Selling a House During Divorce in Auburn, WA

RCW 26.09.010 says a dissolution, a legal separation, or a declaration about the validity of a marriage may be filed in the superior court of the county where the petitioner resides. If you live in the King County part of Auburn, that points to King County. King County filings are handled by the Superior Court Clerk at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Room E-609, Seattle, and at the Maleng Regional Justice Center, 401 Fourth Avenue North, Room 2C, Kent. Ask the clerk or your attorney which office and which case-assignment area apply. KindKey will not file the petition or pick the courthouse.

If you live on a southern Auburn parcel that is actually in Pierce County, Pierce County can be the residence county. Those filings go to the Clerk of the Superior Court, 930 Tacoma Ave S, Room 110, Tacoma, WA 98402, phone (253) 798-7455. The other spouse may already be in Kent, Federal Way, Milton, or Edgewood. If that person is the petitioner and lives in a different county, the case may be filed there. The house does not move with them. A King County Auburn deed records with the King County Recorder. A Pierce County Auburn deed records with the Pierce County Auditor. Algona and Pacific are separate cities. Do not assume a house just outside the Auburn line is this file.

RCW 26.16.030 says neither spouse shall sell, convey, or encumber community real property unless the other spouse joins in the deed or other instrument, and both acknowledge it. One signature, a text message, or an agreement in a kitchen on Lea Hill is not that joinder. Title will ask for the missing signature or for a court order. KindKey cannot waive it because you want the sale to move.

RCW 26.16.050 is the different path: one spouse may deed a community interest directly to the other, and the grantor signs without the grantee joining. That transfer is between the two of you. It is not a sale to KindKey. A decree under RCW 26.09.080 can award the house. The statute tells the court to divide property and liabilities in a way that is just and equitable, considering the community property, the separate property, the length of the marriage, and each spouse’s economic circumstances, including whether the family home should go for a time to the parent the children live with most of the time. KindKey will not predict that division or tell you what “equitable” means in your case.

RCW 26.09.060 allows temporary orders while the case is open, including orders about property. Read every order before you sign a purchase agreement. If an order restrains a sale, a cash offer does not lift it. Do not deed the Auburn house to a relative, or into one name, to keep it out of the case. KindKey will not participate in a transfer meant to hide the house from the other spouse or from the court.

The house is often the largest asset, whether it is a larger place on Lakeland Hills or a smaller house in the valley. You do not have to repair it, empty it, or stage it before you ask for a number. You do have to know whether you may accept the number. Request the offer while your attorney works. Accept it only when your attorney says the signer is clear. If one spouse has already moved and the other is still in the house, do not force a move-out so the house looks vacant. Occupancy belongs with your lawyers and with any order already entered.

KindKey buys as a principal and does not charge an agent commission or a separate assignment fee. The closing agent prepares a settlement statement before closing. A mortgage, a tax bill in the parcel’s county, or a City of Auburn notice can reduce what is left. KindKey does not divide the proceeds. The decree, an agreement your lawyers approve, or the closing instructions do that. Cash means the purchase is not waiting on a buyer’s mortgage approval. It does not mean the divorce is over.

A listing can fit a house that is in good condition if both of you can cooperate on showings. Hire a licensed broker. KindKey will not run the listing. If the loan is behind, read the Auburn foreclosure guide and talk with a Washington attorney about RCW 61.34 before you sign. KindKey does not interpret that statute. If a death in the family is part of the same mess, the Auburn probate guide is the signature question to solve first. The Edgewood divorce guide is the neighboring Pierce County version of this problem, for spouses who have a house on that side of the line instead. You can say no after you see the offer.