Tracing Property

When it comes to the property issues in divorce, it becomes important to determine if either person has "separate" property, which normally includes property you brought into the marriage, or that you inherited during the marriage.

Title is not significant unless there is something more than just a signature on the title to show that a gift of property (either from the separate property to the marital "community" property, or the other way around).  For example, both spouses signing on the title to refinance the separate property home, without more, does not show that the spouse who owned the home meant to make the house into community property. 

The important question is the "source of funds" used to make purchases of property at issue in the divorce.  That is why you want to be able to "trace" the money you brought into the marriage, and where it went.  These matters all become pretty complex pretty fast -- for example, if the community funds were used to put a new roof on the separate property home, the community might have a "lien" against the separate property for those funds.  If the community made the house payments, but the house payment was equal or less than reasonable rent, then the separate property is unlikely to owe the community for the community paying down the mortgage. And so on.

Craig Mason of Mason Law in Spokane, WA, is accustomed to addressing these issues.  Contact him at 509-443-3681 or www.spokaneinjuryanddivorcelaw.com

"I will never get married again!"

That is the phrase you might often hear from people who had a rough divorce.

Unfortunately, they later learn that the property they accumulated in their next relationship, even though it was an unmarried relationship, is also subject to court division of the property accumulated during this time, under a "committed, intimate, relationship action" (CIR)  in which a court divides "community-like" property. (These court actions used to be called "meretricious relationship" actions, and may also be called an "equity relationship" action in today's courts.)

The ONLY way to avoid creating "community-like" property is to have a separate property agreement that completely spells out your property, and your partner's property, and who owns what in future accumulations from the labor of each of you.   These agreements also must meet certain standards of fairness when you draft and sign them or they might be subject to later attack in court, potentially putting you right back where you started.

Property Division at Divorce

Community property division can be a very complicated matter.  When a marriage breaks up in the State of Washington it is imperative that you have representation when it comes to the matter of equitably splitting up property to be sure that you receive everything that is entitled to you. 

The marriage owns all labor of both spouses, and so all wealth accumulated by effort is community property.  If one spouse has separate property, from before the marriage or from an inheritance after the marriage, it will remain separate property unless it is hopelessly "commingled" (mixed up with) community property.  In Washington (as in about half of all community property states), all property, separate and community, is within the power of the court to distribute.  Just because your property is separate property, that does not mean it cannot be given to your spouse in a divorce.  The judge is to make a "just and equitable" distribution of the property once it has all the facts from trial.  Assuming the judge will give you back your separate property, you will need to be able to "trace" that property at trial.  This is a complex, but very important, process. Likewise, if the community invested in one spouse's separate property, then the community will be entitled to the value of that investment in the separate property.  Again, this is complex.

A qualified family lawyer in Washington State will be needed to sort it all out.  In Spokane that man is Craig Mason and his staff at Mason Law.  Why not sit down with a divorce attorney who has fought for the rights of his clients for decades, during this very stressful time?  Call the office of Mason Law today at (509) 443-3681.