Recent News

The Washington Legislature recently passed House Bill 1901, which formally adds ‘coercive control’ to the domestic violence statute.  Coercive control is defined as a pattern of behavior that is used to cause another to suffer physical, emotional, or psychological harm, and in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and liberty.  Examples… Read More

Many employers award stocks to their employees subject to a vesting schedule.  In some cases, these awards will not fully vest for 5 or 10 years.  Microsoft is a prime example of such an employer in our region.  Your unvested Microsoft stock may very well be community property, and the community may be entitled to… Read More

Asset valuation is an important part of divorce litigation whether amid a pandemic or not.  However, especially now, it is important to understand that the economy is changing and that it will affect the value of assets and debts in your divorce in determining a fair and equitable award. In addition to determining what assets… Read More

In many divorce cases, the community’s highest valued asset is real estate.  Whether it be the family home, an investment property, a commercial building, or a second home, it is quite common that the equity in these properties is used to achieve a fair division and either the proceeds or the home itself awarded equitably… Read More

The Government will soon be issuing COVID-19 stimulus checks to individuals and married couples who qualify based on income.  Individuals making less than $75,000 per year will receive $1,200 and married couples with combined income of less than $150,000 per year will receive $2,400.  If the taxpayer has children, the government will issue an additional… Read More

In a marriage dissolution, individuals frequently ask what assets and debts are subject to the Court’s orders in a divorce.  All separate and community property is subject to division and distribution in a divorce.  As such, it is important to understand what is a spouse’s separate property versus what is the marital community property.  Courts… Read More

Last month, I wrote an article discussing how The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affected spousal support.  The article briefly outlines how the tax status of alimony changed to tax-neutral. Therefore, under the new tax law, alimony is no longer a tax-deductible expenditure, nor can it be considered income for recipients. This alteration not only… Read More

In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law. Now, in 2019, one aspect of the new tax law takes effect by altering taxation of spousal support (‘alimony’). Under the old tax code, spousal support was considered tax deductible for the payer and counted as income for the receiver. With the inception of the… Read More

A Washington Court of Appeals recently differentiated 50/50 shared parenting plans from plans in which there is a named primary residential parent with respect to the intent to move with the child. “A proposed relocation that would modify a joint parenting plan’s equal residential time to something less than equal residential time is in effect… Read More