Articles | Seattle Divorce Services

When Should I See a Divorce Lawyer?

If you think you may be heading towards a divorce, it is never too early to talk to a divorce lawyer. Even if you are not ready to start the divorce itself, it is a good idea to get some information about what to expect. That includes what the process will look like, the kinds of documentation and o...

Differing Definitions of Mediation

Mark Baer wrote recently in a Huffington Post article "What Does Mediation Really Mean?" about how the definitions of Mediation mean different things to different people, and how the vagueness that creates can be confusing to the client. He refers to three different forms of mediation that all get l...

Child Specialists, Parenting Evaluators, and Parenting Coordinators

The use of these terms may vary significantly across the country, and even in the Seattle area their use may vary, but I wanted to describe three fairly different roles that can be useful in different ways in cases involving children....

Does My Ex Get Custody of Our Child if I Die?

I was recently asked whether a parent could provide in her will for who would take care of her child if that parent died. She was concerned that the child's father was not up to adequately caring for the child. I had to let her know despite any provisions in a will, the other parent would normally b...

Can We Hire Mediators Instead of Lawyers?

Since we do both mediation and representation, we are often contacted by people who want to hire one of our lawyers as their mediator so they can get everything done by one person. However, the functions of mediators and lawyers are different, even when the mediator is a lawyer. We act as a lawyer w...

What Does a Divorce Cost?

A frequent question from callers is some form of "what will my divorce cost?" The problem is that there is no simple answer. In some ways it is like asking what does a house cost, or what does a car cost. The difference of course is that we don't know what your divorce is going to end up looking lik...

Secrets to Getting to Agreement Out of Conflict

You may think "There is no way we'll be able to reach agreement, we're too far apart." However, Dispute Resolution professionals can help you move past those differences to find ground for agreement....

Negative Thinking

Guest blog by Joseph Shaub, Marriage and Family Therapist & Mediator "Criminal lawyers see the worst people at their best; divorce lawyers see the best people at their worst." (Attributed to Thomas Concannon, Jr., Former Mayor of Newton, N.J. and Family Lawyer) Divorce puts enormous pressu...

The High Cost of Litigation

Litigation is an expensive process. Divorces that go all the way through trial can often run $50,000 or more for each spouse. Not only that, but there are other costs as well - including a huge emotional cost for the parties, damage to parenting relationships, and fallout for the kids. Fortunatel...

Welcoming Janel Ostrem

We are thrilled to be welcoming a new attorney to our office - Janel Ostrem! Janel comes to us from the firm of Van Siclen, Stocks & Firkins in Auburn. Janel was tired of the long commute to Auburn, and we were lucky enough to be able to offer her an opportunity closer to home....