Recent News

Washington doesn’t have common-law marriage. You could live with someone for 30 years, share a home, raise kids, and introduce each other as husband or wife—but when it comes to inheritance, Washington law doesn’t see you as “married.” Instead, Washington recognizes something called a Committed Intimate Relationship (CIR). A CIR isn’t automatic, and it’s not… Read More

The American legal system is one of advocacy.  That means that generally speaking, the court in a dispute does not do its own investigation to get to the truth of the matter; rather, it relies upon the parties and their counsel to plead their positions with evidence and legal arguments.  The court then weighs the… Read More

Identifying, Classifying, and Defining Easements Babak Shamsi, Beresford Booth Partner and Chair of the Real Estate Litigation and Transactions Team, is presenting for HalfMoon Education Inc.’s upcoming webinar on Washington State Land Rights, Restrictions and Regulations. This will be a live, interactive webinar, on Thursday, October 16, 2025.  Babak will be discussing the topic of… Read More

Making sure that you leave your divorce with a fair and equitable division of assets is one of the most important things family law attorneys can help you accomplish. However, sometimes the financial issues are far more varied and complex, and a financial expert, such as a forensic accountant, is necessary to make sure all… Read More

An easement is a nonpossessory right to use or enjoy someone else’s land. In other words, an easement grants the holder a limited privilege to perform certain acts on someone else’s land without owning that land. It is a right to use, but not own (outright), the land owned by another. The party who enjoys… Read More

In Washington State, final resolution of family law disputes is often resolved before ever reaching a courtroom. This occurs in part due to local county rules requiring family law matters to mediate the case prior to being given a trial date. Whether it’s during mediation, settlement conference, or an informal negotiation between attorneys, parties may… Read More

Titled - Summer Walk: Roses Titled - Summer Walk: Hydrangeas Beresford Booth is excited to share aspiring artist Eugenia Kvistad, daughter of attorney Michael Kvistad, will be sharing three of her paintings that were accepted in the upcoming exhibition “Teen Open Call” at The Gallery at Graphite Arts Center in downtown Edmonds. Do not miss… Read More

September 26th, 2025 - In this webinar, Attorney Dimitra S. Scott discusses "Second Parent Adoption in Washington State" Read More

In at-fault states, a party filing for divorce must allege that their spouse committed misconduct in the marriage leading to its demise.  Washington is not one of those states.  Here, a spouse must attest that their marriage is irretrievably broken, but misconduct is irrelevant.  The statute specifically states: “the court shall, without regard to misconduct,… Read More