Divorce

Flexibility in Parenting Plans

December 18, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

When it comes to parenting plans, some clients prefer a plan that spells out where the child will be during every minute of every day. Some of these families go on to live that plan down to the minute. Other families hope for a more flexible plan. They might want the plan to be drafted so that the child resides with the father two days per week based on his preference, or the child’s preference. Maybe they want the flexibility to choose who takes the child to soccer practice, regardless of where the child is residing at the time. Flexibility can be great. If parents are willing to change plans and accommodate one another’s schedule, and that of the child, the child often benefits. For example, if both parents work together and are flexible, it often means the child can spend the most time possible with one of their parents, and less time at daycare or other third-party care.

That said, issues can arise if parents draft a specific and/or strict parenting plan, and then ignore the provisions laid out therein. Parents should be aware that continually working outside the parenting plan can end up being grounds for a modification of the parenting plan. This can also have impacts on child support. For example, if under the parenting plan the child is supposed to be residing with the father during the week and the mother every-other-weekend, but the parents later agree that the child should remain with the mother three days during the week plus every-other-weekend, the mother may have grounds to modify the parenting plan. If the parenting plan is modified, it may mean that the child support obligations also shift.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work with your child’s other parent, and be flexible when things come up. It does mean, that if you are not following the parenting plan in a substantial way, it might be a good idea to discuss with a family law attorney your parenting plan, and your current parenting circumstances. Flexibility is good, but protecting your time with your child is most important.

When is it Time to Speak to a Family Law Attorney?

December 12, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Many people wonder when is the right time to consult with an attorney about their family law case. Often, the difficulty in making this decision results in people waiting too long to confer with an attorney. Having a client come into our office long after pleadings have been filed, arguments heard and even orders entered is often a frustrating experience. As family law attorneys we are able to see how the case might have gone differently if the person would have been represented throughout the process. Often, by the time the person comes into our office our ability to help them is severely limited by actions previously taken while unrepresented.

While each person’s case and circumstances are different, here are occasions when you may want to consider speaking with a family law attorney:

If you are served with a petition, motion, notice, or other court document.
If you are considering filing a petition or complaint in your family law case.
If you are entering a marriage and you want to know about protecting the assets you currently have.
If you are experiencing a change in circumstances in your family and want to know how it might affect your legal rights or obligations.

Just because you speak with an attorney about your case does not mean that you have to hire that attorney to represent you; however, at least you can ask that attorney what the process will be like. With more information you will be more prepared to decide whether you want to represent yourself, be represented by an attorney, or consult with an attorney, but do some of the work yourself.

Four Things to Bring with You When You Meet with Your Family Law Attorney

December 1, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

People contemplating taking legal action to resolve a dispute involving their family are often nervous, emotional and stressed. This can be especially true when they go to meet with a family law attorney for the first time. Although it can be a challenge, we suggest you keep your focus. Remember that time is money, and be prepared for your first meeting. We hope providing the following list will help you feel more prepared.

Suggested items to bring with you when you visit your family law attorney for the first time:

Any court order relating to the issue at hand. If you want to change your parenting plan, child support order or other order, be sure to bring the actual order with you. It is very hard for an attorney to advise you on the proper way to ask that an order be changed (or if it is even possible to do so) without having the order in front of them.
Other documents related to your legal issue. If you are asking for a change in your spousal maintenance or child support, you may want to bring your tax return, or recent paystub including year-to-date pay amount. If you are asking about a change in your parenting plan (or initial creation of a parenting plan), you may want to bring a copy of your calendar, showing when the child was at your place, and when the child was at the other parent’s home.
A list of questions you would like to ask during your initial consultation. This might include questions that help you learn a bit about the attorney you are meeting with. You may want to ask about fee structures that are available, the attorney’s litigation style, and how much experience the attorney has in the area of law you are inquiring about.
Any intake form the law office might ask you to fill out. When you make an appointment, you might ask if there is a client intake form that you could fill out in advance.
Any other documents the attorney requests you to bring. When you call to make an appointment, ask whether there is anything you should bring with you to your first meeting.

Please feel free to contact us if you’d like to setup an appointment to talk about your family law issue.

