Sixth, even with a community property agreement, you need a will to appoint personal representatives, guardians of minor children and deviate from Washington legal norms (para. B example, by granting a non-intervention and non-binding status to a personal representative). When a CPA immediately converts all property into community property, the biggest concern is divorce. If there is property that you don`t want your spouse to get a share of during the division of the property phase of the divorce, a CPA will make things more difficult. A CPA can only be revoked by mutual agreement between the two parties, so you will likely have to negotiate with your spouse about the desired asset or property. Married couples and couples in domestic partnerships may enter into a joint property agreement under which all their property, separated and joint, becomes common property after the death of the first deceased spouse or partner.1 Such an agreement can also be used to immediately characterize all the couple`s current property and all property acquired in the future as community property. Since Washington is a state of communal property, it is assumed that all property acquired during marriage is communities and therefore belongs to the husband and wife. It doesn`t matter if the spouses are not Washington residents, but as long as they acquire property during their marriage, it is considered community property. The spouses can enter into an agreement on their community property, including real estate in Washington, which will then be held or acquired in the future to take effect upon the death of both. The net effect is the transfer of U.S. real estate into Washington State when one of the spouses passes to the surviving spouse.
Similarly, the agreement can achieve the same result for U.S. citizens, U.S. tax residents, and/or Canadian and non-U.S. citizens. Resident spouses who own «community real estate» in Washington State. While the use of a CPA should avoid an inheritance of the estate of the first deceased spouse, the surviving spouse must generally take the following steps with respect to property subject to the CPA: gifts or inheritances given only to one partner are another exception to community property – community property – it generally remains separate property and belongs only to the individual, that she receives. A community property agreement is a special Washington contract between a husband and wife that can fulfill one or all three different provisions. First, it can explain that all the property that is currently owned is community property, thus converting all separate property into community property.
Second, it can explain that all real estate acquired in the future is community property, thus converting future gifts or inheritances into community property. If you want to keep property separate, you don`t want to make those arrangements. Third, it may provide that in the event of the death of the first spouse, all the property of the community is transferred to the surviving spouse. If you made the first two arrangements, this would include the entire property. According to the legal provisions, the property can thus be transferred to the surviving spouse without having to go through an inheritance procedure, which saves a lot of time and money in the eviction of the estate. If you divorce, how your assets are divided will depend on whether or not you live in a state belonging to the community. The growth of the Internet has been accompanied by a variety of online legal aid sites, many of which promise fast and inexpensive downloads of «do it yourself» legal forms to save money. However, these sites usually only offer generic agreements that may not be suitable for all situations, and they don`t provide expert advice or a review of your estate plan to see how a CPA fits in. Some may not even help your spouse avoid probate, which is the biggest benefit a CPA can offer. Fifth, a change in the nature of the separated property in co-ownership may result in the newly characterized property being subject to debts of the other spouse if the property was previously protected from those claims. Many states follow common law rules to determine who owns assets or property after marriage, but this is not the case in Washington State.
In Washington State (and eight other states as well), the «Community Property Act» is used to determine property rights after marriage. Generally, the purpose that couples have in mind when entering into community property agreements is to avoid executing a will that requires probate proceedings. In some states where succession is excessively expensive and time-consuming, avoiding probate can be a good idea. In Washington State, however, the field is often relatively fast and inexpensive. In addition, there are several potential disadvantages and unintended consequences that can result from entering into a Community ownership agreement, often making it a poor choice as an alternative of will. Washington is a community-owned state, which means that all properties in Washington State are either community properties or separate properties. Separate property is what was owned before the marriage or received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance. All other property acquired during the marriage as a result of your work is community property. If the personal representative follows the right steps in an estate case in Washington, there is a strict requirement that creditors must file claims against the estate within 4 months, otherwise they will lose their claims forever.
This advantage is lost when an estate does not go through the estate, so if a couple has created a community ownership agreement instead of executing wills, creditors may have much more time to assert their claims against the couple`s property. In addition, the change in the nature of separate property to common property means that any formerly separate property is subject to the debts of the conjugal union, and creditors of a spouse or life partner can recover community property, even though they may not have been able to realize that property if it had remained separate property. After the death of one of the spouses, the property must still be liquidated in the name of the surviving spouse. For real estate (land and houses), the community ownership agreement and a brief declaration must be registered in the county where the property is located. With a copy of the community ownership agreement, death certificate and ownership documents, virtually all other titled assets can be easily transferred. A community ownership contract merely converts separate property into community ownership; the property does not «give» to anyone. It is expected that all property in the community will be automatically transferred to the surviving spouse or life partner in accordance with the laws of filiation and distribution in intestate. Unlike a will, which is more flexible, a common property agreement cannot be used to make binding gifts to people other than the surviving spouse or life partner.
Second, the community property estate planning agreement creates a trap for the unwary. .