Marital Settlement Agreement (No Children) - Washington

WASHINGTON MARITAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT — NO CHILDREN

1. Activation Record

RCW 26.09.030 addresses a petition by a party who is a Washington resident, is a member of the armed forces stationed in Washington, or is married to a party meeting either description. It also uses 90 days from both filing and service of summons or first publication before the court proceeds under the section. Complete the dates from the actual docket and current procedure.

No-Children Classification

• ☐ The marriage has no child whose parentage, support, residential schedule, or other child-related issue must be addressed in this proceeding.
• ☐ No adoption, assisted-reproduction, presumed-parent, de facto parent, pending parentage, adult-dependent-child, or other child-related issue was identified.
• ☐ Pregnancy and possible parentage were reviewed. RCW 26.09.030(e) prevents pregnancy alone from being the sole basis for denying or delaying a decree, but preserves further proceedings under the parentage chapters.
• ☐ The “no children” classification was confirmed by counsel before using this agreement.

2. Parties and Purpose

This written separation contract is made on [__/__/____] between [SPOUSE 1] and [SPOUSE 2], together the “Parties.” The Parties intend to resolve the property, liability, and maintenance matters expressly stated here in connection with [SEPARATION / DISSOLUTION / LEGAL SEPARATION / OTHER REVIEWED PROCEEDING].

The Parties married on [__/__/____]. [A PETITION HAS / HAS NOT] been filed. The agreement does not itself dissolve the marriage or replace the court’s decree.

3. Disclosure and Fairness Record

Under RCW 26.09.070(3), a separation contract other than its parenting-plan terms is binding on the court unless the court finds, after considering the parties’ economic circumstances and other relevant evidence, that the contract was unfair when executed. The Parties therefore attach complete, dated disclosure schedules and identify the information used for each material term.

Each Party states that the attached schedules disclose the information known to that Party after reasonable inquiry, subject to these listed qualifications or unresolved requests:

[________________________________]

4. Property Characterization and Court Review

RCW 26.16.010 addresses property and pecuniary rights owned before marriage and property later acquired by gift, bequest, devise, descent, or inheritance, together with the rents, issues, and profits of that property. RCW 26.16.030 generally classifies other property acquired after marriage as community property, subject to its listed management and transfer rules.

Characterization can depend on title, source, tracing, agreements, commingling, use, and other facts. The labels in this agreement record the Parties’ negotiated position and do not replace the evidence or controlling law.

RCW 26.09.080 directs the court to make a just and equitable disposition of both community and separate property and liabilities after considering all relevant factors, including the nature and extent of each category, the marriage duration, and each spouse’s economic circumstances when the division takes effect.

Property Schedule

Real Property

If community real property is conveyed or encumbered while the marriage continues, RCW 26.16.030(3) requires both spouses to join in the deed or other instrument and both to acknowledge it. Counsel must prepare and record any required real-property instrument; this agreement should not be represented as a recorded title transfer.

Vehicles and Titled Personal Property

Retirement and Deferred Compensation

No retirement transfer is complete until the plan-specific requirements and any necessary order or form are satisfied.

Equalization

[SPOUSE] will pay [SPOUSE] $[________] by [__/__/____] using [METHOD]. Security, interest, installment, default, and enforcement terms, if any: [________________________________].

5. Liabilities

As between the Parties, the person assigned a liability will timely pay it and protect the other from loss caused by nonpayment, to the extent stated here: [________________________________]. The Parties will not represent that this allocation releases a borrower, guarantor, account holder, lien, or creditor right without the creditor’s separate written action.

6. Spousal Maintenance

RCW 26.09.090 permits maintenance for either spouse in an amount and period the court considers just, without regard to misconduct, after considering all relevant factors. Its listed factors include the requesting spouse’s resources and ability to meet needs, time needed for education or training, the marital standard of living, marriage duration, the requesting spouse’s age and condition and obligations, and the other spouse’s ability to meet both sets of obligations.

Factor Record

Election

• ☐ No maintenance. Each Party waives maintenance based on the completed disclosures, factor record, independent-counsel opportunity, and the agreement as a whole.
• ☐ Maintenance payable. [PAYOR] will pay [PAYEE] $[________] [PER MONTH / OTHER] beginning [__/__/____] through [__/__/____ / EVENT], by [METHOD].
• ☐ Reserved for court or later agreement: [________________________________]

Modification Election

RCW 26.09.070(7) permits a separation contract to provide that the decree expressly precludes or limits modification of maintenance. Without an express contrary provision, maintenance terms set forth or incorporated in the decree are automatically modified when the decree is modified. RCW 26.09.170(1) otherwise addresses prospective modification and substantial change of circumstances.

