[WSBAPT] Buying House with Inheritance

[Marcus Fry]

Amy:
My view she should be receiving direction from her divorce attorney rather than you.  If something goes south with the divorce and you handled setting this up, you could be left exposed.  You are free to contact the divorce attorney to give your $.02 that this shouldn’t be a problem from a tracing standpoint in the divorce and that as long as no financing is involved, she should be able to purchase the real property without much of an issue from any title company.   But you would caveat that with you’re the divorce attorney, I’m not and let the divorce attorney handle.  I should note if she is helping her ex out, I cannot see why he would not be agreeable to signing an acknowledgment (even through his divorce counsel) that this is her separate property.

-Marcus

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Amy Goertz
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2025 1:47 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Buying House with Inheritance

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Good Afternoon -

I have a recent client who just inherited a substantial amount of money and a house, which we titled as her sole and separate property. She is using this home as a rental (it was already a rental; she kept the tenants).

She has the inherited money in a separate account from her community funds and she does not deposit community funds into the account.

She is now in the middle of a divorce and has a local divorce attorney helping her. Her husband does not have a place to live and client is contemplating using some of her inheritance to purchase another rental home for her soon-to-be ex to live in, but wants to ensure that the property is and remains her separate property.

Divorce attorney told her that she would have to have husband "sign off" on her purchase in order for it to be and remain her separate property. Is this accurate or ‘best practice’ advice?

Aside from the terrible idea of renting to her soon-to-be ex husband, would she be able to use her separate funds to purchase this property on her own while she is still married or would it require a signature from the husband to ensure the continuity of the separate nature of the funds?

Amy

Amy J. Goertz, J.D.
Goertz & Lambrecht PLLC
amyjgoertz at icloud.com<mailto:amyjgoertz at icloud.com>

1.888.926.2607 phone
1.877.684.1627 fax
Address for correspondence:
2829 S. Grand Blvd., Suite 303
Spokane, WA 99203

Additional office locations:
510 Bell Street
Edmonds, WA 98020

Goertz & Lambrecht PLLC
www.goertzlambrecht.com<http://www.goertzlambrecht.com/>







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