Recent News

Washington was the first state to enact the new Parentage Act in 2018, based on the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act.   This update to the Parentage Act addresses issues related to same-sex couples, surrogacy, the right of a child to genetic information, de facto parentage, and parentage of children conceived through sexual assault.      Perhaps… Read More

The IRS published the Adoption Tax Credit figures and adjustments for 2020.  The new maximum dollar amount allowed for the tax credit tax in 2020 is $14,300 per child (it was $14,080 in 2019).  The Adoption Tax Credit begins to phase out for those families whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $214,520, and phases out completely for families with modified adjusted gross… Read More

If you are in a divorce process, you have to think outside the box when you consider division of your estate—your estate may be more than just homes, cars, investments, and retirement accounts. Think about the activities, vacations, and other benefits you’ve enjoyed together, and you may find there are additional items up for discussion.… Read More

Individuals entering divorce proceedings often hold many questions about the process. When counseling people through divorce we consistently encounter one question: how will the marital assets be divided by the Court? Factors Affecting Asset Division RCW 26.09.080 provides us with an answer in that “the court shall…make such disposition of the property and the liabilities… Read More

Great excitement and uncertainty surround the evolving cryptocurrency market (“crypto”).   As crypto grows in popularity as an investment or form of currency exchanged in lieu of cash, so grow the issues crypto presents in divorce and legal separation cases.  Given the unknowns that the crypto industry brings, involvement of these assets in our cases can… Read More

Around this time every year, high school students begin preparing and sending out applications for admission to colleges, universities, or vocational schools.  For individuals with a Child Support Order, this is a critical time to review the order. When your Order was entered, the Court may have assigned responsibility for payment of your child’s post-secondary… Read More

For the past 75 years, a party who pays Spousal Maintenance/Alimony received the benefit of a tax deductible expense, and the party receiving spousal maintenance/alimony had the burden of paying income tax on the maintenance received. The tax consequences will change dramatically effective January 1, 2019. Under the new Tax Plan, for all divorce decrees… Read More

Many high school seniors are looking ahead to college, university, or technical school later this year. Faced with rising tuition costs, most of their parents wonder how they will help pay tuition in the Fall. If you have an Order of Child Support, post-secondary support can be ordered to contribute to the cost of tuition,… Read More

High School graduation is on the horizon. Your child may have plans to attend college or vocational school in the fall. How (or who) is going to pay the expense? Courts in Washington state have the authority and discretion to determine whether the parents must pay. If you have an Order of Child Support, the… Read More