Seattle Attorneys Blog

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).

Relocating Across Town with the Kids

November 19, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Unmarried parents are often confused about their rights and responsibilities when they want to move their children, or if they want to stop the children’s other parent from moving the kids. For most families living under a court-ordered Washington parenting plan, there is a relocation statute that requires notice be given (except in limited circumstances) prior to moving the children. The type of notification (formal vs. informal) and other requirements (timing of notice, allowing time for objection of other parent) of notification vary based on whether the move is (1) out of the school district, or (2) within the school district. A lot of attention is paid to the notice required for a move outside the school district. There is a law requiring (in most cases) a formal notice of intended relocation. There is also a process that allows the other party to object to the proposed relocation. However, there are frequent instances where a residential parent merely wants to move across town to a new home or apartment. These types of moves often keep the children in the same school district (or even the same school). In these instances, residential parents often wonder what the law requires of them, and non-residential parents wonder whether they have any say in the decision.

RCW 26.09.450 requires that when the residential parent intends to move the kids within the same school district, the residential parent must provide actual notice to all people entitled to residential time with the child. According to that statue, the notice may be by any reasonable means. While “reasonable means” is a vague term (that can include verbal notice), it is usually advisable that a residential parent provide written notice. This reduces the chance that the non-residential parent will deny receiving notice. A copy of the notice you provide should be kept for your records. Many attorneys advise that this notice be sent by certified mail with a return receipt requested. The notice should likely include your new home address, phone number, and (if applicable) new school or daycare information. (Notice requirements are often different in cases involving domestic violence or other safety concerns.)

If you are the recipient of notice that your child’s residential parent is relocating within the school district, you are not allowed to formally object to the relocation. That said, in some cases an in-district move may be grounds for a modification of the parenting plan.

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.

Arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Pot?

November 4, 2013 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Last November, pot was legalized for recreational use in Washington. The passage of this legislation, Washington Initiative 502, created many questions for users in Washington such as: How old do I have to be to use marijuana? How much am I allowed to have in my possession? Can I grow marijuana? Can I sell marijuana to others? What happens if I commit a violent crime or a crime against property while under the influence of marijuana? With confusion surrounding the Initiative, you may have been charged with violating Washington law. If you have been charged with a pot-related offense, call Blair & Kim, PLLC to talk to an experienced criminal defense attorney.

A month later, in December 2012, Washington developed DUI limits for pot use. This too led to questions such as: Can I smoke pot and drive? How much can I smoke before I drive? Is there a “DUI limit” for THC blood concentration? What is a “pot DUI” or a “marijuana DUI”?

To see how the Washington State Patrol (WSP) is responding to the passage of marijuana in the state, check out an article from National Public Radio’s Program All Things Considered: http://www.npr.org/2013/11/06/243466218/there-may-be-a-green-light-for-pot-but-not-for-driving-high.

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.