Usually, yes. In Washington most personal representatives are granted nonintervention powers, which let you list and sell without a separate court order for the sale. The house can go on the market as soon as Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration) are issued. If the will is contested or the estate is insolvent, the attorney will tell you what has to happen first.

The personal representative signs the listing and the deed on behalf of the estate; the heirs do not have to sign. That is also what keeps a sale moving when siblings live in three states or do not agree on timing. If title already passed to the heirs (a trust, a transfer-on-death deed, or a closed estate), then every owner signs. Out-of-state signers close by mobile notary or e-signing. You do not need to fly in.

This is the part that stalls most estate sales, not the paperwork. You have three options: an estate sale company (they take 30 to 40 percent but handle everything), a clean-out and donation crew (fastest, usually one to three days), or family takes what they want and a hauler clears the rest. I have vetted crews for all three on the Eastside and in south Snohomish County and can have the house empty within two weeks of your call. Selling as-is with contents is also possible and sometimes the right call.

Often less than heirs fear. Inherited property generally gets a stepped-up basis to its value at the date of death, so if you sell near today's market value the taxable gain is small or zero. Washington has no capital gains tax on real estate, and the state estate tax only applies above the exemption. Washington's real estate excise tax (REET) is paid by the seller at closing and comes out of proceeds. Confirm the specifics with the estate's CPA or attorney; I will give you the numbers they need.