Recent News

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

The short answer:  Maybe. The criteria for calculation of the parents’ basic support obligation arises under RCW 26.19.071(1), which states "[o]nly the income of the parents of the children whose support is at issue shall be calculated." After determination of the standard calculation, the Court is authorized to deviate from this calculation under certain circumstances.  There is no… Read More

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to adopt a new ordinance that grants criminal offenders special rights in job application processes.  Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 14.17 regulates the use of criminal background information in employment decisions.  Absent a “legitimate business reason”, employers are prohibited from using criminal convictions as the basis for denying employment for… Read More

MILITARY DIVORCE: PENSION ISSUES Service members who retire following 20 or more years of creditable service are compensated with a retirement for the rest of their lives. A military pension is community property.   In a divorce setting, both the service member and their spouse need to understand how and when the military retirement is subject… Read More