A legendary Washington home known as the “Spite House” is for sale. KOMO-TV reports that the tiny, narrow, pie-slice-shaped house was on the market for $519,000 as of Apr. 14. Besides the unusual name, Seattle’s Spite House is known for being 15 feet wide at one end and just 55 inches wide at the other.
Of course, the subject of this blog is family law, not real estate. Why mention the Spite House?
Because of its possible connection to divorce. Nobody knows for sure why the Spite House was built, but one story has it that it was the result of an unusual judicial decision regarding how to split up the marital property.
According to that version, in the 1920s a divorcing couple was fighting over who would keep their house. The judge, perhaps seeking a compromise, ruled that the ex-husband would get the house, but the ex-wife would get the front yard. Supposedly, the woman then built the tiny house on her yard to spite her ex-husband.
Other legends have more to do with property disputes, but you probably guessed that we like the divorce story the best.
Just as it was in the ‘20s, the fate of the family home is very important in divorce cases where the couple own their home. Often, couples end up selling the house and splitting the proceeds. But some divorcing people want to keep the house, such as when they want to keep raising the children in a familiar environment.
No matter what your goals are in your divorce, having an experienced attorney working for you gives the best possible chance of achieving them.