Who gets the house in a Washington State divorce is a common concern for many couples facing the end of their marriage. The family home often holds significant emotional and financial value, making it a central point of contention. Understanding the factors that influence this decision can help you prepare for the negotiation process.
Who Gets the House in a Washington State Divorce?
In Washington State, who gets the house in a divorce depends on various factors including ownership records, financial contributions, and negotiations between the spouses. Washington follows an equitable distribution model, meaning marital assets, including the house, are divided fairly but not necessarily equally.
If the house was purchased during the marriage, it’s considered marital property and both spouses have a claim.
Typically, what we see in divorces in Washington state is that one spouse can keep the house by compensating the other spouse with other assets or buying out the other’s share of the home’s equity.
If keeping the house is one of your goals, contact our law office.
How Can Your Lawyer Help You Get the House in a Divorce?
Who gets the house in a divorce is a deeply personal issue, but the matter will usually be decided by ownership records and finances. If the house was purchased during your marriage, whether or not it is jointly owned on paper, you have the opportunity to negotiate with your ex to keep the house. A skilled divorce attorney can help you build a strategy to secure the house while your spouse relinquishes ownership. However, you will likely need to balance half the home’s value with other assets that will leave with your ex.
If you have your heart set on keeping the house, the experienced Washington state divorce attorneys at Bliss Law Group can help you. Together, we will put together a negotiation strategy to buy your spouse out of their half of their home so that you can continue to enjoy your family home. . Our firm is available in Pierce County, Thurston County and the South Puget Sound area.
You can contact us for your initial divorce consultation by calling 253-525-5823 or contact us through our online form.
How Divorce Assets and Property Work in the State of Washington
When planning to keep the house in a divorce, the first thing you need to know is how assets are divided in your state. In Washington, divorces are based on “equitable division.” This does not necessarily mean that assets are divided 50/50. Rather, assets are divided fairly based your and your spouse’s circumstances. The court will consider the following:
- The property brought to the marriage (separate assets)
- This includes anything you owned before getting married.
- Gifts and inheritance received during the marriage (extra-marital assets)
- This includes inheritance and trust funds just for you.
- The property acquired during the marriage (marital assets)
- This includes all financial, property, and items that either person acquired during the marriage.
- Retirement funds, personal cars, and personal wardrobes/collections are included.
Marital assets are considered to be the total wealth accumulated during the marriage. Generally, the spouse that originally owned pre-marital and legally extra-marital property are kept by that spouse. Everything acquired by both or either spouse during the years of marriage are divided equitably based on the circumstances of both parties after the divorce. While this often means a 50/50 division of marital assets, that is not always the case. What’s important is that you are not splitting each item, but rather you are dividing the value of your total marital property.
So first, add up the value of everything owned between you and your spouse to determine the total value of all of your assets and then, with the assistance of your attorney, determine what would be a fair and equitable division of those assets. Which property and which funds are awarded to which spouse is up for negotiation.
Did You Own the House Before Getting Married?
If you were the legal owner of the marital home before getting married, there is a high chance that you will keep the house when you get divorced. This is more common in couples who marry later in their careers, where each person has already accumulated some considerable personal property.
Value Added to the Home
The one exception is if value has been added to the home during your marriage. The value increase of renovations and any considerable rise in property value are considered to belong 50/50 to both spouses. This means you might need to buy your spouse out of half the increased value of the home.
If Your Spouse Brought the House
If the house belonged to your spouse first, it will be harder to take the house in the divorce. But you can offer to buy them out of the total amount that they own while balancing any value you added during your marriage. However, they do not have to accept it.
Strategies for Keeping the House in a Washington Divorce
If the home was purchased by one or both spouses during the marriage, it legally belongs to both of you 50/50 when splitting divorce assets. So, to get the house in the divorce, you will need to buy your spouse out of your interest equity in the house.
The good news is that you don’t have to cover the home’s total value (just the equity) and you don’t necessarily need to pay entirely in cash. This is part of the negotiation..
