Family Law

Washington Appeals Court Affirms Committed Intimate Relationship Property Division

October 13, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Washington recognizes committed intimate relationships (“CIRs”), which are cohabiting relationships that are stable and like a marriage, although both parties know they are not lawfully married. Washington courts will distribute community-like property from a CIR in a just and equitable manner. A man recently appealed a property division after a court found he had been in a CIR with his former partner.

According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, the parties were involved in a CIR between 2009 and 2021. The man conceded the existence of the CIR on appeal. The man owned a home in Seattle and the woman moved into it with him in June 2009. They moved to Bainbridge Island in approximately 2011 and remained there until the CIR ended in July 2021.

The woman petitioned for a distribution of the parties’ community-like property. She testified she had helped with the mortgage and other expenses when they lived in Seattle. She did not however, testify regarding the value of her work or whether it increased the value of the home.

Father Failed to Show Adequate Cause for a Washington Parenting Plan Modification Hearing

September 29, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

A parent seeking modification of a Washington parenting plan must meet the statutory criteria for modification. A father recently challenged a court’s determination he failed to show adequate cause for a hearing on his modification petition.

According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, the parties divorced in April 2019 and the court entered an agreed parenting plan, which did not establish a residential schedule. The parenting plan provided the four children would live with their mother, except scheduled to live with the father. The parties were to engage in a good faith effort to reach an agreement for the schedule for the month by the 20^th of the preceding month.

The father petitioned for a minor modification in February 2020, alleging there was no mandatory minimum residential time for him and the mother intentionally kept him from having residential time.

Washington Appeals Court Vacates Supplemental Findings and Reverses and Remands Property Division in Divorce

August 25, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Property divisions and child custody in a Washington divorce can be contentious. In a recent case, the former husband requested supplemental findings after the wife appealed the property division and residential schedule. The appeals court vacated the supplemental findings and determined the trial court had erred by awarding property that, based on the evidence, did not belong to either party.

According to the appeals court, the parties had an arranged marriage in Cambodia in 2004 and subsequently got married in Washington. They had three children together. The wife filed for divorce in 2021.

The court adopted the husband’s proposed property division. It found the parties had a house in Washington valued at $720,000 with a $224,928 mortgage. The court ordered the house be sold to pay any outstanding community debt, with the parties equally sharing any additional proceeds. The court also found the parties had a house in Cambodia, which it awarded to the wife, valued at $115,000.

Washington Appeals Court Affirms Spousal Maintenance Award to Former Husband

July 11, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Spousal maintenance can be a contentious issue in some Washington divorces. In Washington, a court may order spousal maintenance in a divorce case in the amount and for the amount of time “as the court deems just,” after it considers the relevant factors. RCW 26.09.090 sets forth a non-exhaustive list of factors, including the financial of the party who is requesting maintenance; how long it would take them to obtain education or training to find appropriate employment; their standard of living while married; the length of the marriage; their physical and emotional condition, age, and financial obligations; and the other party’s ability to meet their own financial obligations.

In a recent unpublished case, a former wife appealed an order awarding the husband spousal maintenance after he alleged he was medically unable to work. The parties got married in September 2015 and the wife filed for divorce in July 2022. They settled the property division, so only the parenting plan and spousal maintenance were at issue at trial.

The husband testified he was unable to work due to an injury in 2019, so his only income was about $2,700 annually from his farm. The funds from the settlement for his accident had all gone toward expenses and legal fees.

Washington Appeals Court Affirms Divorce Despite Allegations Documents Were Misrepresented

June 29, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

In some Washington divorce cases, one party may have advantages over the other. In a recent case, a former husband sought to vacate the divorce order, arguing the wife had misrepresented the documents he signed.

According to the appeals court’s opinion, the husband’s father was American and his mother was Vietnamese. Although he spoke “conversational English,” the husband could not read or write in English beyond his name.

The husband signed a quitclaim deed in August 2023 transferring the parties’ house to the wife with no consideration.

Full Time Not Necessarily 40 Hours When Calculating Washington Child Support

May 29, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

When a court orders Washington child support, it must follow the statutes and make the required findings. In a recent unpublished case, a father challenged a child support modification order that imputed income to him and required him to share in expenses related to the child’s gymnastics activities.

The mother petitioned to modify the original child support order based on changes in income and asked the court to order the father to share expenses related to the child’s gymnastics.

The father asked for a deviation, claiming he supported his wife and her two children. He also asked for a deduction because the child was on his insurance. His documentation showed that he paid a flat “Employee + Family” rate that was not based on the number of family members.

