Estate & Probate · For executors and families

Can a Will Be Challenged in Washington?

Written from the Washington statutes it cites, checked October 11, 2026. Its primary sources are listed at the end of the page.

Who can challenge a will, and how long they have

Washington's will contest law, chapter 11.24 RCW, lets "any person interested in any will" file a challenge. The petition must be filed "within four months immediately following the probate or rejection" of the will (RCW 11.24.010).

• Filing starts the case. For the deadline, a contest starts when the petition is filed, not when it is served.
• Service within 90 days. The challenger must personally serve the personal representative (executor) within 90 days after filing. If that does not happen, the contest is treated as never started for purposes of the four-month deadline.

If no one files and serves in time, the probate or rejection is "binding and final."

The clock runs from the court's order, not from the funeral. The court can admit a will right away (RCW 11.20.020). The personal representative must notify heirs and beneficiaries within 20 days after appointment (RCW 11.28.237).

On what grounds?

RCW 11.24.010 lists the issues the court decides:

• Capacity. Whether the person was competent to make a will. A will-maker must be "of sound mind" and at least 18 (RCW 11.12.010).
• Restraint or undue influence.
• Fraud. Whether the will rested on "fraudulent representations."
• Any other cause affecting validity, including improper signing.

A Washington will must be in writing, signed by the person (or by someone at their direction and in their presence), and witnessed by two or more competent witnesses. A will validly signed under another state's law where it was made or where the person lived also counts (RCW 11.12.020).

The order admitting the will counts as initial evidence that it is valid, and the challenger must prove otherwise (RCW 11.24.030). If all or part of the will is found invalid, that part is revoked (RCW 11.24.040).

What if a family member was left out?

Being left out is not, by itself, a listed ground. Washington law does protect two groups:

• A child born or adopted after the will was signed and not named or provided for. That child generally receives what they would have inherited with no will, unless the will or "clear and convincing evidence" shows the omission was intentional (RCW 11.12.091). On the same standard of proof, a court may award less if that better fits the parent's intent.
• A spouse or domestic partner married after the will was signed. The same basic rule applies (RCW 11.12.095). The court may consider the spouse's community property rights and anything provided outside the will.

Separately, a surviving spouse or domestic partner keeps one-half of the community property; only the other half can be left by will (RCW 11.02.070). Which assets are community property depends on the facts.

What if there is more than one will?

A later will revokes an earlier one expressly or by inconsistency. So does burning, tearing, or destroying a will with intent to revoke, but only if the will-maker does it, or someone else does it in the will-maker's presence and at their direction (RCW 11.12.040). A family member who destroys a will after the death does not revoke it. If a later will that fully replaced an earlier one is itself revoked, the earlier will does not come back unless the person intended it to (RCW 11.12.080).

What if a beneficiary died first, or is a minor?

Died first. The anti-lapse rule (RCW 11.12.110) covers beneficiaries who descend from the will-maker's grandparent, such as children, siblings, nieces and nephews. If that beneficiary dies first and leaves descendants who outlive the will-maker, those descendants take the gift. The will can provide otherwise. Friends and in-laws are not covered. A gift that is not saved this way generally goes to the rest of the estate under the will, or under state law if the will does not say who gets the rest (RCW 11.12.120).

A minor beneficiary. Washington provides several routes:

• A custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. The executor may transfer the gift to a custodian if the will authorizes it (RCW 11.114.050). If the will does not authorize it, the executor may still make the transfer when it is in the child's best interest and the will does not prohibit it, with court approval above $30,000 (RCW 11.114.060). The custodian generally turns the property over at 21 for will-authorized transfers and at 18 otherwise. When naming the custodian, the person making the transfer can extend this to 25, unless the will specifically says otherwise (RCW 11.114.200).
• Up to $15,000 in 12 months may go to the person who cares for the child and lives with them, a guardian, a custodian, or an interest-bearing account solely in the child's name. This option is not available if the person paying knows a conservator has been appointed or a conservatorship case is pending (RCW 11.130.575).
• A conservator appointed by the court to manage a minor's property (RCW 11.130.360).

Who pays the legal costs, and can it be settled?

If a will is overturned, costs are up to the court. If the will is upheld, the court may charge the challenger the costs. It may also charge the challenger reasonable attorney's fees, unless the challenger acted "with probable cause and in good faith" (RCW 11.24.050). Separately, under RCW 11.96A.150, the court may order fees paid by any party, by the estate, or from a nonprobate asset, and that power is not limited by RCW 11.24.050. The law sets no fee schedule.

The Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA, chapter 11.96A RCW) offers ways to settle outside court. Everyone involved can sign a binding written agreement (RCW 11.96A.220), or any party can start mediation by written notice, with the mediator's fees split equally (RCW 11.96A.300). Do not count on talks or mediation to pause the four-month deadline. The statute stops the clock only when a petition is filed (RCW 11.24.010).

For disputes about selling the family house rather than the will itself, see What Happens If Heirs Disagree About Selling?.

What to do next

• Note the date the will was admitted to probate. See deadlines and key rules.
• Get the court file from the county superior court clerk.
• Executors: see Executor responsibilities: first steps, including the 20-day notice to heirs.
• Look up terms in the probate glossary.
• For advice on your situation, see Washington probate attorneys; the deadline is short.

Related: What Does Probate Cost in Washington? · Who Pays a Parent's Debts After They Die in Washington? · Family Member or Trust Company? Choosing a Trustee in Washington