch. 209, Laws of 2026)

Data sourced from Washington statutes and official state code. How we research.