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http://www.divorcenet.com/states/washington/wa_faq12

Washington Cohabitation FAQ's
By Law Offices of Raj Bains, P.S.C.

Published: July 17, 2004

1. My ex-girlfriend lived in my home for the past seven years. We broke up two months ago. Yesterday, I was served papers claiming that we had a meretricious relationship, whatever that is. In her lawsuit, she wants half the equity in my house. She can't be serious, can she?
She is serious, and you should be too. Under her theory of meretricious relationship, your ex-girlfriend is seeking an equitable distribution of the assets acquired during your relationship. In other words, she wants her share of whatever was accumulated while the two of you were together.

2. But we weren't married. What is a meretricious relationship anyway?
A meretricious relationship is a stable, marital-like relationship where both parties cohabit with knowledge that a lawful marriage between them does not exist.

3. I can agree with that. We knew we weren't married. How does a court determine whose relationship is meretricious and whose is not?
There is no precise formula to determine if a relationship is a meretricious one. Courts will generally review the following non-exclusive list of relevant factors:

(a) continuous cohabitation;
(b) duration of the relationship;
(c) purpose of the relationship;
(d) pooling of resources and services for joint projects; and
(e) intent of the parties.

4. Say that the court looks at the factors and decides that we have a meretricious relationship. What happens next?
Once a court determines the existence of a meretricious relationship, then it will evaluate the interest each party had in the property accumulated during the relationship and make a just and equitable distribution of it.

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