Washington courts divide committed intimate relationship property when an unmarried couple separates, using rules modeled on divorce, and a home one partner owned before the relationship can end up on the table. On October 13, 2026, Division Three of the Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that a house one partner bought years before the couple moved in together had become shared property by the time they split.
A house that starts as one partner's separate property stays separate unless there is clear and convincing evidence the owner intended to convert it. In Vega-Johnson v. Peringer, that evidence came from more than the deed, including the owner's own statements, shared mortgage payments, and years of the other partner's work on the home.
Sara Kim and the family law attorneys at Blair Kim Moeller handle property division for married and unmarried couples in Seattle, Bellevue, and across King County, including cases where the biggest asset was owned before the relationship began.
How Washington Divides Committed Intimate Relationship Property
When a committed intimate relationship ends, Washington courts look past how property is titled and divide what would have been community property had the partners married. Courts call that community-like property. The Supreme Court set out the approach in Connell v. Francisco (1995) and confirmed in Olver v. Fowler (2007) that title does not control.
The model is the divorce statute. In a marriage, RCW 26.09.080 directs a just and equitable division of all property, community and separate, weighing factors that include the length of the marriage and each spouse's economic circumstances. A committed intimate relationship borrows that framework through case law rather than statute, and the first question for each asset is whether it is separate or community-like.
Characterization is fixed when the property is acquired. A home bought by one partner before the relationship begins is that partner's separate property, and it stays that way unless the other side proves by clear and convincing evidence that the owner meant to convert it. That conversion is called transmutation. Transmutation is the change of one person's separate property into community or community-like property because the owner intended the change.
Why Adding a Partner to the Deed Was Not the Whole Story
Lori Vega-Johnson bought the house in 2007 with a $12,000 down payment. Molly Peringer moved in with her in 2011. The two opened a joint checking account, and both paid toward the mortgage. In 2018 they refinanced for a better rate, and because Peringer earned more, the lender would not refinance unless she was on title. Vega-Johnson signed a quitclaim deed adding her.
Vega-Johnson argued that this was a banking formality. She relied on In re Marriage of Watanabe (2022), where the Supreme Court held that adding a spouse to a deed to obtain a loan does not by itself prove an intent to convert separate property. The trial court addressed Watanabe directly and found more here.
It found that the refinance used the stronger earner's credit to get a lower rate and a new 30-year loan, and that the couple later took a home equity line of credit on the house to pay shared debt and buy a rental condominium. It credited testimony that Vega-Johnson told Peringer she wanted her to have a half interest, and told a neighbor she was glad Peringer's name was on the house. Peringer also replaced floors, remodeled a bathroom, and paid for a new furnace. The appellate court deferred to the trial court's credibility findings and affirmed.
Questions like these depend on facts that go back years. We can talk that through with you. Call our office at (206) 622-6562 to schedule a consultation.
Protecting a Home You Owned Before the Relationship
The trial court awarded the house to Vega-Johnson but ordered it sold within six months, with an equalization payment to Peringer from the proceeds. Vega-Johnson kept title only until the sale, and part of the proceeds went to Peringer.
An owner who wants a home to stay separate can take a few steps:
- Read before signing. A quitclaim deed changes title, whatever the lender's reason for asking.
- Put the intent in writing. A signed agreement on what stays separate gives the court something other than memory to work with.
- Track who pays for what. Mortgage payments, improvements, and loans against the house all become evidence.
- Watch what you say. The court here relied in part on casual remarks the owner made to her partner and a neighbor.
The same evidence works in reverse for the partner who did not hold title. Contributions to the mortgage, work on the property, and the owner's own statements can support a claim to a share, much as they can in a Washington divorce.
Talk to a Seattle Family Law Attorney About Dividing Property
Unmarried partners who separate in Washington can face the same property questions as divorcing spouses, and courts answer them with records and testimony reaching back years. Blair Kim Moeller, PLLC represents partners on both sides of committed intimate relationship cases in Seattle, Bellevue, and throughout King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. Contact our office at (206) 622-6562 or schedule a consultation and we will talk through what applies to you.