Living Together Before Marriage

November 30, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

A recent article published on Huffington Post’s Divorce section describes a study published in 2012. The study found that living together prior to marriage is no longer a strong indicator of whether a couple will stay married or not. This is welcome news for many couples worried about their marital futures. However, there are other potential ramifications for parties living together prior to marriage that one might want to be aware of. As we’ve discussed previously on this blog, in Washington State, under certain circumstances, people who live together may be deemed partners in a committed intimate relationship, and thus may have access to the courts to divide debts and assets should their relationship end.

This issue can come up in a committed relationship that does not end in marriage, but instead ends with a break-up or death of one partner. It can come up in same-sex and different-sex relationships. After a long relationship many assets and debts have often been acquired. If a partner can prove that a committed intimate relationship existed, they can ask the courts help to equitably divide the property and debts acquired during that relationship. Many parties are surprised that they can end up in what feels like divorce court without ever getting married!

More relevant to the subject at hand, this issue comes up frequently at the time of divorce. Many divorcing spouses think that they will only have to divide assets and debts dating back to the inception of the marriage, but come to find out that they may have to divide assets and debts that were incurred years prior to their walk down the aisle. What assets become community-like depends on whether the couple lived in a relationship that qualifies as a committed intimate relationship prior to marriage. If they did not, the court will only characterize debts and assets acquired during marriage as community (or community-like).

More on Parenting Plans – Veterans Day, MLK Day, Sick Days and More

November 12, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Unmarried parents creating parenting plans often expect to have to share their children for Christmases, birthdays and Thanksgivings. What they usually haven’t contemplated is sharing sick days, Veterans Days, MLK Days and Presidents Days. These are all days that often result in kids being out of school while parents still have to work. As most parents agree, these days are often disruptive to their work schedules, especially if the kids do not attend a daycare that allows them to attend on those days.

To avoid confusion, parenting plans are expected to schedule where children will be each day (even each hour) of their lives. This doesn’t mean that they can’t do a weekend at their grandparent’s or an overnight at their friend’s home, but it does mean if those plans fall through, the parent scheduled to have residential time with the child will be responsible to provide care (or find a suitable alternative).

Parenting plans often (and almost always should) provide a time that the transfer from one parent to another happens. Prior to that time, unless otherwise stated, the children should go to the parent with whom they are scheduled to reside. That means that if you are to have the children from 9:00 a.m. on Monday until 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and they get sick at 9:45 a.m. on Monday morning, it is likely you that will have to take the day off work (or figure out a suitable alternative). If one of the unmarried parents is a stay-at-home parent to other children, it might make sense to have that parent scheduled to have the children during most school hours. That way, if the kids do get sick, that parent is available to care for them until the other parent is available to take over. Specific circumstances should be discussed with a well-qualified family law attorney.

Kids’ Sporting Events After Divorce

November 1, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

While divorces don’t have to be acrimonious, they do usually complicate things. Things that were once simple and straightforward become more difficult. Kids sporting events are a common example of something that becomes more difficult after divorce. Often, during marriage parents both attend sporting events. They cheer for their kids, get to know other parents, and watch their kids develop as athletes. After divorce, many parents wonder whether they can still enjoy the weekly game. The answer often depends on the parents post-divorce relationship.

In divorced families where the parents have a positive and friendly co-parenting relationship, there is usually no problem with both parents attending the same sporting events. At our firm we’ve even seen families where one former-spouse invites the other out for ice cream to celebrate a win (or recover from a loss).

However, in cases where the parents have not exhibited the ability to maintain their composure when in the same location, it is often best to avoid joint participation in sporting events. While many parents are sad to miss their kids’ game, most agree it is better to have your kids miss you at the game than be witness to you and your former-spouse arguing on the sidelines. It is also possible to write into a parenting plan that parents alternate involvement in sporting events so that both parents can remain involved in sports without the risk of exposing the kids to hostility.

Dividing Property When You Can’t Get Divorced

October 30, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

For a variety of reasons, some people choose to be in a long-term committed relationship instead of getting married. When these relationships end, many people feel like they are going through a divorce. As you can imagine, after years in a committed relationship there is often co-ownership of real and personal property, and debt associated with the property. Although in many ways these long-term relationships can be like a marriage, the dissolution process is not available to the couple. This can leave many people feeling without resources to resolve the property issues associated with the end of their relationship.

