Property and pecuniary rights owned by a spouse before marriage and that acquired by him or her afterwards by gift, bequest, devise, descent, or inheritance, with the rents, issues and profits thereof, shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of his or her spouse, and he or she may manage, lease, sell, convey, encumber or devise by will such property without his or her spouse joining in such management, alienation or encumbrance, as fully, and to the same extent or in the same manner as though he or she were unmarried.
Construction: "The rule of common law that statutes in derogation thereof are to be strictly construed has no application to this chapter. This chapter establishes the law of the state respecting the subject to which it relates, and its provisions and all proceedings under it shall be liberally construed with a view to effect its object." [Code 1881 s 2417.]
"This chapter shall not be construed to operate retrospectively and any right established, accrued or accruing or in any thing done prior to the time this chapter goes into effect shall be governed by the law in force at the time such right was established or accrued." [Code 1881 s 2418.] This applies to RCW
26.16.010 through
26.16.040,
26.16.060,
26.16.120,
26.16.140 through
26.16.160, and
26.16.180 through
26.16.210.