Family Law

Why it’s Often Best to Be Nice During Your Family Law Case

October 28, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

When people are embroiled in family law cases, being nice is often not their first priority. Instead, people often want to even the score with the opposing party. While the urge to punish the other party for their wrongdoings may be warranted, it is almost always not in your best interest to do so. Here are a few reasons we encourage our clients to be nice:

Your Kids: Kids watch what we do more than we think. This is especially true when they feel unsure about their future. They may look to you for how the future is going to be for them. Showing them examples of contempt and discord will make them think that that is what their future will amount to.
Your Health and Well-being: Let your lawyer do the arguing on your behalf. Avoid unnecessary confrontation and the stress that comes with it. Don’t fill your time thinking about revenge and getting even. Instead, focus your energy on things that make you feel happy and healthy.

How Will My Criminal History Impact My Divorce?

October 22, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

People from all walks of life have criminal records. Some people have had a DUI. Others have had convictions for assault or theft. When these people get divorced, many of them wonder how their criminal record will impact their dissolution proceedings. Unfortunately, for purposes of this blog post the answer has to be that it depends. There are many circumstances that can impact how much weight and consideration the court will give a previous violation of the law when deciding on family law issues. Here are a few ways that your criminal record may affect your family law proceedings. As with all legal issues on this blog, it is best to speak with an attorney that knows the details of your case about how your criminal record may impact your dissolution proceedings.

Parenting Plan: If you have children, it becomes much more likely that the court will consider more seriously your criminal record. If your spouse is claiming that you are an alcoholic, the court will take a keen interest in your past alcohol offenses. If your spouse claims you are violent, the court will look at offenses involving violence with special interest. It likely goes without saying that criminal convictions involving children will likely be given the most attention.
Restraining Orders: If your spouse is requesting a restraining order, and you have a criminal history that includes assault or other domestic violence crimes, it is likely the court will take these into consideration when deciding whether or not to grant a restraining order to your spouse.

Thanksgiving Schedules and Parenting Plans

October 15, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

After Halloween, Thanksgiving will be right around the corner. This holiday is included in Washington’s Parenting Plan Pattern form. Parents can choose to modify the form to schedule the holiday in a way that makes sense for their children (in rare circumstances, the court may choose to overrule the parents’ decisions). For many two-home (i.e., unmarried or separated parents) families this means the children will spend the Thanksgiving holiday with only one of their parents. And, some parents will be spending the holiday without their kids. Families choose to schedule the Thanksgiving holiday in a number of ways. Here are some of the ways two-home families choose to schedule their Thanksgiving holiday.

Only the Thursday. Some parents choose to schedule the Thanksgiving holiday as just one day. The child (or children) will be schedule to reside with one parent for Thanksgiving Day and then the child will resume their normal holiday schedule. This is generally the default.
Thursday through Friday. In this schedule the child is with the parent scheduled to have the child for the Thursday Thanksgiving and following Friday. This means that the child returns to the normal residential schedule for the weekend.

3 Ways Religion May Impact Your Parenting Plan

October 7, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Parenting plans plan the schedule for your child for every day (and even every hour) of the child’s life. Well written parenting plans should reflect the needs and interests of the child and the child’s parents. This includes the religious beliefs of the involved parties. Here are three areas of Washington State parenting plans that may be affected by the parties’ religion(s):

The holiday schedule. This one is pretty obvious. Many religions celebrate (or abstain from celebrating) certain holidays. The parenting plan should reflect this. If both parents celebrate the same holidays, most plans alternate the schedule to have the child with one parent one year, and the other parent the following year. If the parents celebrate different holidays (for example Christmas and Hanukkah) many plans have the child spending the holiday with the parent that celebrates (in the case of Christmas and Hanukkah, the priority would have to go to one holiday each year in case of a conflict).
The other section. Some families choose to add other directives to the parents in the other section. They might choose to include religious dietary choices (like feeding the child vegetarian, participating in fasts, or avoiding certain meats). This section may also include the choice of religion the parents have made for the child and an agreement to take the child to church.
Decision making. The parents may choose to designate (or the court may order) one parent to make religious decisions for the child. This means the designated parent will have the ability to choose the child’s religious involvement.

If you or your child’s other parent is religious, it is important that you advise your family law attorney of this information. The more information you provide your attorney regarding how you plan to raise your child, the better your attorney can draft a parenting plan tailored to your child’s needs.

If you have questions about your parenting plan, or any other family law issue, please contact us today.

RCW 11.12.051 and Your Divorce

September 25, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

The divorce process affects many parts of your life. Some of the ways divorce affects your life are obvious: divorce can affect your relationship with your children, your relationship with your in-laws, your financial circumstances, and a myriad of other areas of your life. Some of the ways divorce will affect your life are less obvious. One example of a less obvious affect your divorce may have is the way it can affect your will and other estate planning documents.

RCW 11.12.051 is the law that invalidates portions of the will that benefit a spouse after the marriage is terminated (unless you explicitly express other intentions). This means that if your will is written to make your former spouse a beneficiary upon your death, they will no longer receive this benefit. Instead, the gift to that person will lapse as if your spouse had predeceased you. In some cases (especially when the person had a secondary beneficiary in the case that the spouse predeceased the testator), this result is not far from what the testator intended. However, in other circumstances, it is far from what the spouse intended. Either way, it is important that you update to will to clarify your post-divorce wishes.

