Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Re: Community property protection

There are three exeptions to the community property rule in WA and a separate inheritance is one of them. (One other is a personal pain and suffering award and the other escapes me.)

The citation you want is Tile 11. Good luck. Elizabeth Powell

Re: Community property protection

Just to add to Elizabeth's sage advice, a separate inheritance can possibly be considered community property if it is comingled with community assests-- so set up a separate bank account, maintain it separately from your community assets! Also, be aware that while courts usually award separate property to the owners of it in a dissolution, the court still has the power to make an "equitable division" of the property-- separate and community.

Re: Community property protection

Michelle indicated the need to not commingle the property with community assets. This appears easy but beware -- if the property is a house, merely helping with taxes or even cleaning can slowly commingle the property with the community estate. If the inheritance is significant, I typically suggest the the parties execute a separate property agreement or at the very least a community property agreement that identifies the separate property of each spouse as an exception to the agreement. That way, the property and its value is on paper for all to acknowledge.