Asset Division
Retirement built over a career, a stake in a business, stock and options, an account that took decades to grow. In a divorce, these are the assets with the most at stake and the most ways to divide them wrong. We handle asset division for Pacific Northwest families, with particular strength when a company, a trust, or complex compensation is in the marital estate.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
2
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Asset division attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle families
Washington is a community-property state, so the first question with any asset is characterization: what belongs to the community and what is one spouse's separate property. The harder question is usually value. A closely held business, a pension, a grant of restricted stock, and a commingled investment account each take a different method to value and a different mechanism to divide. Under RCW 26.09.080 the court divides everything in a way that is just and equitable, which is not the same as equal. We get the characterization and the valuation right, then turn the result into transfers that actually move the money. When the estate includes a business or a trust the firm already handles, you are not starting over with a stranger. The family home and other real property are divided through our property settlement and division practice; this page is about the financial side: the business, the retirement, the equity, and the accounts.
Dividing the financial side of a marriage is part law, part accounting, and part follow-through. We characterize and trace each asset as community or separate; we value the hard ones like a business or a professional practice; we divide retirement and pensions without triggering tax; we handle stock, options, and investment accounts; and we find what hasn't been disclosed and execute the division so it holds.
Characterizing and tracing complex assets
Characterization comes first, because it decides what is even divisible. Property acquired during the marriage is generally community property under RCW 26.16.030; property owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance is generally separate under RCW 26.16.010. Assets rarely stay that clean. Separate money deposited into a joint account, a premarital retirement plan that kept growing, a business started before the marriage but built during it, these commingle, and the appreciation has to be sorted between community effort and separate origin. We trace assets back to their source so each one is characterized correctly, because that analysis often decides the outcome.
Valuing a business or professional practice
When a marital estate includes a company or a professional practice, value is the fight. The valuation method matters enormously, and so does whether the analysis includes goodwill and which date the court uses to value the interest. We work with valuation experts, test the other side's numbers, and structure the division so an operating business is not forced into a fire sale to equalize the estate. This is where the firm's business and corporate attorneys pay off, because we often already understand the company on the table.
Retirement, pensions, and deferred compensation
Retirement is frequently the largest asset in the marriage, and dividing it wrong is expensive. The community portion of a 401(k), IRA, or pension is divisible, and splitting an employer plan generally requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a QDRO, so the transfer happens without taxes or early-withdrawal penalties. Pensions and deferred-compensation plans have their own rules for valuing and dividing a stream of future payments. We prepare the orders and coordinate with plan administrators so the division is executed exactly as the decree intends.
Stock, options, RSUs, and investment accounts
Equity compensation takes careful handling. Vested stock and RSUs are usually straightforward to divide, but unvested grants tied to future work require a time-rule allocation between the community and separate estates. Brokerage and investment accounts carry embedded gains, and because a transfer between spouses in a divorce is generally tax-free under Internal Revenue Code section 1041 but the tax basis travels with the asset, two accounts of equal face value can be unequal after tax. We account for basis and vesting so the split is fair on an after-tax basis, not just on paper.
Finding what's hidden and executing the division
Division depends on full disclosure, and Washington requires it. When one spouse suspects the other of understating income or moving assets, we use formal discovery, subpoenas, and, where the numbers warrant it, a forensic accountant to surface undisclosed accounts and transfers. Once the division is settled, we prepare the QDROs, account transfers, and retitling that actually move the assets and fold it all into the decree, so you are not back in court a year later over a transfer that never happened.
Sixty years representing Pacific Northwest families, often the same families whose businesses, trusts, and estates the firm already handles. When a divorce touches a company or complex compensation, you're not starting over with a stranger.
Continuity, not a hand-off.
Many family-law clients are already firm clients. The attorney handling your divorce may be the one who set up the business or the trust now in question, which means less time explaining and fewer surprises.
Settlement-minded, trial-ready.
We resolve most divorces without a trial, because it's better for the family and the budget. But when a case has to be tried, the firm's litigators are ready, and the other side knows it.
Straight about what's ahead.
Divorce is hard enough without a lawyer overselling. We give you a clear map of the next 6 to 12 months, tell you what's realistically worth fighting over, and what isn't.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
How is a business divided in a divorce?
Rarely by splitting the company in half. The business interest is valued, often with an expert, and then usually one spouse keeps it and the other is made whole with different assets or a payment over time. The community portion of the value is what's divided, so a business started before the marriage takes tracing to separate premarital value from community growth. We structure it so an operating company isn't forced into a sale just to equalize the estate.
What's a QDRO and why do I need one?
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order is the separate court order that divides an employer retirement plan, like a 401(k) or pension. Without it, moving retirement money between spouses can trigger taxes and early-withdrawal penalties; with it, the transfer is clean. Getting the QDRO drafted correctly and accepted by the plan administrator is its own task, and a missed step here is costly. We handle it.
Are my stock options and RSUs divisible if they haven't vested?
Often yes, at least in part. Vested equity is generally divisible. Unvested grants are trickier, because some of their value rewards work you'll do after the divorce. Washington uses a time-rule allocation to split unvested grants between the community and your separate estate based on when they were granted and when they vest. We make sure the allocation reflects what the community actually earned.
Is dividing assets in a divorce taxed?
The transfer itself usually isn't. Under Internal Revenue Code section 1041, transfers between spouses incident to divorce are generally tax-free. The catch is that the tax basis follows the asset, so a low-basis stock account and a cash account of the same face value are not actually equal, because selling the stock later triggers a gain. We factor basis into the division so the split is fair after tax, not just on paper.
What if I think my spouse is hiding income or assets?
We find it. Between formal discovery, subpoenas to banks and employers, and a forensic accountant when the numbers warrant it, undisclosed accounts, income, and transfers usually come to light. Washington requires honest financial disclosure in a divorce, and a spouse who hides assets risks real consequences when it's discovered. If something doesn't add up, tell us early.
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Tell us about the assets in play, especially a business, retirement, or equity compensation. A family law attorney will follow up within one business day, and the first conversation is confidential.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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