- Married with no children
- The surviving spouse receives all of the decedent’s share of the net community estate. In addition, if there are no children, surviving parents or the issue of one or more of his parents, the surviving spouse receives all of the deceased’s net separate estate. If the deceased is survived by one or more parents, the spouse received three quarters of the net separate estate. The parents receive the balance.
- Married with child or children
- If there are children, the surviving spouse inherits all of the decedent’s share of the net community estate and one half of the net separate estate. The child or children inherit the balance.
- No spouse survives or the decedent was not married but there are other relatives
- The estate is distributed as follows:
1) issue of the deceased (If they are all in the same degree of kinship to the deceased, they take equal shares; if they are not in the same degree of kinship, they share proportionate to their degree.)
2) parents who survive
3) issue of the parents
4) grandparents who survive the deceased
5) the issue of any grandparents who survive (As in #1, the degree of kinship determines the share of the estate received.) - No surviving relatives
- The estate reverts to the state of Washington.
- State link
- http://tinyurl.com/d684e6
- Special notes
- A state registered domestic partner has the same rights as a surviving spouse.
