When you go through a divorce in Washington state, most of your property gets divided evenly. But if you inherited something, you may wonder whether your spouse has a right to it. The answer depends on how you handled the inheritance during your marriage.
Separate property vs. community property
Washington is a community property state, which means anything you or your spouse earned or bought during the marriage usually gets split 50/50. But inherited property usually counts as separate property, belonging only to the spouse who received it.
This includes money, real estate, or valuables inherited before or during the marriage, as long as you kept them separate from shared assets.
When separate property becomes community property
Inherited property loses its separate status if you mix it with marital assets. This is called commingling. For example:
- You deposit inherited money into a joint account.
- You use inheritance funds to pay household bills or improve a home you both own.
- You add your spouse’s name to the deed of inherited real estate.
Once you combine inheritance with shared finances, the court may treat some or all of it as community property. That means it could be split during property division.
How the court decides
Even if you keep the inheritance separate, divorce laws allow judges to award one spouse’s separate property to the other if fairness requires it. Judges rarely do this, but it can happen if one spouse would otherwise face serious financial hardship. The court considers the length of the marriage, each spouse’s earning ability, and how you used the inheritance during the relationship.
If you want to keep inherited property separate, avoid combining it with shared assets. Keep clear records and hold ownership individually to reduce confusion later.
