Washington Probate Forms > Filling in the Probate Forms

Filling In the Probate Forms

See the sample Petition for Probate to the right.

1.  Court

• Fill in the county in which you will file or have filed.

2.  Caption

• Fill in Decedent's name.

3.  Case Number (also called "Cause Number")

• If your case has not yet been opened (ie, you have not filed anything yet):

  • Leave this area blank;

  • When you file for the first time, the Court Clerk will rubber stamp a preset number into this area and then will likely hand the rubber stamp to you for you to stamp your copies as part of the conformation process.
     

• If your case has already been opened (ie, you have already filed something): Fill in this area with your case number.
  
  Caution: $15 fine if case number including area designation omitted upon filing, at least in King County.

4.  Title & Statutes

5.  Header:  The portion of the document above the horizontal line under the Caption.

6.  Body:  The portion of the document below the horizontal line under the Caption (and, technically, above the date, place, and signature section at the end of the document).

7.  Footer:  The portion of the document in its bottom margin, to help identify the document in the Court file.

• Fill in your Contact Information.

8.  Date, Place, & Signature Section

• Date: Use the date that the document is signed, in the form of Month day, year, eg, July 4, 2003.

• Place: Use the place that the document is signed, in the form of City, State, eg, Seattle, WA.

• Signature

• Printed Name of Signing Party

• Caution:

  • Most of the documents you will sign as the petitioning or appointed Personal Representative.

  • Some of the documents are for others to sign, for example:

    • Waivers, Receipts, etc., to be signed, for example, by a surviving spouse, an heir, a beneficiary, or a creditor.

    • Orders:

      • Sign your name on the "Presented by" signature line, but

      • Leave the date and main signature line blank, for the Judge to fill in.

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