Equity vs Home Value
When you buy a house, you take out a mortgage and slowly build up equity by paying off the loan. The total percentage of the house that you actually own is based on the equity, not the value of the house. Unless the house is fully paid off, your spouse only owns 50% of the equity you’ve paid, so you only need to balance their take of marital assets by half the equity.
Offering Value in Trade for Half the House
Once you determine your spouse’s half of the equity, you can calculate the best route to buy them out in divorce assets. For example, if your spouse drives an expensive car, offering to let them keep the car can cover a significant portion of the home’s equity. The same is true if they have a costly wardrobe, hobby supplies, or high-value collections purchased with money earned during the marriage by either spouse.
It’s also best not to crack open retirement accounts. If your spouse has a large sum accumulated for retirement, offering to leave it untouched (and therefore worth its full amount) can help to balance the cost of the house..
You can then offer assets that you wouldn’t miss like certain high-value equipment or furniture. This is a good option if you’re already planning to redecorate. Lastly, you can finish your offer with whatever portion of financial assets are necessary to equate your spouse’s equitable half of the home’s equity.
Buying the House Via a Loan Deal
In some divorces, the spouse who wants to keep the house will offer to pay their ex over time for their half of the equity. This can allow you to sidestep the need to balance the value of half the house with money or assets in the initial split and can make it possible to maintain financial stability while still keeping the house.
Financial Considerations When Keeping the House After Divorce
Financial planning is essential when you plan to take the house in a divorce. While you may be thinking emotionally about not leaving your home, owning a house solo is very different from paying for that same house with two incomes.
Any good lawyer will advise you to plan ahead financially if you want to keep the house in a divorce. You’ll need to have your income to expenses all mapped out to ensure that you’ll be able to carry the financial requirements on your own.
Refinancing the Mortgage Solo
First, you’ll have to refinance the mortgage to get your spouse off the paperwork. You might risk losing a good interest rate and you’ll need to be re-approved for the loan. The loan may be less because you own more equity, but refinancing is only sometimes a beneficial process.
Second, you’ll need to be prepared to pay the new mortgage amount on your income alone. That can be a bigger burden than some realize post divorce.
Title and Recording Fees
Set aside $350 – $500 for the preparation of documents and recording fees. This will allow you to change the owner records if your house was owned jointly.
Property Taxes and Utilities
Don’t forget about the cost of property taxes paid twice a year. In Washington state, these average at about 0.86%. Utilities can also be a surprising burden if you’re used to splitting them with a second income.
Planning for Home Maintenance Costs
Lastly, try to put aside at least 1% of your home’s value into savings each year to pay for annual and long-term maintenance costs. This is a homeowner best practice that will keep you from being caught unprepared for that roof replacement or HVAC update sometime in the next decade.
Keeping the House for the Children
Often, the driving desire to keep the house in a divorce is to maintain a stable home for the children. This means one of the spouses has to keep the house or you risk needing to sell it to split the value in the divorce.
If you are the primary caretaker, you may feel obligated to keep the home, no matter the financial requirements to do so. In this situation, there are some options to consider.
Negotiate Asset and Debt Distribution
Use your desire that the children remain in the family home to limit the disruption to the children’s lives as a result of the divorce as part of your well-reasoned negotiation to keep the house. This may persuade your spouse to agree to sell their interest in the house to you.
You may have other assets that can be awarded to your spouse to offset their interest in the house. If you are financially able to do so, you may be able to offer to take on more of the community debt in lieu of paying out your spouse for their interest in the house.
We Are Here to Help – Give Us a Call
Getting divorced is a unique challenge for each person. At Bliss Law Group, we support your desire to keep the marital assets that matter most to you. If you want to keep the house after the divorce, we can help you build the negotiation strategy you need to achieve that goal. Our divorce attorneys are dedicated to helping you achieve a divorce that paves the way to the life you want to live afterward.
Call us at 253-525-5823 or contact us online to book your initial consultation.
