What is a Committed Intimate Relationship?

In Washington State, common-law marriage—legal recognition of marriage without having formally registered their relationship—is not lawful.  However, Washington courts have adopted a definition for a long-term, unmarried relationship known as a committed intimidate relationship (“CIR”). The existence of a CIR creates a presumption that all property acquired during the relationship is owned by both parties.

A court must examine several factors to determine whether a relationship qualifies as a CIR:

• How long has the couple been together/lived together?
• Was the cohabitation continuous?
• Did the parties present themselves as a...Read More

“I am involved in an estate dispute as an heir/beneficiary of the disputed estate… what do I do?”

Throughout my years counseling individuals through the resolution of their estate disputes, this question has occurred frequently.  As an heir or beneficiary in a disputed estate, it is always recommended to hire an attorney, even if only for an initial analysis of your position in the dispute.  This step is not required but given the complex nature of the procedures associated with estate litigation and administration, I urge you to consider obtaining the counsel of an experienced estate...Read More

For various reasons, testators frequently distribute portions of their estate to their kids, heirs, and loved ones before they die.  Reasons can vary from reducing or avoiding taxes to simply recognizing an heir’s greater need for financial help in the moment.  Questions often arise later concerning how the distribution should be characterized, such as: Were the distributions gifts, loans, or advances to be deducted later from an inheritance?  Naturally, the recipient of the distribution would usually prefer for the distribution to be characterized as a gift, whereas the other heirs of the testator would prefer that...Read More

Washington law allows a person to dispose of certain kinds of tangible personal property at their death in a writing separate from their last will and testament.  For purposes of the law, “tangible personal property” is defined as “articles of personal or household use or ornament,” such as furniture, furnishings, cars, boats, jewelry, art, and precious metals.  It can also include articles held for investment purposes.  It does not include property used primarily in trade or business; mobile homes; real estate; or intangible property such as money that is normal currency, bank accounts or other monetary deposits, securities, or...Read More

In Washington, disputes in construction projects often involve complex issues between numerous parties.  Parties to a construction project may include prime contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers, all of whom work with the expectation of compensation for their services.  When these parties are not paid for their work they may file and attempt to enforce liens to ensure their rightful payment.  RCW 60.04 governs the filing and enforcement of mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens, which are a crucial tool for collection efforts pertaining to unpaid construction work.  However, legal representation is often necessary to navigate through the...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 of the parties, either community or separate, as shall appear just and equitable after considering all relevant factors”. The statute goes on to discuss the four relevant factors:

• The marriage’s community property.
• Each partner’s separate property.
• The duration of the...Read More

Elizabeth (Beth) L. Van Moppes recently wrote an article for the April 2019 Washington State Bar Bulletin on the impact that unconscious bias can have on a workplace investigator's determinations and how to best fight those innate human biases. She states that implicit prejudice can have the greatest influence in an investigator's decisions about credibility. However, it also plays out in less obvious ways that the more readily identifiable immutable characteristics of traditionally disadvantaged groups like color, race, age, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Among the effects and influences that investigators can have upon their investigators, studies...Read More

What is an annual report?

An annual report is the yearly document your LLC submits to the Washington Secretary of State.  The annual report notifies the Secretary of State about relevant information pertaining to your LLC like the name, principal office location, registered agent, and nature of the LLC’s business.  The Secretary of State requires each LLC to file an annual report every year. Any LLC that does not file an annual report will be administratively dissolved by the Secretary of State.

To file your annual report in the State of Washington you must adequately and...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 be complex.

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange utilizing certain encryption techniques to secure transactions and control the introduction of new crypto units into the market.  Unlike traditional currency, there is no centralized power (i.e. a government) regulating...Read More

A person’s Will does not usually deal with “non-probate assets.”  Non-probate assets are the rights and interests of a person in an asset that pass on the person’s death under a written instrument or arrangement other than the person’s Will.  Examples include property owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship, payable-on-death bank accounts, and transfer-on-death securities or security accounts.  There are numerous other examples.  For a payable on death bank account, the person to receive the funds in the account upon the owner’s death is identified in the forms creating or modifying the account.  As...Read More