Application of Relocation Presumption to Graduated Residential Schedule in Washington Parenting Plan

March 22, 2025 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Often, after a divorce or break-up, one parent may wish to relocate. Relocation of a child under a Washington custody order is governed by the child relocation act (“CRA”). A parent with shared custody must notify the other parent when they wish to relocate. If the other parent objects, the court must hold a hearing. The CRA presumes that relocation will be permitted, but that presumption may be rebutted if the detrimental effect of relocation outweighs its benefit to the child and the relocating parent, based upon statutory factors. Those factors include: the child’s relationships with their parents, siblings, and other significant individuals; prior agreements between the parents; whether there are restrictions on either parent’s residential time; the child’s age, development, and needs and how relocation would affect the child’s development; the resources, quality of life, and opportunities available to the child and parent at both locations; and financial impact. RCW 56.09.520. The presumption does not apply, however, if the parents share substantially equal residential time with the child. RCW 26.09.525. When the presumption does not apply, the court must determine the child’s best interest by considering the statutory factors set forth in RCW 56.09.520.

In a recent case, a mother appealed a court order denying relocation, arguing the trial court improperly determined each parent’s residential time based on the totality of the parenting plan instead of basing it on the phase of the graduated residential schedule that was in effect at the time she filed her motion. According to the appeals court, the parties had one child during their marriage and divorced when the child was two.

The permanent parenting plan made the mother the primary residential parent and gave the father a graduated residential schedule. He would have residential time with the child three nights each two weeks, increasing to four after three months, and then increasing to six when the child turned three. The parents would have equal residential time when the child started kindergarten.

Washington Court Finds House Purchased a Month Before Marriage Remained Separate Property

December 15, 2024 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Characterization of property as separate or community in a Washington divorce case is determined at the date the property was acquired. An increase in separate property’s value is presumed to also be separate property. Separate property remains separate unless there is clear and convincing evidence showing it was converted to community property. Generally, a written acknowledgement is required to rebut the separate property presumption for real property. In a recent unpublished case, a Washington appeals court considered whether a trial court erred in characterizing equity in separate real property as community property.

A month before the marriage, the wife purchased a home for $207,000 with a $40,000 down payment. The parties got married in September 2016 and their son was born the same day. The wife generally stayed home caring for the child.

The husband petitioned for divorce in June 2022. The parties separated at the end of June. They agreed the marital home, which was the one purchased by the wife before the marriage, was worth $402,000. They also agreed it was the wife’s separate property, but the husband claimed he had an “equitable interest” in the property and asked the equity, less the wife’s down payment, be divided equally.

Washington Appeals Court Upholds Community Property Characterization of House Purchased Before Marriage

November 29, 2024 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

In many Washington divorce cases, characterization of property as separate or community can be a contentious issue. A property’s character is determined when it is acquired. Property that is established to be separate is presumed to remain separate unless there is sufficient evidence to show the intent to convert it to community property. Separate property can only be changed to community property if there is clear and convincing evidence of the spouse’s intent to convert it. Intent to convert property can be shown through a quitclaim deed, but there is not a presumption that a change in title from one spouse to both spouses converts property to community property. If a quitclaim deed has a stated purpose of establishing community property, the court can consider extrinsic evidence in determining intent. A husband recently challenged a court’s characterization of a house he bought before the marriage as community property.

According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, the husband had purchased the home while he was single. He refinanced it during his first marriage and signed a quitclaim deed to himself and his first wife. He divorced his first wife in 2010 and he agreed during the divorce that the house was community property. He refinanced the house to remove his first wife’s name and pay her share of the community property as part of the divorce settlement.

The Trial

The parties got married in 2011. Both had been married before and had children and separate assets. Three of their six bank accounts were joint. Additionally, they had a joint investment account. The husband testified he used the parties’ paychecks and the wife’s child support payments to pay the family’s debts. He said they combined and commingled their accounts early in the marriage.

Limitations in Washington Parenting Plan upon Finding of History of Domestic Violence

October 8, 2024 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

When a court makes a finding there was a history of domestic violence in a Washington custody case, it must impose limitations on the decision-making authority and in most cases the residential time of the parent who committed the domestic violence. A mother recently challenged a parenting plan based on a lack of limitations on the father in light of the court’s finding of a history of domestic violence.

The parties got married in 2019 and had a son about a year later. The mother alleged the father was abusive toward her during the relationship. According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, the father told the mother to “. . .get out” following an argument in June 2021. The mother then moved with the child to live with her parents in New Mexico. The father filed for divorce.

The court entered temporary orders allowing the father to have two monthly visits with the child, 25% of which were to occur in Washington. He only actually had about a visit every other month due to the expense and work conflicts.