District of Columbia: Spousal Elective Share Requirements

Requirements one by one

The legal share is an intestate share with a one-half cap

The District does not use an augmented estate. Section 19-113(e) gives the
share the spouse or domestic partner would receive on intestacy, but caps it at
one-half of the net estate bequeathed and devised by the will.

Section 19-302's intestate fractions range from one-half to the entire estate,
depending on descendants and parents. The one-half cap therefore controls the
testamentary legal share whenever the net-testamentary-estate comparison uses
those current fractions. Section 19-113 does not separately define “net estate,”
state a valuation date, or enumerate nonprobate transfers for recapture.

The statute supplies the renunciation language

When the will gives the spouse or domestic partner real or personal property,
that gift ordinarily bars the statutory estate share. To elect instead, the
survivor files the written § 19-113(a) renunciation in the Probate Court,
renouncing and quitting every claim to the will devises and bequests and electing
the legal share of the real and personal estate.

Section 19-115 defines “Probate Court” as the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia. The election section states no notarization, verification, attachment,
or general service method for the ordinary filing.

The six-month clock can restart or be extended

The ordinary deadline is six months after the will is admitted to probate. If a
will-construction suit begins during that period, the six months instead starts
when the suit is finally determined.

Before the current period expires, the Probate Court may grant successive
extensions of no more than six months each for reasonable cause. The extension
petition requires notice to the personal representative and other people in the
manner the court directs. Section 19-113 states no withdrawal procedure after a
renunciation is filed.

A guardian or fiduciary needs court authorization

When the spouse or domestic partner cannot act because of infancy,
incompetency, or inability to manage property, a guardian or other fiduciary may
make the election only when authorized by the court with jurisdiction over that
person.

An agreement can determine the survivor's rights

Section 19-113(f) says a valid antenuptial or postnuptial agreement determines
the survivor's rights in the decedent's real and personal estate and its
administration. This election statute does not supply a separate writing,
signature, witness, notary, disclosure, or fairness test for deciding whether
the agreement is valid.

The same subsection preserves a separate choice: even when an agreement governs
estate rights, the spouse or domestic partner may accept a devise or bequest
made by the decedent.

No will gift means no renunciation filing

If the will makes no devise or bequest to the survivor, or the purported gift
passes nothing, § 19-113(d) gives the legal share without requiring a written
renunciation. If a survivor who did receive a gift does not renounce, § 19-114
preserves the will benefits and also permits the statutory share of any estate
left undisposed of by the will.

What trips people up

• The election is a renunciation of every will gift. It is not an added
  minimum layered on top of the devises and bequests.
• The cap and intestate fraction are separate steps. Calculate the current
  § 19-302 share, then apply the one-half cap to the net estate devised and
  bequeathed.
• A construction suit changes the clock's starting point. When instituted
  during the initial period, the six months runs from final determination.
• Extensions must be requested before expiration. Each extension may be no
  longer than six months, but the statute permits successive periods.

Common questions

Does a surviving domestic partner have the same election? Yes. Sections
19-112 through 19-114 apply throughout to a surviving spouse or surviving
domestic partner.

What if the will gives the survivor nothing? Section 19-113(d) says the
legal share arises without filing the written renunciation.

Can the survivor keep a will gift instead? Yes. Without renunciation,
§ 19-114 preserves favorable will provisions and the survivor's share of estate
property the will did not dispose of.

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code § 19-112 — effect of a will devise or bequest on the statutory
  share. Official D.C. Law Library
  text (accessed
  2026-08-02).
• D.C. Code § 19-113 — renunciation form, deadline, construction-suit rule,
  extensions, representative election, no-gift route, legal-share cap, and
  agreements. Official D.C. Law Library
  text (accessed
  2026-08-02).
• D.C. Code § 19-114 — benefits retained when there is no renunciation.
  Official D.C. Law Library
  text (accessed
  2026-08-02).
• D.C. Code § 19-115 — Probate Court means D.C. Superior Court. Official
  D.C. Law Library
  text (accessed
  2026-08-02).
• D.C. Code § 19-302 — current intestate fractions used to determine the
  legal share before the one-half cap. Official D.C. Law Library
  text (accessed
  2026-08-02).