becoming a co-owner of real estate in WA

[confusedwa]

What is the name of your state? WA

My boyfriend and I both own houses. I intend to sell my house and move in with him. We are not married and do not plan to get married. We would like to jointly own his house. How is this best accomplished and is it necessary to pay real estate excise tax as a result of this transaction? What other tax or legal issues should we be aware of?

I don't know if this is relevant or not but I have previously lent him money in the approximate amount of half the equity he has in his house. Our agreement would be for me to forgive this debt in exchange for half equity in his house.

Thanks very much for any guidance you can provide.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by confusedwa

What is the name of your state? WA

My boyfriend and I both own houses. I intend to sell my house and move in with him. We are not married and do not plan to get married. We would like to jointly own his house. How is this best accomplished and is it necessary to pay real estate excise tax as a result of this transaction? What other tax or legal issues should we be aware of?

I don't know if this is relevant or not but I have previously lent him money in the approximate amount of half the equity he has in his house. Our agreement would be for me to forgive this debt in exchange for half equity in his house.

Thanks very much for any guidance you can provide.

**A: you need to see an attorney.

[confusedwa]

I am planning to see an attorney. I was hoping to gather some information first rather than go in there completely clueless. So I was poking around in the RCW (Revised Code of Washington) but it is absolutely impenetrable. I was hoping to find some online resources to give me some idea what the issues are. However it looks like I shall remain utterly clueless until my appointment with the lawyer.

It's a shame that mere mortals can't find out what the law is more readily....

Thanks anyway!

[pojo2]

An Atty can tell you each how to protect your interests. Since you are not in a legal relationship with the co-purchaser you are right to be concerned.

Read a few of the forums and they are filled with horror stories over this very issue.

[lwpat]

It's a shame that mere mortals can't find out what the law is more readily....

Since when is retain an attorney not legal advice? This is a free forum and there are situations where you need to actually consult with an attorney, whether you think you do or not. HG gave you the best advice you could receive here.

[Litigation!]

My response:

I've always wondered about the logic of "committing" to having a child, or "committing" to share Real Estate, but not "committing" to each other through marriage.

Marital laws "protect" the rights of parties, not otherwise available.

Try marriage. First.


IAAL

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by Litigation!

My response:

I've always wondered about the logic of "committing" to having a child, or "committing" to share Real Estate, but not "committing" to each other through marriage.

Marital laws "protect" the rights of parties, not otherwise available.

Try marriage. First.


IAAL

Indeed, I've wondered the same.

[confusedwa]

I'm afraid IWPat has mistaken my meaning. I do realize this is a free forum and I was only hoping to get a little information that might point me toward the relevant parts of the law. Sometimes an experienced person can toss out the right phrase or piece of jargon that would allow me to find the part of the law that is relevant to my situation. The sentence IWPat quoted was meant to convey frustration with the difficulty in locating the applicable law within body of State Laws and then understanding the language in that law. It was in no way meant to disparage anyone on this list and I'm sorry to see it was taken this way.

Furthermore, as I have said in my previous post, I have retained an attorney. I was just trying to spend a little time preparing for the meeting by becoming familiar with the relevant parts of the law. I never said that an attorney doesn't provide legal advice. I'm not sure why IWPat is so upset with me but whatever I said to upset IWPat, I'm surely sorry.

As for getting married, marraige is not the right vehicle for every situation. It would surely be much easier to just get married but instead we are working a little harder to craft an agreement which is more appropriate to our personal situation. Please don't judge when you don't know the situation.

Thanks to everyone for the posts. I'm sorry to anyone I have troubled or inadvertently offended. If it makes you feel any better, I also put in a lot of time answering questions from puzzled people on forums, in my own area of expertise, which is obviously not anything to do with law....

[Litigation!]

Originally Posted by confusedwa

As for getting married, marraige is not the right vehicle for every situation. It would surely be much easier to just get married but instead we are working a little harder to craft an agreement which is more appropriate to our personal situation. Please don't judge when you don't know the situation.

My response:

I'm in a position to judge. You must understand, I see situations like yours all the time. When the crap hits the fan, you'll be seeing someone like me and paying "big bucks" to get you out of the situation.

You see, I am an attorney. Been practicing Family Law for over 25 years. You're not unique. But, it's people like you who help fatten my bank account.

So, when it blows up on you, and it will sooner or later, don't cry. Just remember "I told you so."

IAAL