Q: My wife wants assets from before we got married, what is she entitled to get from our divorce?
We had been dating and were engaged for 6 years prior to our wedding with about 5 of those years living together. Although we had only been married for 6 months. She walked out on me one day while I was at work and left the majority of the belongings in the house behind. She now wants assets that I got from before we had even been engaged. Most of the belongings in the house I paid for including large purchases that came from an accident injury claim I received. She did not make much in the relationship and was mostly able to pay for only half the bills. What should I expect to have to give her in this divorce?
A: Money earned during a marriage (from marriage to separation) is considered community property in Washington. A family court can divide community property in a way that is different from 50/50. Separate property not belonging to the marital community usually includes property that belonged to one spouse before the marriage, but, if that property was put to marital community use during the marriage, a court can deem that property to have changed from separate to community property. You'll want to document all your separate property and how it has been used during the marriage. You might want to look at Washington Law Help, a free website with a lot of information on marital dissolution in Washington (washingtonlawhelp.org).
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