Divorcing is a complicated, stressful process. Even people who try to be calm and cooperative may find themselves disagreeing with their spouses on certain key issues. Property division frequently becomes a sticking point during divorce negotiations. Washington is a community property state, which means that each spouse has an interest in any assets acquired during the marriage.
The income of both spouses is marital income, and any resources acquired with that money theoretically belong to both spouses. People generally need to create inventories of their marital assets and then either by negotiating a settlement by communicating with one another or ask a judge to apply the community property statute to the marital estate.
It can be very difficult to estimate the outcome of property division proceedings, and people need to know what to expect as they start planning to rebuild their lives. Some resources may be eligible for protection as separate property that is not subject to community property rules. What resources can spouses preserve as separate property when they divorce?
Assets protected in a marital agreement
Sometimes, spouses enter a marriage with a pre-existing contract in place. Prenuptial agreements can serve to protect certain assets as separate property.
Sometimes, financial success or challenges during a marriage might result in people drafting postnuptial agreements. Assets designated as separate in marital agreements are typically not subject to division when spouses divorce.
Assets owned before marriage
Both spouses may have already accumulated certain valuable resources when they decided to marry. Provided that they avoid commingling, the spouses can usually retain sole ownership of the property owned before they got married. Clear ownership records and financial documentation are usually necessary to prove that one spouse owned certain assets before their marriage.
Gifts and inheritances
People sometimes receive valuable property during their marriage due to their relationships with outside parties. For example, the parents of one spouse might gift them a vehicle when they add children to the family.
Other times, one spouse might receive valuable resources due to a loved one dying. An inheritance left to one spouse rather than to the couple should remain the separate property of the beneficiary or heir, provided that they did not commingle those resources with the marital estate.
Discussing property division priorities and other concerns about an upcoming divorce can help people strategize for ways to protect their resources. People who can identify their separate property can help preserve certain assets for their own benefit after the divorce.