In many cases, beneficiaries of nonprobate assets will also be affected by the termination of a marriage. According to RCW 11.07.010, if a couple divorces, most nonprobate assets will not pass to the former spouse even if that spouse is still the named beneficiary. There are exceptions to this rule however. These exceptions include nonprobate assets that expressly state that the termination of a marriage will not terminate the beneficiary status of the former spouse and cases where the decree of dissolution requires that nonprobate assets be maintained with the former spouse as beneficiary.

Domestic Violence and Technology

September 16, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Initialisms in Family Law

September 8, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

When confronted with a family law case, clients are often confused by terms and abbreviations used by lawyers and/or the courts. This article attempts to help explain some of commonly used abbreviations. There are some frequently used initialisms in family law. Here is a list of commonly used initialisms, and their meanings:

RCW (Revised Code of Washington): The RCW is a compilation of Washington laws. It is the source of most of the laws involved in Washington family law cases. The laws included in the RCW are adopted by the Washington legislature. Another source of laws that commonly affect family law cases, is case law created by the courts.
UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act): This act provides laws for jurisdiction in parenting cases. This act is important in cases involving children. The UCCJEA has been adopted in every state.
WSBA (Washington State Bar Association): The Washington State Bar Association is the organization empowered to license and regulate Washington attorneys. It is also a place where people can find the disciplinary history of attorneys.
UISFA (Uniform Interstate Family Support Act): This act was adopted by Washington in RCW Chapter 26.21A. It provides rules for cases involving parties living in different jurisdictions at the time of initial child support disputes and continuing child support litigation. It also provides jurisdictional rules related to spousal maintenance cases. The act also outlines the procedure for registering a foreign support order for enforcement in Washington.
TRO (Temporary Restraining Order): A temporary restraining order is frequently referred to by the abbreviated version TRO. TROs are temporary orders that are usually ordered at the beginning of a family law case. They restrain one or both parties from certain activities. The orders usually last until a final order is entered.

If you would like to talk to a Seattle area family law attorney, please contact us today.

What Happens When You Want a Divorce and Your Spouse Doesn’t?

August 28, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Many family law clients seeking divorce have spouses that have already agreed that the marriage is over. However, in some cases there is one spouse who isn’t ready to end the relationship. In these cases, the spouse that is prepared to divorce is often concerned about what happens when the other spouse tries to stop the divorce. In some cases, the responding (non-petitioning) party ends up agreeing that divorce is imminent after the petition is filed, but sometimes the responding party remains steadfast.

If the responding party argues that the marriage is not irretrievably broken, the court may (after a review of the relevant circumstances) order the parties to participate in counseling. RCW 26.09.030. Then, if the parties reconcile the petition for dissolution is dismissed. If the parties do not reconcile, the court will enter a decree of dissolution regardless of the other party’s dissent.

However, while your spouse will not be able to stop you from getting divorced, they can slow the process down. The dissolution process can be slowed by failing to agree on reasonable terms, requesting unnecessary discovery, and by arguing for continuances (among other things). It is important to tell your lawyer that the other party may be dragging his or her feet in the litigation process. Your lawyer may advise taking actions against the other party for unnecessary delays.

3 Issues to Think About When Considering Appealing a Family Law Order

August 20, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

There are people who walk away from a family law trial or hearing feeling like justice was not done. They may feel like the judge was unfairly biased, that the other party was awarded too much money, or that the order makes for an otherwise unworkable result. In these circumstances, people are often wondering what their options are. There are a few ways to appeal a family law decision. One option is to ask the courts to reconsider its decision. Another is to ask for a revision. There are other methods to seek a change to orders that may be used in certain circumstances. Regardless of what type of appeal you are considering, it is usually a good idea to think about the following:

1. Timing. There are limitations on when motions for appeals may be brought. It is important that your appeal is filed prior to the deadline. If you do not appeal in a timely fashion you will lose your opportunity to do so.

2. Cost. There are times that the cost of appealing a court order is not worth the benefit you would receive from successfully doing so. If there would be significant legal costs associated with your appeal, and only a limited gain if you are successful, it might not be worth pursuing.

How the Increase in Home Values Might Impact Your Family Law Case

August 11, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

The Seattle Times recently published an article stating that house prices in Seattle have finally rebounded to (and surpassed) house values before the market crash of 2007. This is good news for homeowners. This includes most homeowners facing dissolution proceedings. Here are a few ways the increase in house values may affect your dissolution case.

Real estate will be viewed as an asset not a liability. For the past seven years we have been dealing with houses that have little or no equity, and as such are often viewed as a liability not an asset. Instead of leaving the house and equity to the less-economically-advantaged spouse, the house was often left to the more-economically-advantaged spouse, because in many cases that was the only spouse that could afford the house and the debt (and it would not be possible to sell the home for the amount owed on the home). Now, with more homeowners having equity, it will be more likely the court will award the home to the spouse most in need of the equity – or the place to live.
Refinancing will be easier. Prior to 2007 it was common to have a property settlement agreement or decree of dissolution require that whoever received the home refinance and remove the other spouse from the mortgage on the property. After 2007, this became more difficult. In many instances, homes were worth less than the loan and requests for refinance were refused. This meant that some former spouses were required to continue being responsible for debt on a property that no longer belonged to them.