Property Settlement & Division
The house, the rental property, the vehicles, and the debts nobody wants. The tangible side of a divorce is where a settlement gets real. As property division lawyers for families in Bellevue, Seattle, and across King County, we handle the property settlement from the first list of assets to the signed deed. When the estate also holds a business, retirement, or equity, our asset-division attorneys work the same file.
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
Property division attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle families
Washington is a community-property state, so a divorce settlement starts with characterization, what's community and what's separate, and ends with a division a court can call just and equitable under RCW 26.09.080, which is not the same as equal. This page is about the settlement itself: the family home, other real property, vehicles and personal property, and the debts attached to them. When the marital estate also holds a closely held business, retirement accounts, or equity compensation, that valuation-heavy work runs through our asset division practice, and the two move together toward one decree.
A property settlement is part law, part negotiation, and part follow-through. We characterize each asset and debt as community or separate; we make the case for a division that's genuinely fair under the just-and-equitable standard; we settle the family home and other real property; we allocate the debts and account for the tax that rides along; and we turn the agreement into the deeds and orders that actually transfer what each spouse keeps.
Community property and separate property
Characterization comes first, because it decides what's even on the table. Under RCW 26.16.030, property a couple acquires during the marriage is generally community property, owned equally by both spouses. Property owned before the marriage, or received during it by gift or inheritance, is generally separate under RCW 26.16.010. Timing matters at the end of the marriage too. Once spouses are living separate and apart, each one's earnings and accumulations are separate property under RCW 26.16.140. The complications come from commingling, when separate and community money mix, and from assets that grew in value during the marriage. We trace assets back to their source so each one is characterized correctly.
The just-and-equitable standard
Washington does not split everything down the middle. Under RCW 26.09.080, a court divides all the property, community and separate, in whatever way is just and equitable, weighing the nature and extent of the community and separate property, how long the marriage lasted, and each spouse's economic circumstances. A long marriage with a stay-at-home spouse can come out very differently from a short one with two earners. We build the case for a division that reflects what's actually fair for your situation.
The family home and other real property
The house is usually the center of a property settlement, and it tends to go one of three ways: sell it and split the proceeds, one spouse buys out the other's share, or the parties defer the sale for a set period, often to keep children in their schools. Which path works turns on the equity, who can carry the mortgage, and whether a refinance is realistic. Rental and investment property, a vacation home, and vehicles get the same treatment: value it, decide who keeps it, and equalize the rest. When a business, a retirement plan, or equity compensation also has to be valued and divided, that work runs through our asset division practice on the same case.
Debts and taxes
Division isn't only about what a couple owns. Community debts get allocated too, and a spouse can be left exposed if it's done carelessly. A decree can assign a joint credit card or loan to one of you, but the lender wasn't part of your settlement. So we match debts to the assets they belong to where we can, and we build protections into the decree for the ones that stay in both names. Transfers between spouses in a divorce are generally tax-free under Internal Revenue Code section 1041, but the tax basis travels with the asset, so an even-looking split can be unequal after taxes.
Getting it right on paper
An agreement that isn't executed is just a wish. Once the division is settled, we prepare the deeds, the Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, the account transfers, and the retitling that actually move the assets, and we fold it all into the decree. The goal is a division that's not only fair on paper but fully carried out, so you aren't 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 a trust, 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 spent 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 a case is 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.
Is everything split 50/50 in a Washington divorce?
No, and this surprises people. Washington is a community-property state, so community property is owned equally during the marriage, but at divorce a court divides all property in a way that's just and equitable under RCW 26.09.080, which is not automatically equal. A 50/50 split is common but not required. The longer the marriage and the bigger the disparity in circumstances, the further from 50/50 a fair result can land.
What's the difference between community and separate property?
Community property is generally what you acquire during the marriage, owned by both of you under RCW 26.16.030. Separate property is generally what you brought into the marriage or received by gift or inheritance, under RCW 26.16.010. The hard part is that separate property can lose its character if it's mixed with community funds, and a court can still divide separate property if fairness requires. Characterization is where these cases are often won or lost.
What happens to the house in a divorce?
The house is usually sold, bought out by one spouse, or held for a set period. Which one fits depends on the equity, who needs the house, and whether one spouse can afford it alone. One factor Washington law tells the court to weigh is whether to award the family home, or the right to live in it for a reasonable period, to the spouse the children live with most of the time (RCW 26.09.080(4)). It matters most when keeping children in their schools is part of the picture. We help you compare the real numbers, not just the emotional pull of the house.
What assets cannot be touched in divorce?
In Washington, almost nothing is automatically off the table. RCW 26.09.080 directs the court to divide the property and debts of both spouses, community or separate, in whatever way is just and equitable. That means even a house you owned before the marriage, or an inheritance, can be considered. Separate property still counts for a lot, because its nature and extent is one of the factors the court weighs. What protects it in practice is being able to show where it came from, which is why we trace separate assets early. When retirement accounts, equity compensation, or a business are in the mix, our asset division practice handles them on the same case.
Is a property settlement agreement the same as a divorce decree?
No, but in Washington the two usually end up together. A property settlement agreement is a written contract between spouses, which Washington law calls a separation contract, and the decree is the court's final order. Under RCW 26.09.070, the agreement's property terms bind the court unless it finds the agreement was unfair when it was signed. Unless the agreement says otherwise, its terms are then set out in the decree or attached to it. From then on they can be enforced like any court judgment. Under RCW 26.09.170, property terms in a decree can't be changed later except on the narrow grounds for reopening a judgment, so we get the wording right before anything is signed.
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Tell us about the property in play, especially the house, other real estate, or debts you're worried about. The first conversation is confidential.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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