Recent News

Many survivors of abuse experience continuing and extensive court litigation by their former intimate partner as a form of control, intimidation, or harassment that, at its worse, can span years, even decades. The WA State legislature enacted statutes (Chapter 26.51 RCW), effective January 1, 2021, aimed to prevent abusive litigation between intimate partners and protect… Read More

There are many personal reasons why people may wish to be in a live-in romantic situation without being married. But if you think you are avoiding the legal and property complications of marriage…  think again. Even though “common law marriage” is not a thing in Washington, there may be surprise shifts in money between you… Read More

We finally have an answer as to whether vested and delivered Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) should be included as income when calculating child support, and the answer is YES, according to the WA State Court of Appeals, Division 1. First, what are RSUs? “Restricted stock units (RSUs) are a form of equity-based compensation consisting of… Read More

The Minor Guardianship law went into effect January 2021, replacing non-parental custody rules and procedures. It massively expanded the number of people to which you need to give notice.1 Previously, it was just a matter between the parents, whoever, had custody of the kids, and whoever wanted to get custody of the kids. Now, you… Read More

If you have a current child support order or are looking to request, modify, or adjust child support, you should be aware that there have been a number of noteworthy changes to the child support laws in 2020. The following is a brief summary of some of the changes: What is “full-time” employment for purposes… Read More

February 11th, 2021 Anne B. Bennette from our Family Law Group discusses community property, specifically unvested stock shares. Read More

When you're in a relationship with someone who has children from a prior relationship, it is not uncommon to bond with and treat those children as if they were your own.  It is important, however, to remember your rights as a step-parent differ substantially then the parental rights of a biological or legal parent.  Should… Read More

**This law uses the term “Indian Child” to refer to child members of federally recognized indigenous Native American political and cultural units. These units can be called tribes, bands, nations or any variety of nomenclature. For clarity, this blog posts uses the terms found in the law and in the mandatory forms when necessary to… Read More

It is not uncommon for a party trying to resolve a dispute regarding a family law matter to come to mediation unprepared, unfortunately even when represented by counsel. This jeopardizes the likelihood that mediation will be successful. [Mediation, also known as a settlement conference or alternative dispute resolution, is the process where parties attempt to… Read More