High school years can be rough at times for students in Washington and throughout the nation. A young man in another state might agree with that assessment as he thinks back on his own life. When he was a teenager, he married his then girlfriend who happened to be expecting a baby. Now, the two are engaged in a child support dispute in which a judge recently made a decision, then changed it.
How community property laws can affect a divorce
Washington is not an equitable distribution state when it comes to the division of marital assets in a divorce. In such states, assets are not always divided equally (as in, 50/50) in divorce, but the intent is that they be divided fairly. This state, however, is a community property state, which means income earned and property purchased with that income during marriage are considered jointly owned by both spouses. Any debt incurred by either spouse during the marriage is typically considered as being owed by both spouses as well.
