Articles | Seattle Divorce Services

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....

Conflict in Divorce

Here's an interesting quote from a cover letter and resume we received recently: "Aggressive litigation is not necessarily the most efficient or emotionally appropriate forum for people going through the trauma of dissolution." Did you think you would ever hear that kind of statement from an attorne...

Positive Consequences

In legal matters we often impose negative consequences to change behavior. However, using positive consequences may in many cases work better. Basically, a negative consequence is a punishment, while a positive consequence is a reward....

Do I Need a Lawyer to Get a Divorce?

While the short answer is no, you can get divorced without an attorney, the long answer is that having a lawyer can make a big difference. In a typical divorce there are many decisions to be made that will have significant impacts on you and your children for years to come. A lawyer can help you thi...

What is a PostNuptial Agreement?

A postnuptial agreement is an agreement made between a couple after marriage about what will happen if the couple divorces or one of them dies."Postnuptial" simply means "after marriage". Andrea Vacca wrote a good article on postnuptial agreements in New York, and much of what she wrote is applicabl...