Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: buying a house after seperation

If she is still married, her spouse is not her ex-spouse yet, and I wonder at why she has not filed for divorce to get the process underway, compared to purchasing a house, divorce is generally simple and inexpensive. You and the couple purchasing the property should not be relying on an online answer to a question that may not include all the relevant information to support an accurate answer. An attorney presented wth this situation is going to want to know more than you have provided. Although Washington is a community property state, this transaction probably does not create a marital community asset, but to be sure I or any other attorney would want to know more about the situation.

Re: buying a house after seperation

Mr. Steuart and I disagree on this one. Whatever the married person purchases becomes community property by virtue of the fact that the person is married.

The married person has no ability to purchase real property without it being community property between the married person and their spouse.

WA is not a common law state, it is a community property state.

Also, your providing your opinion to these people could ostensibly be a legal opinion, and you don't want to do that without a license.

If I were advising you I'd say not to get into this unless the unmarried person plans to qualify for the mortgage and purchase the house on their own, not as a tenancy in common with a marital community.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell