Divorce

Picking Your Battles After Divorce

March 25, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

During marriage, many people say that they have to pick their battles with their spouse. They say that in everyday annoyances they choose to let it go and choose not to “battle,” but in bigger, fundamental issues they choose to discuss, argue, and (hopefully) work it out. While it may seem that the time for this type of decision making ends when the marriage does, it can actually be even more important to carefully choose your battles after the marriage has ended.

Here are a few things that should be considered when deciding whether to battle or let it go:

Compare the Problem to the Potential Solution. Sometimes a client comes in with an underpayment of $500 for a one-time cost that the other party should have shared with them. They want to go to court and ask the court to require the other party to pay. While we understand this inclination to seek justice, in some circumstances the amount to be gained, is less than the resources that could be expended going to court. (That said, see number two) In those circumstances, it is sometimes advisable to let the issue go.
Consider the Intangibles. Sometimes it is important to involve the court in your dispute so that you set a standard of compliance with the orders. If your child’s other parents is continually late with child support or maintenance, but you always end up getting paid, it might still be worth bringing this to the court’s attention merely because of the message it communicates to the other party. In some instances it is important that the other party know that you will not tolerate continual misfeasance.
Think About the Kids. If you have children, it is important to think about the possible adverse effects that might arise from taking the other party to court. I recently consulted with a client that had a great co-parenting relationship with her former spouse. She then told me that he had failed to pay his portion of a childcare bill amounting to a few hundred dollars. We discussed the potential benefits and disadvantages of the suit. She believed that bringing her children’s father to court would sour their relationship. We discussed the importance of keeping written record of his failure to pay, but eventually she decided that ruining their co-parenting relationship was not worth a few hundred dollars.

This is only a brief list of things to be considered prior to bringing a party back to court for failure to comply with a court order, or for other reasons. If you are considering bringing your former spouse back to court and you would like to discuss the issue with a family law attorney, we’d be honored if you chose to contact us.

Residential Schedules in Unconventional Circumstances

March 20, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

On this blog, we’ve previously discussed the ways that a parenting plan can adjust to the needs of children as they grow and change. Parenting plans can also be drafted to fit the needs of the parents. This can include work schedules. Our clients are not all 9-5 employees. Some work nights, some work swing shift, others work schedules that require them to work several days in a row and then take several days off. For unmarried parents with these types of schedules, more conventional parenting plans may not work.

Some people aren’t aware of the ways a parenting plan can be written to fit their life. For example, instead of having the kids every other weekend, plans can include provisions that adjust based on the work schedule of either or both parents (perhaps providing one parent three weekends in a row, then the other two weekends in a row). As another example, families working night or swing shifts might prefer having their residential time with their children start in the morning following their shift instead of in the evening after school.

It is our goal to draft parenting plans that fit our clients’ families. We work to ensure that we know our clients, and how their work schedules might affect their time with their kids. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss your parenting plan or other family law issue.

Three Ways the Length of a Marriage Can Change Your Divorce

March 10, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

It is intuitive that a divorce after one year looks different from a divorce after ten years. It follows that a divorce after twenty or thirty years can be different by a greater degree. Here are three ways divorces can vary based on the length of the marriage:

Spousal Maintenance: If one party is the sole breadwinner (or the main breadwinner), the longer the marriage is increases the likelihood that spousal maintenance will be ordered. It also often extends the duration of the spousal maintenance. On the other hand, if a marriage only lasted one year, it is unlikely that the economically disadvantaged spouse has the same level of reliance on the other party, and thus may not be awarded maintenance.
Retirement Assets: A longer marriage usually involves more retirement assets. These assets need to be awarded to either one party, the other party, or divided between the parties. Longer marriages usually mean that more of the retirement assets go to the party with the lower ability to recoup the losses caused by the divorce. If the parties are already retired, there are other issues that must be addressed.
Status of the Parties: In short term marriages, the parties’ statuses often don’t change much from the time of the marriage to the time of the dissolution. In mid-length marriages, community assets and debts are often acquired, and kids have often been added to the equation. In long-term marriages there is often an abundance of community assets and debts, and less time for the parties to replace assets lost during dissolution.

The length of a marriage can have other implications too. Sometimes aging brings on health issues that can complicate dissolution issues. Sometimes people in mid-length marriages want to get support to get a educational degree or accreditation. In short-term marriages sometimes a home has been purchased, but very little equity has been acquired and selling the house might be tough, but keeping the house might be impossible with only one income paying for it.

While divorces change based on the length of the marriage, it is always important to find an attorney that runs a client-centered practice. This allows the attorney to get to know you, learn about your marriage, and help you plan for your future after divorce.

3 Ways the Improving Economy Affects Family Law

March 5, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

A recent article on Bloomberg.com states that the divorce rate in America is rising alongside our improving economy. The article suggests that people stuck in marriages for financial reasons, are now able to leave in the improved financial climate. The changing economy definitely impacts our clients. Here are three changes we’ve noticed in the last few months:

Homes are more likely to be an asset. Before housing prices dropped, we would often see clients whose greatest asset was their home. Then, when the recession hit and housing prices dropped precipitously, clients were dealing with a home that was their greatest debt. Parties would argue over who got stuck with the house! Now, we’re back in a place where most of our clients’ homes are assets again.
Child support and spousal maintenance levels are likely to be higher. With an improved economy, there are many people with improved salaries and more assets. Unsurprisingly, this usually means that they will pay more in child support or spousal maintenance than they did when they made less, and had less.
People are employed. We’ve seen more of our clients with stable full-time employment in recent months. This is especially helpful as we try and help our clients plan for their financial futures post-divorce. It also impacts how parenting plans are designed. A parent at work may require more evening and weekend time, and less middle of the day time than a non-working parent.

As things continue to change in our local and national economies, we are prepared to help with all your family law issues. We stay abreast of the changing economic conditions, and how these conditions might affect our clients. Please contact us today.

3 Things to Consider Before Staying Together for the Kids

February 25, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Many people choose to stay in an unhappy marriage for the benefit of their children. This decision is extremely personal, and often admirable. However, as family law attorneys, we hope parties staying married for the sake of their kids consider these three things:

Spousal Maintenance: the duration of the marriage is one of the factors the court considers when determining whether to award maintenance (known in other jurisdictions as alimony). As the length of the marriage increases, it becomes more likely that the court will award maintenance, and for a longer duration. In addition, while the marriage is intact the non-earner spouse (or lower-earning spouse) will not necessarily be preparing for having to support themselves financially, leading to them needing more time to prepare for financial independence after divorce. This can have an impact on the maintenance provided to that person.
Quality and Quantity of Parenting Time: Many parents complain that during an unhappy marriage, their parenting was adversely affected by living with their spouse. In these circumstances, parents might find that their relationship with their kids actually improves after divorce. While children may not spend the night in your home every night as they do prior to divorce, many parents find that they have more quality time with their kids after separating from their spouse. A family law attorney can provide you advice on what a parenting plan might look like if you choose to divorce while the kids are still minors.
Property Division: Washington is a community property state, meaning that property acquired during marriage is presumed community. In most circumstances, the longer a marriage continues the more shared assets and debts are acquired. In some cases, property is acquired that one spouse cannot afford on their own. This can complicate divorce and put both parties’ financial futures in jeopardy.

None of these issues for consideration are meant to encourage anyone to get divorced. Divorce is difficult for people mentally, financially, and emotionally. That said, some people are staying together under false assumptions or misunderstandings. Even if you do decide to stay married for the kids, it is often in your interest to discuss how to manage your affairs while you stay married. If you are concerned about your marriage, and would like to speak with a Seattle area family law attorney, please contact us.

Sick Days and Parenting Plans

February 20, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Cold and flu season is upon us. Sick days caused by colds, flus and other illnesses can cause people to miss work, school and other engagements. What many people don’t think about is how sick days might affect their parenting plan. Parenting plans are supposed to provide a residential schedule that sets forth where the children will reside every day of the year. Most of the time residential schedules go as far as to outline where the child will reside down to the hour of the day. But, what happens if the child or parent is sick during their scheduled residential time?

Unless ordered otherwise, if the parent is sick during his or her residential time with the child, it is still that parent’s responsibility to care for the child, or arrange other care during their illness. That said, if the parents have a good relationship, and can agree (preferably in writing) that the well parent can care for the child until the sick parent is well, there is usually nothing preventing this.

If the child is sick, the parent scheduled to have residential time with the child is still responsible for the child. Again, if the parents have a good working relationship there is usually no problem with the parents discussing where the child would be most comfortable during their illness (for example avoiding making a child suffering through a fever transition from one house to the other). Parents can arrange for make-up time when the child is well.

How does the Court Decide Whether to Order Spousal Maintenance?

February 16, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Spousal maintenance is a court-ordered amount of money paid by one spouse (or former spouse) to the other, during the pendency of a dissolution or legal separation case, and sometimes after the decree of dissolution or legal separation is entered. It is commonly referred to as alimony, and is still officially called that in some states.