• ☐ Maintenance amount is modifiable under governing law.
• ☐ Maintenance duration is modifiable under governing law.
• ☐ The decree should expressly preclude modification of amount, after counsel review.
• ☐ The decree should expressly preclude modification of duration, after counsel review.
• ☐ Modification is limited as follows: [________________________________]

Termination Election

Unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the decree, RCW 26.09.170(2) terminates future maintenance on the death of either Party or the recipient’s remarriage or registration of a new domestic partnership.

• ☐ Apply the statutory default stated above.
• ☐ Use this separately reviewed different written term: [________________________________]

7. Taxes and Benefits

No tax filing status, dependency position, basis allocation, retirement tax result, sale treatment, deduction, refund allocation, indemnity, or reporting position is selected merely by signing this agreement.

8. Insurance, Beneficiaries, and Estate Planning

This agreement does not itself change a policy, plan, beneficiary designation, will, trust, power, or title record. Complete the separate authorized process and verify any restriction on changing it.

9. Releases and Unresolved Matters

Under RCW 26.09.070(1), a written separation contract may address maintenance, property owned by either or both Parties, and release from obligations except those expressed in the contract. Any release must be read with the specific disclosures, schedules, reservations, required separate instruments, creditor rights, and nonwaivable law.

Except for obligations expressly preserved below or imposed by the decree or other controlling law, each Party releases the other from claims between the Parties concerning the property, liabilities, and maintenance matters fully disclosed and expressly resolved by this agreement.

Expressly preserved or unresolved:

[________________________________]

This release does not by itself transfer title, release a creditor, enter a decree, divide a retirement plan, alter a tax obligation, change an estate-planning instrument, or waive a claim requiring more specific language or another formality.

10. Decree Treatment and Enforcement

RCW 26.09.070(5) provides that, unless the contract says otherwise, the agreement is set forth in the decree, filed in the action, or made an exhibit and incorporated by reference, and the Parties are ordered to comply. Under subsection (6), terms set forth or incorporated by reference may be enforced through judgment remedies and as contract terms.

Select the intended treatment with counsel and conform the proposed decree:

• ☐ Set forth the agreement’s terms in the decree.
• ☐ File the agreement in the action.
• ☐ Make the agreement an exhibit and incorporate it by reference.
• ☐ Provide otherwise under RCW 26.09.070(5) as follows: [________________________________]

The old template’s automatic “incorporated but not merged” and “independent contract” language has not been retained as a universal default. The final agreement and decree must state the selected treatment consistently with RCW 26.09.070.

11. Further Documents and Cooperation

Each Party will sign and deliver the deeds, title documents, plan orders, account forms, releases, sale documents, and other instruments specifically listed in the schedules by their stated deadlines. If a required third party or tribunal does not accept a proposed instrument, the Parties will cooperate on a lawful substitute that carries out the approved allocation without materially changing it.

12. Entire Agreement and Amendments

This agreement and its completed attachments state the Parties’ agreement on the subjects addressed. An amendment must be in a writing signed by both Parties, except to the extent a decree or governing law controls modification or another formality applies.

13. Acknowledgments

Each Party acknowledges that the Party:

• received the completed agreement and disclosure schedules before signing;
• reviewed the property, liability, maintenance, decree-treatment, and transfer terms;
• had the opportunity to obtain independent legal, tax, valuation, retirement, and financial advice;
• identified unresolved information or requests in writing; and
• signs voluntarily based on the information disclosed and advice obtained.

14. Signatures

SPOUSE 1

Name: [________________________________]

Signature: ____________________________________

Date: [__/__/____]

Counsel, if any: [________________________________]

SPOUSE 2

Name: [________________________________]

Signature: ____________________________________

Date: [__/__/____]

Counsel, if any: [________________________________]

Attachment Checklist

• ☐ Financial disclosure schedule
• ☐ Property and valuation schedule
• ☐ Liability schedule
• ☐ Real-property legal descriptions and transfer instructions
• ☐ Retirement-plan information and draft orders
• ☐ Maintenance calculation and modification election
• ☐ Tax-professional memorandum or allocation schedule
• ☐ Insurance and beneficiary schedule
• ☐ Proposed decree language matching Section 10
• ☐ Other: [________________________________]

Sources and References

• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.09.030
• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.09.070
• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.09.080
• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.09.090
• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.09.170
• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.16.010
• Washington Legislature — RCW 26.16.030