Individuals who are contemplating divorce generally need to feel comfortable with the process before they are ready to file the initial divorce paperwork. People may plan for months before they finally file paperwork with the courts and serve their spouses.
Part of the planning process entails reviewing the marital estate. Spouses need to determine what resources are separate property that they can retain after divorce. They may count on their separate property as the foundation for living independently after initiating the divorce process. Sadly, people often misunderstand what resources are actually their separate property.
Many people start new bank accounts and set aside resources to cover their cost-of-living expenses after the initial separation. Yet, even when only one spouse’s name is on the account, the contents of the account are probably still marital property during a Washington divorce.
The difference between marital and separate property
Washington’s property division laws require that spouses divide their marital estate with each other as marital or community property. When the courts review the inventory of resources and debts from the marriage, the name on ownership documents is not the key deciding factor.
Instead, the most important consideration in many cases is whether people used marital or separate property to fund an account or acquire another asset. Contributions made with income earned during the marriage make an account likely to be marital property.
The checking account someone funds as they begin planning for divorce is usually marital property that they have to at least report in their inventory of assets. They may then have to share its value with their spouse. If they use those resources, they have to account for that during the property division process.
Similarly, retirement accounts and other resources held in the name of one spouse can still be subject to division in the divorce if they acquired those resources during the marriage using marital income. Financial accounts and various physical assets may technically belong to both spouses even though only one of them has their name on the account or ownership papers.
Learning about the unique approach that Washington takes when it comes to property division can be beneficial when preparing for divorce. Spouses who understand what they have to share can use that knowledge to set expectations about their future financial circumstances.