Articles | Seattle Divorce Services

How To Avoid A Negative Divorce With Children

Children tend to prefer stability and predictability over change. Stability and predictability feel safe. Divorce means change. On the other hand, a home with significant conflict also does not feel safe, and even without open conflict a home where love between the parents is missing sets our chi...

Holiday Planning For Divorcing Parents

In the course of a divorce involving children, the parents will need to develop a parenting plan that determines how they share time with the children, including various holidays and special occasions. For many families, the December holiday season is one of the most important family times of the y...

Can I Afford To Divorce In This Housing Market?

Over the last couple years, Seattle has seen an extreme rate of growth in housing prices. Right now we are leading the nation in housing price growth. While this may be good for sellers and landlords, it is making it harder and harder for buyers and renters. One impact is that some people in the ar...

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...

What To Ask For In A Divorce

The main thing you need to be aware of (at least in Washington State): you don't need to know every detail about what you will ask for at the time the divorce is filed. The Petition, or Response to Petition, can be framed in very general terms. All you need to know are the broad categories. For ins...

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....

How To Navigate Divorce With Children

Children do make divorce harder. Because they are so easily hurt by the divorce, we have to work much harder to create an outcome that will not only be positive for ourselves, but positive for them as well - and sometimes those two goals are not well matched....

Can You Stop A Divorce After Filing?

At least here in Washington, and I imagine in any state, you can stop a divorce action before the divorce has been finalized if both parties agree to the dismissal. A dismissal ends the case so that the divorce does not move forward. Also, if the other party has responded to the Petition for Diss...

Can We Divorce Without A Lawyer?

It certainly is possible in Washington State to divorce without a lawyer, although as a lawyer I need to clarify that I do not recommend it. I have had clients spend a lot of money trying to undo mistakes they made writing their own court orders (remember the old car care commercial "Pay me now, or...

Money , keys, and cars representing assets

How is Property and Debt Split During a Divorce?

In Washington the courts are instructed to make a "just and equitable" division of all property and debt, both community and separate. Some factors the court is to consider include the nature and extent of the property, the duration of the marriage, and the economic circumstances of each spouse....