Last night, New Zealand took a huge leap forward by becoming just the second country to grant victims of Domestic Violence ten days paid leave from work each year.  (The first country was the Philippines).  These ten days exclude annual holiday or sick leave. This additional time provides the victims an opportunity to find a new home, and otherwise protect themselves and their children. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world.  According to the Guardian, on average the police respond to a domestic incident every four minutes. The cou ..read more

When separation or divorce is in the horizon, it is important to remember that your life is intertwined on and offline. Most of all of us own a computer, smart phone, smart watch or even a smart speaker. Here are five tips to remember in the digital world, when you are separating from your relationship. 1. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS For many couples, sign of real trust in their relationship is sharing their passwords with their significant other.  A recent study from Carnegie Mellon University says that the average number of shared accounts per romantic relationship is 4. Most of the accounts ..read more

In Washington State, when a parent wishes to relocate with children, the residential schedule designated in the Parenting Plan may have significant legal consequences for the impending move.  Do the parties have a traditional every other weekend schedule, where one parent is clearly the primary residential parent?  Or do the parties have a joint custody type of arrangement, often termed as a shared parenting plan or 50/50 residential time?  The type of Parenting Plan involved may influence whether a parent decides to pursue a move with the children or whether an agree ..read more

On Thursday, March 22, 2018, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5598 into law which gives relatives the right to petition a Court for visitation.  Under the new law, a non-parent relative may request Court-ordered visitation with a child if: The relative and child have an ongoing and substantial relationship; and Denying visitation risks harm to the child. Relatives include persons related to the child by blood, legal adoption, step and half-siblings and spouses and relatives.  Relatives also include extended family members recognized by a Native Amer ..read more

Overview of Domestic Violence Definition: The law defines “Domestic Violence” as physical harm, bodily injury, assault, stalking, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault. To be considered for an ordered protection from domestic violence, the abuse must be between family, household members, or persons in dating relationships. In Washington State, this includes: Spouses Former spouses Persons who have a child in common Adult persons related by blood or marriage Adult persons who reside together now or have resided together Persons 16 years of ..read more

Kids these days are more active than ever before.  Between increased school workloads, various after school clubs, extracurricular activities and sports, it’s astounding how busy (and often cluttered) children's lives have become.   While all of these activities may look good on a college application or a job resume as the children get older, the fact is extracurriculars and sports are vital to providing children of any age some sense of normalcy as their parents go through a relationship breakup.  These activities provide the children with opportunities to exercise, soci ..read more

Relationship breakups, whether it be divorce, separation or committed intimate relationships, is confusing and stressful for all families, but particularly so for the families with children. It is often difficult for newly separated parents to determine what kind of long-term parenting arrangement will be best for the children once each parent has established their own household. In family law cases involving children, the court's primary concern is with the best interests of the children. This should be your primary concern as well. Here are some tips that will help you and your former part ..read more

  In contested Family Law cases of any type (Dissolution, Legal Separation, Parentage, Committed Intimate Relationships, Parenting Plan or Child Support Modification) parties often go to court for Temporary Orders.  The Temporary Orders govern the parties rights, duties and responsibilities before it is finalized as the case is pending.  Temporary orders can address a wide range of temporary relief, such as Restraining Orders, Parenting Plans, Spousal and Child Support, who pays what bills, who can use what items of property (such as vehicles, or occupancy of a family home), a ..read more

In Washington State, when a party to a divorce is ordered to pay support (also known as maintenance, or alimony) to a former spouse, that payment is tax deductible.   This means the party paying support ("payor") receives a tax benefit for the amount paid and the party receiving support ("payee") must pay taxes as earned income.  However, the current tax system is about to undergo a big change. Currently, divorce settlement is often reached when the parties agree to larger payments of support at a lesser after-tax cost to the payor.  This is often seen as mutually benefici ..read more

Traditionally, Divorce filings spike dramatically upward in the month of January.  In some years, the amount of new Divorce filings are up in January by almost 33% over any other month in the year.  Many attorneys see a surge in new Divorce clients in January.  In fact, the first Monday of the month is often referred to as "Divorce Monday" by Family Law Attorneys, and the entire month of January, as "Divorce Month."  This dramatic increase in January Divorce is also consistent with traffic on Dating Apps, such as Match.com, which can go up by as much as 38% in the first wee ..read more