Division of property in two states

[jlr41]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WASHINGTON I am about to get a Legal Separation from my wife and we have homes in two states, VA and WA. Where do I find out how to divide the property? I want the house in VA and let my wife retain the one in WA. The one in VA is worth considerably less than the one in WA but the VA one has greater equity. I want to give greater financial assets to my wife so she and I end up with about equal distribution of wealth. Here in WA the response is that the court cannot divide property in another state. FYI, VA does not give Legal Separation but WA does. What do I do? Overall this should be a simple separation/divorce as no children are involved and our assets are not complex.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WASHINGTON I am about to get a Legal Separation from my wife and we have homes in two states, VA and WA. Where do I find out how to divide the property? I want the house in VA and let my wife retain the one in WA. The one in VA is worth considerably less than the one in WA but the VA one has greater equity. I want to give greater financial assets to my wife so she and I end up with about equal distribution of wealth. Here in WA the response is that the court cannot divide property in another state. FYI, VA does not give Legal Separation but WA does. What do I do? Overall this should be a simple separation/divorce as no children are involved and our assets are not complex.

If you can agree on the division of assets then the judge can sign off on your agreement. Jurisdiction over financial assets only matters if you cannot agree.

However, do keep in mind that you will both have to refinance whatever house that you keep, into just your own name, so that the other is removed from the mortgage. Also the equity in the homes are what matters, not the value.