First Steps After a Death in the District of Columbia

A doctor, a hospice nurse or another medical professional must pronounce the death. If the death was unexpected, call 911. Then choose a funeral home or cremation provider to take your loved one into its care.

Lock the residence and keep insurance and utilities active. Under D.C. Code § 20-105 the decedent's property passes to the personal representative for administration, so do not sell, give away or divide belongings before someone has legal authority to act for the estate.

Whoever holds the original will may deliver it to the Probate Court or the Register of Wills (D.C. Code § 18-110). A person who willfully fails, for 90 days after learning of the death, to deliver it to the Probate Court, the Register of Wills or an executor named in it can be fined up to $500 (§ 18-111). Also look for codicils, trusts, deeds, vehicle titles, account statements and life insurance policies.

Certified copies come from the DC Health Vital Records Division, 2201 Shannon Place SE, Washington, DC 20020, and cost $18.00 each. You can order online, by phone, by mail, or in person at the automated kiosks. D.C. death records are restricted: only the relatives and other people DC Health lists as entitled, with the proof it asks for, can order one. A funeral home can often order them for you. Order more than you expect to need, because banks, insurers, DC DMV, the Recorder of Deeds and the Probate Division each want one.

D.C. has one probate court for the whole District: the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (D.C. Code § 20-101(b)). The Office of the Register of Wills is part of that Division (§ 11-2101). Free help with wills and small and large estates is available at the Probate Self-Help Center, 515 5th Street, NW, Room 318, Washington, DC 20001, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Separate what passes outside probate (life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death securities, joint accounts with survivorship, a transfer-on-death deed recorded before the death, a vehicle with a beneficiary on its DC title, and trust property) from what is in the decedent's name alone. Note any real estate: it counts in full toward the $80,000 small estate figure and rules out the no-court small-asset affidavit at any value.

D.C. offers one no-court route and three court proceedings. (1) The small-asset affidavit: the whole probate estate, wherever located and less liens, is $40,000 or less and includes no real property; at least 60 days have passed since the death; no personal representative has been sought or appointed anywhere; the funeral expenses are paid; and all known successors sign under penalty of perjury (D.C. Code § 20-361(a), as amended by D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027). (2) A small estates proceeding when the property subject to administration in D.C. is worth $80,000 or less, real estate included (§ 20-351). (3) Abbreviated probate or (4) formal probate for everything else (§ 20-301). The $80,000 figure and the affidavit apply to deaths on or after March 21, 2025; for an earlier death the small estate figure is $40,000 and the affidavit route is not available. That date-of-death rule comes from D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027.

The petition for probate states the decedent's domicile and date of death, the petitioner's details and interest, the character, location and estimated value of the property, the estimated debts and funeral expenses, and the names and addresses of every interested person, and it exhibits the original will if there is one (D.C. Code § 20-304). The person named in the will has first priority to serve, then the surviving spouse or domestic partner (and, with no will, the children), then the residuary legatees and other relatives in the order of § 20-303(a). A nonresident of the District can serve only after filing an irrevocable power of attorney with the Register naming the Register to receive notices and process (§ 20-303(b)(7)). A bond is required unless the will or a written waiver excuses it (§ 20-502). The court sets the Register of Wills fees (§ 15-707); this page does not list them.

Apply for a free employer identification number (EIN) for the estate from the IRS, then open a bank account in the estate's name. Keep estate money apart from personal money and keep a receipt for every payment and distribution.

Within 20 days after appointment, publish the notice of appointment once a week for 2 successive weeks in a legal periodical or newspaper of general circulation in the District (D.C. Code § 20-704(a), as amended by D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027; the permanent text names a legal periodical only), and file a certification of the published notice with the Register. Within the same 20 days, send the notice text and the court's general-information form by registered or certified mail to the heirs, legatees and known creditors (§ 20-704(b)), then certify those mailings to the Register within 90 days after appointment (§ 20-704(b-2)). The 6-month creditor period starts at the first publication, not at the death (§ 20-903(a)).

Within 3 months after appointment, list every item the decedent owned at death with its fair market value on the date of death and any encumbrance. In unsupervised administration, deliver or mail it to each interested person (filing it with the Court is optional); in supervised administration, file it with the Court (D.C. Code §§ 20-711, 20-713.01).

Claims are barred unless presented within 6 months after the first publication of the notice (D.C. Code § 20-903(a)). A creditor presents a verified written claim to the personal representative with a copy to the Register, or the reverse (§ 20-905). If you disallow a claim, the creditor has 60 days after the notice of disallowance is mailed to sue (§ 20-908). If the estate cannot pay everyone, pay in the order of § 20-906. Report the death to the Social Security Administration and notify each bank, brokerage and insurer.

For a death on or after March 21, 2025, a surviving spouse or domestic partner has a $30,000 homestead allowance (D.C. Code § 19-101.02), up to $20,000 of exempt household property, vehicles and personal effects (§ 19-101.03), and a reasonable family allowance that the personal representative may pay as a lump sum of up to $30,000 (§§ 19-101.04, 19-101.05(a)). These come ahead of most creditors. A spouse or domestic partner left something by the will who wants the legal share instead must file a written renunciation in the Probate Court within 6 months after the will is admitted (§ 19-113(a)).

D.C. has its own estate tax and no inheritance tax for current deaths. A return (Form D-76 or D-76 EZ) is due, with any tax, within 10 months after the death when the gross estate exceeds the higher of $1 million or the zero bracket amount, which is $4,988,400 for 2026 deaths (D.C. Code § 47-3705(a)). Returns and payments go through MyTax.DC.gov; Form D-77 requests a 6-month extension to file. The estate may also owe a D.C. fiduciary income tax return (D-41) and the decedent's final income tax returns.

An unsupervised estate closes when the personal representative files a verified Certificate of Completion with the Court, never before the creditor period ends and only after each interested person was sent the account with notice of a 60-day right to object (D.C. Code § 20-735). If no certificate is filed, the appointment ends on its own 3 years after it began unless the Court extends it (§ 20-1301(c)). A supervised personal representative files the first account within one year and one day of the first publication (§ 20-724(a)).