In Washington, married couples and registered domestic partners can avoid probate by signing a Community Property Agreement (CPA). In the agreement, the couple agrees that when one of them dies, all of that person's property will pass directly to the other.
To use a Washington state community property agreement, you and your spouse or partner must agree to leave everything to each other, complete the document, and sign it in front of a notary public. When one spouse or partner dies, the survivor will become the owner of the deceased person's property, without probate.
In Washington, real property conveyed to a married person or a person in a registered domestic partnership is legally presumed to be community property. Exceptions to the rule include properties acquired as separate property by gift, bequest or by agreement (see Sole Ownership example 2 above).
025, upon the death of a decedent, a one-half share of the community property shall be confirmed to the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner, and the other one-half share shall be subject to testamentary disposition by the decedent, or shall descend as provided in chapter 11.04 RCW.
This second function of the Community Property Agreement, that automatic conveyance of all assets to the surviving spouse at the moment of the death of one spouse, is perhaps the most common and most reliable way for married couples to avoid probate in Washington State.
Community Property With Right Of Survivorship (CPWROS) Only married couples can use this form of title in community property states like California. This is a very popular method for married couples because it really protects spouses in the case of titles.