Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

I have a question regarding divorce in Washington state. I have been married for six 1/2 years and have one child (5 years old) with my husband. He says I am not entitled to anything if I divorce him and that he will make sure I do not get anything. I had him put me on title to the home/property via a Quit Claim Deed right after we married as I sold my home to his mother at a loss. We both work full-time and I pay for my car pmt, gas, cell phone, credit cards, part groceries, and 1/2 daycare costs. Have I been married long enough to get anything? He has stocks (before we were married) and retirement (city employee). Am I entitled to receive any of this thru the divorce decree? I took care of my son and have taken care of his two children from a prior marriage. He pays no child support to her (joint custody). If he makes roughly $40,000 how much could I receive in child support. I make $14.91/hour (80 hr payday) (just received a raise). I feel he is trying to scare me in order to not have to pay anything if I divorce him. Have we been married long enough for me to get support for my son and some of his retirement or a part of our property??? Please advise. Thank you


Asked on 1/18/11, 8:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gary Preble Preble Law Firm, P.S.

He is bluffing you. WA is a community property state. That means that you and he both split equally all income from each of you earned during marriage, as well as all possessions purchased with that income. That includes 1/2 of contributions to his retirement during the time you were married.

In the divorce, the property is to be equitably split, which gererally means 50-50 for community property. You would generally each get your separate property (which you brought into the marriage). In your case, the house in both your names is probably community property at this point, especially under the circumstances you stated. The relatively short length of the marriage would tend to suggest that the court would grant each person his/her separate property, but the court is able to award the separate property of one to the other if it is equitable to do so.

As to child support, you can go on the WA Supreme Court website http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/ and select the Child Support section. It includes the support schedule and worksheets, from which you can determine support. There is also a calculator to give you a rough idea of what support would be.

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Answered on 1/23/11, 9:23 pm


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