Unmarried Couples: Committed Intimate Relationships (CIRs) in Washington State

A Guide to Property Rights for Unmarried Couples

Many Washington couples build full lives together without ever getting married. They share homes, vehicles, accounts, responsibilities, and often children. When these relationships end, most people fear they will lose everything because they were not legally married. They worry the partner listed on the title will take it all, or that walking away means forfeiting years of financial contribution.

Washington does not recognize common-law marriage. But it does protect unmarried partners through the Committed Intimate Relationship (CIR) doctrine. If you can prove that you lived together in a stable, marriage-like way and pooled resources to build property, a court can divide that property fairly, even if it was titled in only one person’s name.

Unlike divorce, nothing is automatic. You must prove the CIR existed, show how property was acquired, and act before the three-year deadline expires. Pacific Northwest Family Law helps clients understand their rights and protect what they built before it is too late.

Understanding Whether You Have a CIR

What a Committed Intimate Relationship Is

Washington courts developed the CIR doctrine to prevent unfair results when unmarried couples function like married couples in practice. A CIR may exist when partners lived together in a stable domestic partnership, shared resources, made major decisions jointly, or invested together in property. The doctrine applies equally to opposite-sex and same-sex partners.

Length of the relationship does not determine whether a CIR exists. Courts have found CIRs in relationships lasting only a few months when the financial behavior resembled a marriage, and rejected CIRs in longer relationships when partners kept everything separate.

A CIR also does not apply to roommates or casual relationships. The court looks for signs of a shared life, shared intent, and shared financial effort.

➡Learn more: [link: Understanding Committed Intimate Relationships]

You Must Prove Shared Financial Effort

A CIR does not exist simply because two people lived together. You must show that you built property, investments, or financial value together.

Courts look for patterns such as:

• Shared major expenses or mortgage payments
• Pooling funds for meaningful purchases
• Use of joint accounts or shared financial management
• Contributions of money or labor that increased property value
• Decisions about homes, vehicles, or investments made as a unit

Not every shared bill creates ownership. Courts evaluate the entire course of the relationship and how you behaved financially, both in public and in private. Contribution is what matters.

The Three-Year Statute of Limitations

Under RCW 4.16.080(3), you typically have three years from the end of the relationship to file a CIR claim. If you do not act in time, your claim can be permanently barred, and the court may refuse to divide property regardless of how much you contributed.

This deadline also applies when a partner has died. Many CIR cases arise in probate when heirs challenge the surviving partner’s interest.

If you believe you have CIR rights, you should act before evidence disappears or deadlines expire.

➡Learn more: [link: Statute of Limitations for CIR Claims]

Time, Cost, and Strategy in CIR Cases

CIR cases often require more preparation than divorce because there is no presumption of shared ownership. You must first prove the relationship qualifies as a CIR before any property can be divided. That process requires collecting records, tracing contributions, and organizing evidence clearly.

The time and cost of a CIR case depend on:

• The type and value of property at stake
• The availability of financial records
• Cooperation or hostility from the former partner
• Whether the case resolves early or proceeds to trial

At Pacific Northwest Family Law, we reduce unnecessary time and cost by using strategic discovery, early evidence organization, and targeted negotiation.

➡Learn more: [link: Time, Cost, and Strategy in CIR Cases]

How CIR Cases Are Resolved

Mediation, Arbitration, and Trial

Most CIR cases resolve through mediation once both partners understand the strength of the evidence. Mediation allows partners to negotiate buyouts, repayment of contributions, or division of assets without the stress and cost of trial.

Arbitration offers a private, faster alternative to court, allowing a neutral decision-maker to resolve disputes.

If your case goes to trial, the judge must first decide whether a CIR existed. Only then can the court determine what property was created through shared effort and how it should be divided fairly. Trial requires organized, compelling evidence of how you acquired and managed property together.

➡Learn more: [link: Trials, Mediation, and Resolution of CIR Cases]

Property Rights in a Committed Intimate Relationship

Property Division After a CIR Ends

When relationships end, one partner often takes control simply because their name is on the title or they remain in the home. But title does not define ownership in a CIR, and possession does not determine who keeps what. Courts focus on contribution.

Courts may divide:

• Equity in a home purchased or improved during the relationship
• Major purchases made using pooled resources
• Savings or investments built through shared effort
• Debt incurred for mutual benefit
  

Courts generally do not divide:

• Property acquired before the relationship (unless treated as shared)
• Separate gifts or inheritances
• Assets kept completely separate
  

Division is not 50/50. It is based on contribution. If both partners helped create value, both may receive a share, even if ownership was never formalized. Pacific Northwest Family Law helps clients trace contributions and protect their rightful portion of the property.

➡Learn more: [link: CIR Property Division]

Protecting Yourself Before You Move In

Many CIR disputes could have been avoided with a written cohabitation agreement. These agreements clarify:

• Ownership of existing property
• How expenses will be shared
• What happens to major purchases
• What happens to the home if you break up
• How to avoid unintentionally creating a CIR
• Simple agreements prevent misunderstandings and protect both partners if the relationship ends.

➡Learn more: [link: Cohabitation Agreements and Avoiding a CIR]

Life Events Connected to CIRs

Inheritance and Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples

A CIR gives the court power to divide property, but it does not create inheritance rights. If a partner dies without a will, the surviving partner usually does not automatically inherit, even after years of living together.

Many CIR claims arise in probate when heirs challenge whether the surviving partner has any financial rights. Unmarried partners also lack automatic medical decision-making authority unless proper documents exist.

Good estate planning prevents uncertainty during emergencies and protects the surviving partner from losing everything.

➡Learn more: [link: Estate Planning and Probate Issues for Unmarried Couples]

Parenting and Child Custody for Unmarried Parents

Child custody, parenting plans, and child support follow Washington’s parentage laws, not CIR law. Property rights and parenting rights are separate legal issues, but many clients need help with both at the same time.

➡Learn more: [link: Parenting and Child Custody for Unmarried Parents]

Marriage After Cohabitation

Getting married after years of living together does not automatically convert premarital or CIR-era property into community property. Home equity, business value, or investments accumulated during cohabitation may still require CIR analysis in a later divorce.

Couples benefit from:

• Clarifying what property is CIR property
• Understanding what becomes community property after marriage
• Considering a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement

➡Learn more: [link: Marriage After Cohabitation]

Take Action Before It Is Too Late

CIR cases are won or lost early. Evidence can disappear. Records become harder to trace. And once the three-year deadline passes, your rights may be permanently lost.

If you have recently separated from a partner, believe you contributed to property, or are living together without clear financial boundaries, now is the time to get legal guidance.

Pacific Northwest Family Law helps unmarried partners protect their homes, recover their contributions, and safeguard their financial futures.

Schedule a consultation today. We will help you understand your rights and take action before it is too late.

Reviewed by Attorney Zachary C. Ashby, Pacific Northwest Family Law, December 2025.