[WSBAPT] Notarized Will required to admit to probate vs valid Will

Wed Sep 30 11:26:14 PDT 2026

All,

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions. The witness portion of the Will at issue just says “I witnessed the signing of this will by the Testator, who appeared to be of sound mind and acting voluntarily.” There is no language swearing under penalty of perjury.

The witnesses are alive and well, so I’ll be drafting a sworn affidavit for them to sign and notarizing signatures. It sounds like that should be enough to satisfy the court.

Thanks!

Timothy C. Lehr
Attorney & Partner

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From: Eric Nelsen <eric at sayrelawoffices.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 11:17 AM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] Notarized Will required to admit to probate vs valid Will

I agree that RCW 5.50.030 allows declaration under penalty of perjury in lieu of notarization for the witness testimony. I have used an unsworn declaration for the self-proving affidavit on occasion where no notary is available.

I haven’t had to submit one such to the court since the recent amendments to the probate statutes, but I don’t think the amendments touched on the proof-of-will rules. So I would expect that part to be the same as before.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
Sayre Law Offices, PLLC
1417 31st Ave South
Seattle WA 98144-3909
206-625-0092
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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Sara Longley
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 10:59 AM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] Notarized Will required to admit to probate vs valid Will

What about RCW 5.50.030?  This statute authorizes the use of unsworn declarations so long as the declaration includes the language set out in 5.50.050.  I don’t see affidavits in support of wills on the list of exceptions.

I have many clients whose wills are witnessed and have an unsworn witness declaration attached containing the magic words “I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of Washington that the foregoing is true and correct.”  Has anyone had a problem under the new statute with admitting wills with this type of unsworn declaration?

Sara

Sara D. Longley, Attorney
Ivy Law PLLC
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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com>> On Behalf Of Diane Kiepe
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 10:52 AM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] Notarized Will required to admit to probate vs valid Will

I would just add that, under the statute, it can be proven by one of the two witnesses.  I have likewise succeeded when both witnesses were either dead or could not be located, using oral testimony.  Same caveat, this was all prior to the recent changes of June 11 and while I don't think this should effect the outcome of allowing oral testimony, like everything else, it's a roll of the dice.

Diane Kiepe, J.D., LL.M. Taxation
Kiepe Estate and Probate, PLLC
diane at kiepelaw.com<mailto:diane at kiepelaw.com>
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Spokane Valley, WA  99206
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On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 10:44 AM Brent Williams-Ruth <brent at williams-ruthlaw.com<mailto:brent at williams-ruthlaw.com>> wrote:
It is not that the Will needs to be notarized, but that the "testimony" of the subscribing witnesses needs to be notarized.

What can be done is simply send a document to each witness that has the same language that your page has when you do signings in your own office and the Court will admit.  IF THEY ARE DEAD or undiscoverable, you can plead your case to the Court and ask that they find the signatures sufficient to establish that it was actually them.  I had success doing this BEFORE the big law change on June 11th - I have no idea how they Courts would treat a dead/missing witness situation now.

Brent

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On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 10:40 AM Timothy Lehr <timothy at stileslaw.com<mailto:timothy at stileslaw.com>> wrote:
All,

I have what is likely a dumb question, but have not came across this before. PC filed a Petition to admit decedent’s Will and open probate, pro se. The Will was signed by two witnesses but not notarized. The court denied the petition and stated that the Will needs to be notarized and cannot be admitted.

My office always notarizes our Wills but I did not think that was required to admit a Will to probate. My research found that a Will does not need to be notarized to be a valid Will under RCW 11.12.020, but a notarized Will creates a self-proving Will. Does a Will need to be notarized to admit to probate or if not notarized, are there additional requirements to admit the un-notarized Will to probate?

Timothy C. Lehr
Attorney & Partner

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p: 360.855.0131<tel:(360)%20855-0131>
e: timothy at stileslaw.com<mailto:timothy at stileslaw.com>
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Please Note: Our office closes at 12pm on Fridays. If I receive your email after that time, I will respond as soon as possible the following Monday.

NOTICE: The information contained in this email is proprietary and/or confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, you are hereby notified to : (i) delete the email and all copies; (ii) not disclose, distribute or use the email in any manner; (iii) notify the sender immediately. Thank you.

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