Washington Revised Code Title 11. Probate and Trust Law § 11.54.020. Amount of basic award

(1) The amount of the basic award shall be the greater of the following:

(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.