Consulting with a Seattle Divorce Lawyer Regarding Property

One of the most important concerns in a divorce is how the marital property will be divided between the former spouses. Television tabloid programs are filled with stories of one spouse taking a celebrity spouse “to the cleaners”, meaning receiving an astronomical share of the celebrity’s wealth. While explaining such outcomes require legal speculation about the law of other jurisdictions, these stories do promote confusion and fear about divorce law and divorce attorneys. This is why, if you are contemplating divorce, a consultation with a Seattle divorce lawyer may help allay these fears.

Regarding the law of property distribution in a divorce, Washington State is a community property state. This means that each spouse has an interest in the property acquired during the marriage. Property acquired before the marriage, after separation, or under certain other conditions such as inheritance is considered separate property. However, classifying property as community or separate can be complex, as your Seattle divorce lawyer can explain. For example, what about interest earned during the marriage on an investment originally purchased before marriage? Seattle divorce lawyers specialize in sorting out just these kinds of issues.

Once the court determines which property is community and which is separate, how will the community property be divided? A Seattle divorce lawyer will tell you that the standard is “fair and equitable”. Discerning what this means takes knowledge and experience in Washington State family law, something a Seattle divorce lawyer can give you. The law is structured such that a court can separate property in a way that will put the parties in a fair position after they go their separate ways. While this seems like a hard to standard to predict, this is why Seattle divorce lawyers become specialists in this area. It takes a concentrated effort to understand the law and its application in community property issues to be an effective divorce lawyer.

Finally, don’t lose sight of the fact that most divorce issues are settled by agreement. The parties themselves often know what is fair under their own circumstances, and a good Seattle divorce lawyer can encourage this kind of settlement. Of course, it helps to know what you would get if you go to court, and that too is what a Seattle divorce lawyer can do for your case.

The author is a Seattle divorce lawyer law student. Please visit McKinley Irvin for more information.