Divorce when mortgage is in one name WA

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2d 36 Comments

Washington is a community property state. I fully understand that each spouse is entitled to half of the earned income that is accrued during marriage and I am very supportive of that. However what happens to the mortgage in the event of a divorce if only one spouse is on the mortgage but both are on the title of the home?

Spouse A: TC 60K
Spouse B: TC 230K

Both are employed with no kids.

Spouse B has much better credit and takes the loan out in solely their name to get the best rate and both spouses are on the title of the home. Spouse B makes the down payment on the home using 100% pre-marital funds.

Both Spouse A and Spouse B pay the monthly payments. In the event of a divorce what happens:

1. Who gets the house?
2. What happens to the down payment?
3. What happens to the loan that Spouse B took out if Spouse A keeps the home? Does spouse B continue paying the mortgage or would the court order the home to be sold and each party cashes out equal to the portion of their contributions (50/50 during marriage)?

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TOP 36 Comments
  • Why would anyone get married? I want to, but reading and hearing of situations like this make it seem like a terrible idea.
    2d 7
  • SoFi
    L I G M A

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    L I G M A
    What’s even more fucked is you don’t even have to be married in WA to be cut in half. WA recognizes “committed intimate relationships” which are basically same as marriage except no alimony.

    But yeah, lawyer up my man.
    2d 3
    • SoFi
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      The lawyer I spoke to about it is there’s no official length but the generally accepted time is 7+ years with few to no “breaks”. They also look for joint accounts or debt to determine if a relationship is a CIR.
      2d
    • You can do a cohabitation agreement which is like a prenup for non married people
      2d
  • Gopuff
    zPkH21

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    zPkH21
    Talk to a lawyer FFS.
    2d 0
  • Dropbox
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    OP
    I’m mainly interested in if there’s a scenario where Spouse A keeps the home but Spouse B will continue paying the mortgage on the home indefinitely if Spouse A refuses to sell the home because of equal ownership of the property on the title. The loan is in Spouse B’s name so creditors will be entitled to get the money from Spouse B.
    2d 5
    • @Slalom; not necessarily. In WA there's many reasons why the lower earning partner stays in the house while the higher earner pays the mortgage.

      Also the bank needs to agree to the transfer of the mortgage. Sometimes the person who transferred the loan will still remain liable of the new owner of the loan defaults in anyway.

      It's crucial to get a good divorce lawyer also if OP has kids, he needs to try and get primary custody.
      Yesterday
    • Dropbox
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      OP
      Say in this case Spouse A has poor credit and is unable to refinance or they simply don’t qualify for that large of a loan. And can’t afford the monthly payments. A court order can compel them to remove themselves from the title or sell? Even if they were only on the title and not on the loan?

      Say there’s no kids in this case.
      Yesterday
  • No kids? They make less money than you? Absolutely bury them in lawyers and don’t back down one inch. That’s your house.

    https://youtu.be/mw3IiyXZJds
    2d 0