Spousal Elective Share Requirements in Washington

At a glance

What Washington does instead

Washington does not provide a general elective share or a will-renunciation right for a percentage of the decedent's estate. The complete current Title 11 RCW, certified July 15, 2026, contains no elective-share or augmented-estate scheme. The state instead protects the survivor through community-property ownership.

RCW § 11.02.070 states that “a one-half share of the community property shall be confirmed to the surviving spouse” and that the other half may pass under the decedent's will or by intestacy. RCW § 26.16.030 reinforces the boundary: neither spouse may devise or bequeath more than one-half of community property. The confirmed half is the survivor's ownership interest, not an amount elected from the deceased spouse's probate or nonprobate property.

The whole community may still pass through probate administration to address community obligations, debts, an award in lieu of homestead, family support, and other community liabilities. RCW § 11.02.070 expressly preserves that administrative reach. It does not create an election against the will or a contribution claim against recipients.

What trips people up

• One-half of community property is not one-half of the decedent's entire estate. The statutory confirmation concerns community property. It does not create a percentage floor against the decedent's separate property or every nonprobate transfer.
• Probate administration does not change the ownership split. The whole community may be administered for the purposes listed in RCW § 11.02.070, while the same sentence still confirms one half to the survivor.
• Other surviving-spouse remedies are not an elective share. An omitted- spouse claim or a family-support award may arise under different statutes and facts, but combining those remedies into a document labeled an elective-share election does not create the system surveyed here.

Common questions

Can a Washington spouse file an election against the will? No general elective-share filing exists. The current probate code instead confirms the community-property half under RCW § 11.02.070.

Can the deceased spouse give away all community property by will? No. RCW § 26.16.030(1) says neither spouse may devise or bequeath more than one-half of community property.

Why can the survivor's half still appear in probate administration? RCW § 11.02.070 subjects the whole community to administration for community debts, specified family protections, and other matters for which the community would have been liable during the decedent's life. Administration for those purposes does not turn the survivor's ownership into an elective-share claim.

Statutes and sources

• Title 11 RCW, complete official code — the official probate and trust title is certified July 15, 2026. A complete-text search found no general elective-share, augmented-estate, will-renunciation, statutory-share, or surviving-spouse-election provision. Official Title 11 PDF (accessed 2026-08-02).
• RCW § 11.02.070 — confirms one-half community property to the survivor, sends the other half by will or intestacy, and permits administration of the whole community for the section's listed purposes. Official section text (accessed 2026-08-02).
• RCW § 26.16.030 — defines community property and bars either spouse from devising or bequeathing more than one-half of it. Official section text (accessed 2026-08-02).