We most often hear about prenuptial agreements in the context of highly publicized celebrity divorces. These cases cause the impression that prenuptial agreements are necessary only for the rich and famous. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Prenuptial agreements are important for all couples, but even more so for older couples, who are…
In a Washington divorce, all debts are divided, even if they solely belong to one spouse or the other. While some spouses are able to agree to a division of debts, other spouses must turn to the court for the division of their debts. There are two major reasons why debt division is so important. First,…
When a divorce is filed, one or both spouses are often emotional, hurt, and unsure about getting divorced. These feelings may cause a spouse to take actions that he or she believes will hurt the other spouse. One of these tactics is running up large bills and debts with the belief that the other spouse will be…
Washington is a community property state. This means that any income, property, or debts that a couple acquires during a marriage is assumed to belong to both partners equally. This is the case even if only one spouse purchased the property or actually owes the debt—under the state’s community property laws, all assets and debts…
Marital debts, just like marital assets, are fairly divided between spouses during a divorce. Because Washington is a community property state, all income, property, and debts that either spouse acquires during the marriage belongs to the marital estate and must be split relatively equally between the spouses. The responsibility for a marital debt can be…