Estate Planning in Washington
Washington is a community property state with its own estate tax — and the exemption is about $3 million, not $15 million. That gap is where plans fail.
Most Washington families we talk to have done the federal math: $15 million per person in 2026, so no estate tax to worry about. Then we do the Washington math, and the room goes quiet.
Washington imposes its own estate tax on top of the federal one, with an exemption around $3 million — roughly one-fifth of the federal amount. A Seattle-area home with real equity, a couple of retirement accounts, and a life insurance policy can cross that line without anyone in the family feeling wealthy. The tax is paid by the estate before your heirs receive anything, at rates that reach 35%.
How Washington is different
The estate-tax trap. For 2026, Washington's exemption is $3,076,000 for deaths January through June and $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, with rates of 10% to 35% in the first half of the year and 10% to 20% in the second half. The law has moved quickly — the exemption and rates both changed in 2025 and again in 2026 — which means plans drafted even a few years ago may be operating on stale numbers. If your plan was built when the exemption was $2.193 million, or when the top rate was 20%, it deserves a fresh look.
No portability. At the federal level, a surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused exemption. Washington offers no such thing. If the first spouse to die leaves everything outright to the survivor, that spouse's Washington exemption is simply wasted — and the survivor is left facing the tax with a single exemption. Married couples need credit shelter (bypass) trusts or disclaimer-based planning to actually use both exemptions.
Community property — with a double step-up. Washington is a community property state, and that carries a powerful income-tax benefit: at the first death, both halves of community property receive a stepped-up basis to fair market value, not just the deceased spouse's half. On a highly appreciated home or portfolio, that erases a lifetime of capital gains. But aggressive estate-tax planning can accidentally destroy basis benefits, so the two strategies must be designed together, not in isolation.
Probate under TEDRA. Washington probate is famously manageable. Under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act, a personal representative granted nonintervention powers can administer the estate with minimal ongoing court involvement. It is still public, it still takes months, and it still requires competent administration — but Washington is one state where the probate-avoidance case rests more on privacy, incapacity planning, and control than on probate being a nightmare.
Transfer-on-death deeds. Washington authorizes transfer-on-death deeds for real property — record before death, revocable while you live, no probate for that parcel.
What we prepare
- Wills — who receives what, who serves as personal representative, and who is named guardian for minor children.
- Revocable living trusts — including credit shelter (bypass) trust provisions so married couples actually use both Washington exemptions.
- Irrevocable trusts — where estate-tax exposure or asset protection calls for moving appreciation out of the taxable estate.
- Transfer-on-death deeds — for Washington real property passing outside probate.
- Durable powers of attorney — so someone can manage your financial affairs if you become unable to.
- Health care directives — Washington's health care directive and durable power of attorney for health care, so your care decisions rest with a person you chose.
- Beneficiary designation review — retirement accounts and life insurance pass by designation, not by will, and a stale designation quietly overrides everything else you signed.
The part most plans get wrong
A trust only governs the assets that were actually transferred into it. Deeds have to be signed and recorded. Accounts have to be retitled. Beneficiary forms have to be updated. This is called funding, and it is where a great many estate plans quietly fail — the documents were drafted correctly, handed over in a binder, and the assets were left sitting exactly where they were. An unfunded bypass trust is just expensive paper.
Funding is part of the engagement, not a homework assignment. We identify what needs to move, prepare the deeds, and tell you plainly which items you must complete with your own bank or plan administrator — and we confirm they were done.
Staying out of probate in Washington
Transfer-on-death deed — passes Washington real property to a named beneficiary at death; revocable during your lifetime.
Community property with right of survivorship — married couples may title community property so it passes to the surviving spouse automatically.
Payable-on-death accounts — bank accounts pass directly to the named person, outside probate.
Funded revocable trust — assets titled in the trust are distributed by the trustee, without court involvement — and can house the bypass provisions that preserve both spouses' exemptions.
None of these is right for everyone, and stacking them carelessly creates conflicts — a beneficiary designation that contradicts a will, or a deed that defeats the trust it was meant to feed. The value is in choosing the right combination for your circumstances, and in making the pieces agree with one another.
Who this is for
Washington homeowners whose equity has pushed them past $3 million without them noticing. Married couples who need both exemptions working, not one. Tech employees with concentrated stock positions. Parents of minor children who need a guardian named. Blended families, where the default rules of intestacy rarely produce what anyone intended. Business owners with a succession problem. And anyone carrying a plan drafted before Washington's 2025–2026 tax changes.
Common questions
Will my estate owe Washington estate tax?
Add up everything at market value: home equity, retirement accounts, life insurance you own, business interests, investment accounts. If the total exceeds roughly $3 million, Washington taxes the excess — at 10% to 35% for deaths in the first half of 2026, 10% to 20% in the second half. Many families cross that line with a house and a 401(k) while owing zero federal tax, since the federal exemption is $15 million per person.
We're married — do we get twice the Washington exemption?
Only with proper planning. Unlike the federal exemption, Washington's is not portable — the unused portion does not automatically transfer to the surviving spouse. Couples typically use credit shelter (bypass) trusts or disclaimer planning so both spouses' exemptions are actually used instead of wasted at the first death.
What is the community property step-up, and why does it matter?
In community property states like Washington, when one spouse dies, both halves of the community property receive a stepped-up income-tax basis to fair market value — not just the deceased spouse's half. On appreciated assets that can erase a lifetime of capital gains. The catch: estate-tax planning and basis planning can pull in opposite directions, so the two have to be designed together.
Is probate really that bad in Washington?
It is more manageable than in most states. Under TEDRA, a personal representative with nonintervention powers can administer the estate with minimal court involvement. It is still a public process, it still takes months, and it does nothing for incapacity planning or privacy — which is why many families still plan around it.
We moved from Texas to Washington. Does our estate plan still work?
The documents are usually still valid, and both states are community property states, which helps. But your tax posture is completely different: Texas has no state estate tax and Washington taxes estates over about $3 million. Any plan drafted for Texas should be reviewed for Washington estate-tax exposure, portability elections, and trust funding.
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