Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2013 and has been rewritten with current Washington State vesting guidance for couples buying a home before marriage.
More couples are buying a home together before marriage — sometimes years before, sometimes with no wedding planned at all. Whatever your timeline, if you’re not legally married when you close, Washington law treats your ownership very differently than it would a married couple’s. The deed itself is what determines what happens to the home if one of you passes away, or if you split up. This is worth thinking through before you’re sitting at the closing table, not during it.
I’m not an attorney, and vesting is ultimately a legal decision — but I spent 14 years in title and escrow before I became a mortgage advisor, so I want to walk you through the options in plain language so you know what questions to bring to one.
If you’re weighing how to split your savings between the wedding and the down payment, I ran the numbers on that tradeoff here:
👉 Read: Fancy Wedding or New Home?
Buying with a roommate or friend instead of a partner? The vesting mechanics are the same, but the practical considerations are different enough that I cover that separately here:
👉 Read: Buying a Home with a Friend or Roommate in Washington
Why vesting matters when you’re not married
When a married couple buys a home in Washington, the property is generally presumed to be community property — each spouse owns an undivided half-interest, and Washington law builds in protections for the surviving spouse. None of that applies automatically to an unmarried couple. Two single people who buy together are, by default, tenants in common — even if the deed never says so. That default has real consequences if you and your partner haven’t talked about what you actually want to happen.
Tenants in common (the default)
Under a tenancy in common, each of you owns a separate, distinct share of the property — and those shares don’t have to be equal. If you put down 70% of the down payment and your partner put down 30%, your deed can reflect a 70/30 ownership split instead of defaulting to 50/50.
The tradeoff: there’s no automatic right of survivorship. If one of you passes away, your share doesn’t automatically transfer to your partner — it passes according to your will, or through probate if you don’t have one. Your partner could end up co-owning the home with your family members or other heirs.
Joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS)
If you’d rather the home automatically pass to your surviving partner without going through probate, you can vest as joint tenants with right of survivorship. This has to be spelled out explicitly on the deed — something like “as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common.” Washington law (RCW 64.28) requires that declaration in writing; it’s not the default, and it won’t happen by accident.
The catch is that JTWROS requires equal shares. If your contributions to the purchase weren’t equal, this vesting won’t reflect that — it treats you as 50/50 owners regardless of what you each put in.
What you can’t do: community property vesting
I get asked this occasionally, so it’s worth stating directly: community property vesting is reserved for legally married couples (and, for older transactions, Washington State registered domestic partnerships that predate marriage equality). There’s no version of it available to unmarried couples, no matter how long you’ve lived together or how you split expenses. If community property protections matter to you, that’s a conversation about marriage, not about how you word a deed.
Consider a written co-ownership agreement
Vesting decides what happens to the title. It doesn’t decide what happens if you break up, if one of you wants to sell and the other doesn’t, or how you’ll handle the mortgage if one partner loses their income. A separate cohabitation or co-ownership agreement, drafted with an attorney, can cover the buyout terms, who pays what if one of you moves out, and how a sale would be handled — the practical questions a deed alone can’t answer.
Your title or escrow company will ask you directly how you want to vest when your transaction is opened, so this isn’t a decision you can put off — but it is one you have time to get right if you start the conversation early. If you’d like the full picture of how title and escrow work together in your purchase, I cover that here:
👉 Read: What Is Title Insurance? Owners vs. Lenders Policy Explained
If you’re considering buying a home anywhere in Washington state and need help with your home loan mortgage, I’m happy to help you!
Frequently Asked Questions
If we’re not married and one of us dies without a written agreement, what happens to the house?
By default, unmarried co-buyers hold title as tenants in common. The deceased partner’s share passes according to their will, or through probate if there’s no will — it does not automatically transfer to the surviving partner.
Can unmarried couples vest title as community property in Washington?
No. Community property vesting is reserved for legally married couples and, for older transactions, Washington State registered domestic partnerships. It’s not available to unmarried couples regardless of how long you’ve been together.
Do these vesting rules apply the same way to same-sex couples?
Yes. Washington’s vesting rules apply identically regardless of a couple’s gender or sexual orientation — the law only distinguishes based on marital status. Married same-sex couples have the same community property option as any other married couple, since Washington’s marriage equality law took effect in December 2012. Unmarried same-sex couples have the same tenants-in-common or joint-tenants-with-right-of-survivorship choice as any other unmarried couple.
What’s the difference between tenants in common and joint tenants with right of survivorship?
Tenants in common allows unequal ownership shares but has no automatic right of survivorship — a deceased owner’s share goes through their will or probate. Joint tenants with right of survivorship requires equal shares but passes the property automatically to the surviving owner without probate.
We put in different amounts for the down payment — do we have to own the home 50/50?
Not necessarily. A tenancy in common can reflect unequal ownership percentages that match your actual contributions. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship, by contrast, requires equal shares.
Should we get a cohabitation agreement before buying a home together?
It’s worth discussing with an attorney. Vesting determines what happens to the title, but a cohabitation or co-ownership agreement can address what happens if you separate, who covers the mortgage if one partner’s circumstances change, and how a future sale would be handled.
Last reviewed: July 2026
About Rhonda Porter
Speak Your Mind