Court | Seattle Divorce Services

What Is A Commissioner or Judge Pro Tem?

You may have heard the terms “Judge Pro Tem” or “Commissioner Pro Tem” in the context of family law cases. Like many legal terms, these words are perhaps made more obscure by the use of latin. However, you do not need to be alarmed - it is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. A Seattle family law...

The Role of Litigation in Divorce

The traditional approach to divorce is litigation, which is primarily court based. In other words we either go to trial to have the court decide the terms of the divorce, or we settle the case based on what we think the court would do if we went to trial. While other methods have been developed t...

Who Stays In The House After Divorce?

Often at the beginning of a divorce, one party chooses to move out because they no longer want to be living with the other person. This can impact later claims that they should be the person awarded the house in the divorce, as the courts tend to lean towards the least disruptive solutions: i.e. le...

Compassionate Litigation

Can compassionate litigation be possible? While I talk a great deal about Collaborative Divorce because it is my preferred dispute resolution method, our office also does a large amount of divorce litigation (court based). However, all divorce litigation is not the same. I like to think of...

A Tale Of Two Divorces

A Litigation Story: Lori and Joe had been fighting off and on for the last year, too often in front of their children, Max (8) and Maggie (10). Finally, Lori told Joe that she wanted a divorce. Over the next couple of weeks, both met with and hired divorce lawyers. When they met with their respe...

Managing Conflict In Divorce Litigation

While we believe in exploring opportunities for alternative dispute resolution in our cases, often we do need to litigate (proceed with court process) for one reason or another. Litigation IS an adversarial process. Still, even in litigation, we prefer to reduce conflict rather than escalate it....

How do tI get my Spouse to sign the divorce papers? - Seattle Divorce Services

How Can I Get Someone To Sign Divorce Papers?

This question can refer to two very different sets of divorce papers. One is the initial papers filing for divorce, and one is the final order completing the divorce; and of course, I am only discussing this from the perspective of divorce in Washington State. The law in other states or countries m...

Is litigation necessary in divorce? - Seattle Divorce Services

When Is Litigation Needed In Divorce?

Litigation is the process of submitting issues to the court for decision. While we believe that our clients are better off when we can keep conflict to a minimum and help our clients reach agreements out of court, sometimes litigation is needed. Litigation is generally needed if one side is unwi...

Can I Have My Spouse Pay For Both Divorce Attorneys?

If your spouse agrees to pay for both divorce attorneys, certainly it is possible. Some attorneys may be reluctant to accept payment from the other spouse, citing conflict of interest concerns, but I would expect most would be okay with it. Even if the attorney does not want to take direct paymen...

Questions For Your Attorney About Divorce

Last week I discussed questions to help you decide which attorney to hire. This week, I wanted to suggest some questions to ask to help you be better informed about the divorce process itself and to help you make decisions about the divorce....

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