As many of us know, the days of parents’ financial support of their children ending on the child’s eighteenth birthday is largely a thing of the past. These days, whether divorced or not, many people are supporting their adult children through college or technical school (at least). In divorced families,…
Articles Posted in Child Support, Parenting Plans
Does Your Order of Child Support Fit Your Current Circumstances?
Child support is meant to provide support for minor children based on the economic circumstances of that child’s parents. Sometimes after an order of child support is entered a child changes age brackets, gets close to graduating from high school , or other significant enough changes in circumstances occur, that…
The Marital Presumption in Washington State (and how it relates to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian)
While this blog generally focuses on family law issues facing typical Washington families, every so often a matter facing a not-so-typical family provides an opportunity to discuss a topic that may affect families reading this blog. As many have heard (It’s even being discussed on CNN:http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/03/in-cali-kris-humphries-is-the-presumed-dad-of-kim-k-s-baby/), Kim Kardashian and Kanye…
Alternative Methods of Communication
Lawyers are often quoted encouraging their clients to “get things in writing.” In a recent New York Times article, “Kramer.com vs. Kramer.com,” Pamela Paul uses a similar directive for divorced parents: Paul advises that parents use emails and texts in the place of verbal communication. In family law, as Paul…
Parenting Plan Holidays
With the holidays approaching, parents considering divorce may be wondering what holidays with their children could look like post-separation. While specifics should be discussed with an attorney, there is general information that might resolve some questions. The Washington State parenting plan form includes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin…
How Not to Communicate With Your Children After Divorce
Divorced parents are often advised on ways to connect with their children after divorce. This recent article from helpguide.org is no different: it provides some time-tested ways to connect with your kids. This type of article can be very helpful when a parent is feeling their parent-child communication strained. However,…
Preparing for Divorce: The Importance of Financial Knowledge
In almost every divorce, financial information is exchanged between the parties. Whether it be informally listing assets and debts and dividing them between spouses, or a more involved and organized discovery process whereby account statements, financial declarations, professional valuations, interrogatories, etc. are exchanged, or a process somewhere in-between, it is…
Connecting With Your Children: How a Personalized Parenting Plan Can Help
In a recent article, “How to Connect With School-Aged Children When You’re Separated or Divorced,” in The Huffington Post’s divorce section, Naomi E. Goldstein, Ph.D. discusses the difficulty and importance of connecting with children after divorce. In that article, she posits that it is especially difficult for divorced parents to…