This form is a sample letter in Word format covering the subject matter of the title of the form.
This form is a sample letter in Word format covering the subject matter of the title of the form.
Anyone can request a copy of a Washington State death certificate from the Department of Health. You do not need to prove a family connection.
Required by the Internal Revenue Service and many states. If the total estate is over a certain value threshold (currently at $5 million), then everything needs to be appraised and valued as of the date of death (or alternate date).
For publicly traded securities, the date-of-death value is typically the mean of the highest and lowest quoted selling prices on the date of death.
Funeral home records vary in format and content, but they can all be valuable for determining someone's death date. Check genealogical and historical societies; state, county, and local libraries; and municipal archives for possible holdings.
Bank account date of death values can be obtained by speaking to a bank official as a rule. Do not rely on a statement as that will reflect the balance at the end of the month, not the date of death. If the account is an interest bearing account this will not be an accurate value.
A date of death valuation is a snapshot of how much a person's home or property was worth on the day they died. This value is important for legal procedures like settling the estate, figuring out taxes, and making sure everything is divided fairly among heirs and/or beneficiaries.
Current Exemption and Tax Rates The current Washington estate tax exemption is $2.193 million for deaths occurring in 2024. This means that if the total value of the deceased's assets is below this amount, no estate tax will be owed. However, any amount above the exemption will be subject to the estate tax.
Generally, if you are both the insured and the owner of the life insurance policy, or if you hold “incidents of ownership,” the life insurance proceeds will be included in your gross estate for estate tax calculations upon your death.
There are no inheritance taxes, though. For 2025, residents don't have to file a state estate tax return if the value of their estate is less than the tax exempt amount of $2,193,000, ing to Washington inheritance laws.
Who Gets What in Washington? If you die with:here's what happens: children but no spouse children inherit everything spouse but no children, parents, or siblings spouse inherits everything parents but no children or spouse parents inherit everything siblings but no children, spouse, or parents siblings inherit everything3 more rows