Wash. Rev. Code » Title 11 · Chapter 11.56
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 11.56.020 (2026)

Sale, lease or mortgage of personal property

✓ current as of May 2026
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The court may at any time order any personal property, including for purposes of this section a vendor's interest in a contract for the sale of real estate, of the estate sold for the preservation of such property or for the payment of the debts of the estate or the expenses of administration or for the purpose of discharging any obligation of the estate or for any other reason which may to the court seem right and proper, and such order may be made either upon or without petition therefor, and such sales may be either at public or private sale or by negotiation and with or without notice of such sale, as the court may determine, and upon such terms and conditions as the court may decide upon. No notice of petition for sale of any personal property need be given, except as provided in RCW 11.28.240, unless the court expressly orders such notice.
Where personal property is sold prior to appraisement, the sale price shall be deemed the value for appraisal. Personal property may be mortgaged, pledged or leased for the same reasons and purposes, and in the same manner as is hereinafter provided for real property.
[ 1965 c 145 s 11.56.020. Prior: (i) 1917 c 156 s 123; RRS s 1493; prior: 1891 c 155 ss 29, 30; 1883 p 29 s 1; Code 1881 s 1488; 1854 p 284 s 99. (ii) 1955 c 205 s 12; RCW 11.56.025.]

Notes:

Community property: Chapter 26.16 RCW.
Descent and distribution of real and personal estate: RCW 11.04.015.
Payment of claims where estate insufficient: RCW 11.76.150.
Performance of decedent's contracts: Chapter 11.60 RCW.
Sale of decedent's contract interest in land: RCW 11.56.180.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1956–2013 · leading case: In Re Jolan, Inc., 403 B.R. 866 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. 2009).
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In Re Jolan, Inc., 403 B.R. 866 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. 2009). “Other possibilities include: • the liquidation of a probate estate, RCW 11.56.020; • a personal property tax sale, RCW 84.”
Est. of Garth Benjamin Peterson (Wash. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “30686-I-II1 In re Estate ofPeterson RCW 11.56.020 provides the court with broad discretion to order the sale of an estate's personal property.”
Pappas v. Southas, 293 P.2d 395 (Wash. 1956). “where personal property is sold prior to appraisement, the sale price shall be deemed the value for appraisal,” (RCW 11.56.020) the “apparent interest in Imperial Cafe” was valued at two hundred dollars.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.