Fortunately for some, while common-law marriages may not be formed under Washington law, in some circumstances unmarried couples that are able to show that they are in a committed intimate relationship may ask the courts to help them divide property and debt. To qualify as a committed intimate relationship the parties must show that they were in a marital-like relationship. To determine whether the relationship was marital-like the courts will review several factors (ex. pooling of resources, continuous cohabitation, and duration of relationship). Property acquired during a committed intimate relationship is subject to equitable division by the court.

These cases are not without their challenges, and should only be brought when the relationship is likely to qualify as a committed intimate relationship. Also, it is important to note that not all the remedies available to divorcing parties are available to parties to a committed intimate relationship. For example, parties ending a committed intimate relationship will not be awarded spousal maintenance (often called alimony).

Divorce Statistics: How does Washington Compare?

October 19, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

The Huffington Post recently published an article in their divorce section that discussed a compilation of data provided by FindTheData.org comparing divorce statistics among states. According to the compilation, Washington is right in the middle when it comes to our divorce rate. Washington is in the upper end of average when it comes to the cost of filing, but also in the upper end of average in our ease of filing. Washington is within the average range on most of the statistics – nothing too notable.

However, what is noteworthy is how much the minimum processing time varies from state to state. The minimum processing time is (in Washington at least) the minimum amount of time it can take from the day of filing, to the day the decree can be entered. As we’ve discussed previously, the minimum it can take in Washington is ninety days. Some people complain about this time period being too long. Perhaps they’d feel better if they compared our state’s processing time to that of Arkansas (540 days!) or Rhode Island (510 days!).

Five Reasons You Might Need a “Divorce Lawyer” Even if You Aren’t Getting Divorced

October 10, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

When I tell people that I am a family law attorney, they usually follow up the statement with a statement of their own: “You mean you’re a divorce lawyer?” And while I do help people through their divorces, there is much more to being a family law attorney. Before we get to what the much more is, I should say that I’m not offended by the term “divorce lawyer.” Divorce is often the most difficult experience a person goes through, and I’m honored to be able to help my clients through it. Here are just a few things (other than divorce) that a family law attorney does:

Prenuptial Agreements: These agreements are made in contemplation of marriage. They are usually used to give some reasonable expectation of how assets will be handled during marriage and/or if the marriage should ever dissolve.
Postnuptial Agreements: Similar to prenuptial agreements, but they occur after the marriage has been entered.

Points to Ponder When Considering Whether to go to Court to Enforce Provisions of Your Child Support Order

October 1, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

A friend approached me over the weekend with a question regarding whether she should use the court system to enforce her recently-entered order of child support. The order requires that daycare expenses be shared between the parties. However, when she went to her ex-husband to obtain his portion, he said he “already pays enough, and she should be able to cover the costs out of that.” His response directly contradicts the language of the order. That said, it wasn’t clear based on the information she provided whether it would be in her best interest to obtain a lawyer and start litigation. There are a few things I encouraged her to consider before rushing to litigate:

How much money does the other party owe you? Prior to engaging in litigation, a party(hopefully with the help of a qualified attorney) should do a cost versus benefit analysis. How much will it cost you to litigate this dispute? How much do you stand to gain? As attorneys, we sometimes have to advise our clients not to litigate even if we know their likelihood of winning is high, if the amount they stand to recover will be less than the resources expended in pursuing the case.
Can I have someone else pursue this on my behalf? The Division of Child Support (a division of DSHS) has the ability to assist families in need of child support services with establishment or enforcement of an order of child support. In many cases, family law attorneys encourage potential clients to seek remedies through DCS. It is important to remember that although your interests may coincide with that of DCS, DCS will not be your personal attorney.
Are there any non-pecuniary benefits of pursuing litigation? In some cases, it is worthwhile to pursue the misdoing of the opposing party to increase the likelihood that court orders are followed in the future. If you think letting something slide is likely to encourage the other parent to continually push limits and lose respect for you and the court orders, it might be worth it (as long as your attorney feels confident the court will not deem your action frivolous) to enforce the order to establish an understanding that failing to follow court orders will not be accepted.
Are you following the order? Be prepared that if you seek to have an order enforced against the other party, the court is likely to also enforce it against you. This means that if you are seeking to enforce the proportional share of daycare provision of the order, the court may look to see that you are complying with your obligations as well (e.g. that you provide receipts, share other costs or communicate such requests in writing).

Please contact us if you have questions regarding the enforcement of a child support order or other family law order.