In Washington, spousal maintenance issues can often be some of the most contentious and acrimonious issues in a dissolution case. If parties can’t agree to a spousal maintenance amount (or whether it should be ordered at all), the court will make the decision for them. The court will have to decide whether to order maintenance at all, how much maintenance to order (usually on a monthly basis), and how long to order the maintenance payments to continue. While results in family law cases vary, there are some factors you can be sure the court will consider when determining whether to order spousal maintenance. The main consideration is the need of the party requesting maintenance versus the ability to pay of the party who will pay maintenance. RCW 26.09.090 provides the factors a court must consider when awarding spousal maintenance.

There is also a factor the court is specifically ordered not to consider: the misconduct of either party that may have contributed to the divorce. (There is an exception to this rule if spousal abuse has affected the employability of the receiving spouse.) This differs greatly from many other states that allow the court to consider the misconduct of the other party, or even make it a determinative factor.

Why it’s Hard to Determine Exactly How Much You will Pay

February 2, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

As family law attorneys, one of the first questions we often hear from our clients is “how much is this going to cost me?” The answer to that question (as with many legal questions) is often: it depends. Clients want to know how much child support and spousal maintenance they’ll be paying. This article hopes to explain why the answers to these questions are not as clearcut as clients (and we) wish they were.

Child Support: Although there are child support worksheets and a child support schedule that help us determine how much child support you will be paying, more detail is needed before we feel confident in our advice. While you might be able to provide your income information during an initial meeting, it is unlikely that you can provide all of your spouse’s income information. There are also some unknowns as to how the court may impute an income to a unemployed or underemployed person. Adding to the complexity, in cases involving spousal maintenance the amount of spousal maintenance can affect the child support payment, so without knowing the spousal maintenance amount it is difficult to determine the child support that will be ordered. This is only the beginning. There are also deductions, taxes, deviations and more!

Spousal Maintenance: There is no statutory formula for determining how much spousal maintenance a spouse will have to pay to support the economically disadvantaged spouse. Instead, there are statutory factors helping a court determine whether to award spousal maintenance, and if so, for how long. Most of the time, only after looking at financial declarations from both parties, and information relating to the factors in the statute, are attorneys able to provide a well-educated estimation of the amount of spousal maintenance the court may order.

What Happens to Child Support When Parents Share Residential Time with the Kids?

January 28, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Most people are familiar with the stereotypical “divorced dad schedule” for kids of divorce: every other weekend, and every Wednesday night for a couple hours. Times have changed. Nowadays, dads are often the primary parent. Even when they’re not the primary parent, dads are frequently receiving more time with their kids. There are families that have 50/50 residential schedules where kids are scheduled to spend equal amounts of time with each parent (or close to it). These schedules can be great for kids and parents, but they do lead to some interesting questions. One of the most frequently asked questions in these situations is: in a 50/50 residential schedule who pays child support?

This is a great question. Unfortunately, there isn’t always a certain answer. When kids spend a significant amount of time with the obligor parent (the one paying child support), a downward deviation may be requested. A deviation is an exception, or derogation from standard child support transfer amount (based on the Washington State Child Support Schedule). Deviations based on residential schedules are permitted under RCW 26.10.075(1)(d). That statute permits the court to deviate from the standard calculation if the children spend “a significant amount of time with the parent who is obligated to make a support transfer payment.” That paragraph continues, stating that this deviation may not be granted if the deviation will result in insufficient funds in the obligee’s home to meet the basic needs of the children. RCW 26.19.075(1)(d).

If the court determines that a deviation should be granted, the statute requires that in determining the amount of the deviation, the court consider evidence regarding increased expenses to the obligor parent and the decreased expenses of the oblige parent created by the residential schedule. RCW 26.19.075(1)(d). As an obligor parent, you would want to show that you have to provide clothing, an extra bedroom, sports equipment, meals in and out of the home, etc. You’d also want to show the savings that the obligee has because of the schedule (usually the reverse of the additional expenses you will have).

Having Your Say – Declarations in Family Law

January 9, 2014 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

As family law attorneys, we often ask our clients to write declarations. Clients are often unsure of what a declaration is, and how it may be used. Here we’ll provide a brief overview of what declarations are and how they may be used in family law cases.

Declarations are sworn statements. They are written by people with factual information they think will be important to the court in making a decision. Declarations are the declarant’s story of how an event (or series of events) transpired. Parties and non-parties may write declarations. Declarations need not be notarized (that would be an affidavit), but they are signed under penalty of perjury. Declarations may be written on Washington’s pattern form.

Many clients have a lot they think the court needs to know in order to make a just decision. They may want to submit a 50 page declaration, or 50 one-page declarations from all their friends and family members. Unfortunately, the length of declarations is limited by court rules. The limitation generally includes the initial declaration as well as the reply declaration, meaning that you need to save some of your pages for after you receive the other side’s response. As attorneys, it is our job to help you decide what information is most important for the decision-maker to read.