Wash. Rev. Code » Title 11 · Chapter 11.54
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 11.54.020 (2026)

Amount of basic award

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) The amount of the basic award shall be the greater of the following:
(a) The value, as of the date of the decedent's death, of the decedent's property, or if the decedent is married or has a registered domestic partner, the value of the community property of the decedent and the decedent's spouse or registered domestic partner, that was exempt from attachment, execution, or forced sale under Title 6 RCW immediately before the decedent's death; or
(b) The amount specified in RCW 6.13.030(1)(a) or, if greater, the amount specified in subsection (3) of this section, on the date of the decedent's death.
(2) If an award is divided among a surviving spouse or surviving registered domestic partner and the decedent's dependent children, the aggregate amount awarded to all the claimants under this section shall be the amount specified in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) For 2024 and each calendar year thereafter, the amount of the basic award shall not be less than an amount that is calculated as follows: $125,000 multiplied by the inflation factor and then rounded to the nearest $1,000. The adjustment of the basic amount under this subsection shall be effective annually as of the first calendar day of the calendar year. The inflation factor is a fraction, the numerator of which is the consumer price index figure published for the most recent October preceding the effective date of the adjustment and the denominator of which is the consumer price index figure published for October 2021. No adjustment to the basic award shall be made under this subsection for a calendar year if the adjustment would result in the same or a lesser basic award than the basic award for the immediately preceding calendar year. For purposes of this subsection, "consumer price index" means the consumer price index for all urban consumers, all items in the Seattle area, not seasonally adjusted, as calculated by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor. For purposes of this subsection (3), "Seattle area" means the geographic area sample that includes Seattle and surrounding areas. In the event the bureau of labor statistics discontinues the use and publication of applicable averages, then the consumer price index to be used for the computation of the inflation factor shall be the consumer price average that was last published before the event that caused the inflation factor to be applied.
[ 2024 c 20 s 6; 2008 c 6 s 917; 1997 c 252 s 49.]

Notes:

Effective date—Savings—2024 c 20: See notes following RCW 11.54.001.
Part headings not law—Severability—2008 c 6: See RCW 26.60.900 and 26.60.901.
Application—1997 c 252 ss 1-73: See note following RCW 11.02.005.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2002–2026 · leading case: In re the Est. of Garwood, 109 Wash. App. 811 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002).
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In re the Est. of Garwood, 109 Wash. App. 811 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “(4) The logic of linking the surviving spouse’s petition first as a condition precedent to the petition of a decedent’s child is reinforced in RCW 11.54.020, which describes the basic award the court can divide between the surviving spouse and the decedent’s children who are not…”
In Re Est. of Garwood, 38 P.3d 362 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “(4) The logic of linking the surviving spouse's petition first as a condition precedent to the petition of a decedent's child is reinforced in RCW 11.54.020, which describes the basic award the court can divide between the surviving spouse and the decedent's children who are not…”
In Re Est. Of: Vernon D. Hannah (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “RCW 11.54.020; RCW 6.13.030(2). The basic award of $125,000 "may be increased" if the court finds that the surviving spouse's "present and reasonably anticipated future needs .”
In the Matter of the Est. Of: Marilyn Sue Hein (Wash. Ct. App. 2021). “It may be made from either the community property or separate property of the decedent. RCW 11.54.010(2). Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the probate and nonprobate assets of the decedent abate in accordance with chapter 11.”
Neville W. Richter, V. Deborah C. Turk (Wash. Ct. App. 2026). “Former RCW 11.54.020 further states “The amount of the basic award shall be the amount specified in RCW 6.”
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