Will Anti-Lapse and Substitute Gifts in Washington

Short answer Unless the instrument provides otherwise, Washington lets surviving descendants take a gift or appointment intended for an issue of the decedent's grandparent who dies before the decedent or before the interest ceases to be contingent. The rule reaches wills and a grantor's trust that becomes irrevocable upon or before the grantor's death. Descendants in the same degree take equally; more remote descendants take by representation. (RCW 11.12.110.)

State

Washington

Statute checked

October 4, 2026

Sources

3 statutes

Survey

Compare all 47 jurisdictions covered

At a glance

Instruments and gifts covered	Property gifts and appointee appointments under will or grantor's qualifying trust (§ 11.12.110).
Which devisees qualify	Named recipient is issue of a grandparent of the decedent (§ 11.12.110).
Death or failure trigger	Recipient dies before decedent or before the recipient's interest is no longer contingent (§ 11.12.110).
Descendant survival period	Substitute descendants must survive decedent; § 11.12.110 states no hour count (§ 11.12.110).
Who takes and how	Same-degree descendants take equally; more remote descendants take by representation (§ 11.12.110).
Class gifts	No separate class-share formula; the rule applies to property given to qualifying grandparent's issue (§ 11.12.110).
Failed gift and residue	Survival-conditioned gift lapses into residue, otherwise descent/distribution; failed share of multiperson residue goes proportionally to others, subject to substitution (§§ 11.12.120(1)–(2), 11.12.110).
Contrary intent and survival words	Substitution applies 'unless otherwise provided'; survival-conditioned lapse rule likewise yields to contrary provision (§§ 11.12.110, 11.12.120(1)).
Alternative gifts and appointments	Will appointments covered; appointment to deceased appointee otherwise ineffective subject to §§ 11.12.110–.120; no express alternative-gift priority (§§ 11.12.110, 11.95A.250(1)).
Trust and nonprobate reach	Grantor's trust must become irrevocable by its terms upon or before grantor's death (§ 11.12.110).

Requirements one by one

Covered recipient and timing

RCW § 11.12.110 applies when a property gift or appointment under a will or qualifying grantor trust is made to issue of a grandparent of the decedent. It covers death before the decedent and death before the issue's interest stops being subject to a contingency. Descendants who survive the decedent take as the predeceased issue would have taken; the section does not state a specific hour count.

Shares and failed gifts

Under § 11.12.110, descendants in the same degree of kinship to the deceased issue take equally; if their degrees differ, more remote descendants take by representation. Section 11.12.120(1) sends a will gift conditioned on survival that lapses into the residue, or otherwise through descent and distribution. Under § 11.12.120(2), a failed share of a multiperson residue passes proportionally to the other residuary recipients, subject to § 11.12.110's substitution rule.

Trust and appointment reach

Section 11.12.110 includes a trust of which the decedent is grantor only if its terms make it irrevocable upon or before the grantor's death. It expressly includes an appointee appointed under a will. Under § 11.95A.250(1), an appointment to a deceased appointee is otherwise ineffective, subject to §§ 11.12.110 and 11.12.120. Section 11.95A.250(2) separately lets a holder of a nongeneral power appoint to a deceased permissible appointee's descendant, even if the donor did not describe that descendant as permissible, unless the creating instrument shows contrary intent.

What trips people up

The substitution in § 11.12.110 begins “Unless otherwise provided,” so the instrument's wording matters. Section 11.12.120(4) also treats a will appointment as a gift that may form part of the residue; the fallback cannot be assessed solely from an ordinary cash bequest.

Common questions

Does a descendant have to survive until a later contingency ends? Section 11.12.110 requires surviving the decedent, even when the named issue dies before the interest stops being contingent.

Do all substitute descendants split equally? Only if they are in the same degree of kinship to the deceased issue; otherwise § 11.12.110 uses representation.

Statutes and sources

RCW §§ 11.12.110, 11.12.120, and 11.95A.250. The source fields above contain verbatim official excerpts, URLs, and access dates.

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

RCW 11.12.110 · accessed 2026-10-04

RCW 11.12.120(1)–(2), (4) · accessed 2026-10-04

RCW 11.95A.250(1)–(2) · accessed 2026-10-04

This page gives general information about statutory substitute-gift rules, not advice about a particular will or beneficiary. The instrument's words, other law, and the facts can affect the result. Check current official law and consult a licensed adviser before acting.

What does Washington law mean for your facts?

You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Washington law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
Chat, drafting and research in one workspace