Washington Living Trust
The Washington rules that shape the document: the state's own Trust Act and 150-year perpetuities period, the real estate excise tax exemption for funding under WAC 458-61A-211, and the separate state estate tax under RCW 83.100.040 that a revocable trust does not avoid.
Find out where you stand in Washington
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Introduction
A living trust lets you move assets to a trustee during your lifetime so they can pass to your beneficiaries without going through Washington probate, but only for what you actually retitle into it; anything still in your own name at death still goes through probate no matter what the trust document says. Washington runs its own trust code, the Washington Trust Act (ch. 11.98 RCW) and a separate Revocable Trusts chapter (ch. 11.103 RCW), rather than the Uniform Trust Code, and layers on two rules many nearby states do not have: Washington imposes its own separate state estate tax under RCW 83.100.040, which a revocable trust does not avoid, and it charges a genuine real estate excise tax on property transfers, though WAC 458-61A-211(2)(g) exempts an ordinary transfer into a revocable trust. Washington also requires no notary or witness to create the trust itself (RCW 11.98.011).
Key Things to Know
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Washington imposes its own separate state estate tax on top of the federal one. RCW 83.100.040 taxes a decedent's Washington gross estate, including revocable trust assets, above a $3,000,000 exclusion for deaths on or after July 1, 2025, at rates that reach 20 percent (temporarily up to 35 percent on the value above $9,000,000 for deaths between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026). A revocable living trust does not avoid this tax; confirm the current exclusion amount and rate schedule before relying on any figure.
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Washington did not adopt the Uniform Trust Code. It runs its own Washington Trust Act (ch. 11.98 RCW) plus a separate Revocable Trusts chapter (ch. 11.103 RCW), and sets a flat 150-year vesting period for trusts (RCW 11.98.130) rather than the common-law rule against perpetuities or the 90-year Uniform Statutory Rule.
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No notary, witness, or will formality is required to create a Washington trust. RCW 11.98.011 requires only the trustor's capacity, indicated intent, a definite beneficiary, and a trustee with duties to perform. Later amendment or revocation needs only a written instrument the trustor signs (RCW 11.103.030(3)(b)(i)(B)); notarization is still customary for the deed that funds real property into the trust so it can be recorded.
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Funding your house into a Washington revocable trust is exempt from the state's real estate excise tax as a mere change in form of ownership (WAC 458-61A-211(2)(g)). That exemption does not survive a later sale by the trustee to a third party or a distribution to a beneficiary for valuable consideration, either of which triggers the tax (WAC 458-61A-211(2)(h)).
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Whether Washington's automatic homestead exemption (RCW 6.13.030, the greater of $125,000 or the county's prior-year median home sale price, and both figures change yearly, so confirm the current amount) continues once your residence is deeded to your own trustee is not resolved by any Washington statute located for this page. Ask a Washington attorney before relying on trust ownership to preserve it.
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Washington is a community property state. Transferring property to and from this trust does not change whether it is community or separate property (RCW 11.103.030(2)(c)). For a joint trust holding community property, either spouse or domestic partner may revoke it alone as to that share, but amendment needs both acting together (RCW 11.103.030(2)(a)); both must also sign any deed funding community real estate into the trust (RCW 26.16.030(3)). Washington has no spousal elective share, because a surviving spouse or domestic partner already owns half of all community property outright (RCW 11.02.070).
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A revocable living trust gives no creditor protection during your life. RCW 19.36.020, an 1854 statute still in force, voids a self-settled trust against the settlor's own creditors, and Washington has no domestic asset protection trust law. A certificate of trust under RCW 11.98.075 lets your trustee prove authority to a bank or title company without handing over the full instrument. After death, a trustee who publishes notice to creditors under ch. 11.42 RCW cuts off claims not presented within four months of first publication.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Living Trust in Washington, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Living Trust guide walks through them.
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Washington Requirements for Living Trust
Washington No Notary or Witness Required to Create the Trust
RCW 11.98.011 requires only the trustor's capacity, indicated intent, a definite beneficiary, and a trustee with duties to perform. No notary, witness, or will formality is imposed. Amendment or revocation needs only a written instrument the trustor signs under RCW 11.103.030(3)(b)(i)(B).
Washington Real Estate Excise Tax Exemption for Funding
WAC 458-61A-211(2)(g) exempts a transfer of real property into a revocable trust as a mere change in form of ownership. An exemption affidavit is still filed with the county auditor or treasurer under ch. 82.45 RCW, and the exemption does not survive a later sale to a third party or a distribution for valuable consideration (WAC 458-61A-211(2)(h)).
Washington Community Property Character and Joint Trust Revocation Split
RCW 11.103.030(2)(c) preserves community or separate property character through the trust. For a joint trust, either spouse or domestic partner may revoke the community-property portion alone, but amendment requires both acting jointly (RCW 11.103.030(2)(a)). Both must sign any deed funding community real estate into the trust (RCW 26.16.030(3)).
Washington Certificate of Trust
RCW 11.98.075 lets the trustee furnish a certification of trust to a person other than a beneficiary in place of the full trust instrument, so a bank or title company can confirm the trustee's authority without seeing the dispositive terms.
Washington State Estate Tax Applies to Trust Assets
Ch. 83.100 RCW imposes a Washington estate tax on the decedent's gross estate, including revocable trust assets, above the applicable exclusion amount (RCW 83.100.040). A revocable living trust does not avoid this tax; confirm the current exclusion amount and rate schedule before relying on any figure.
Washington No Self-Settled Asset Protection Trust
RCW 19.36.020 voids a trust created for the settlor's own benefit as against that settlor's existing or subsequent creditors. Washington has no domestic asset protection trust statute, so a revocable living trust gives no creditor protection during the settlor's lifetime.