Splitting Up after Long Term Marriage

I recently saw a column in the Seattle Times by Carolyn Hax.  In it, a man who has been married for 38 years asks: "I feel as though my wife wants to control and smother me and wants more time from me than I can give her. Things are complicated by the fact that my wife just retired, and I probably...
June 14, 2012

Man-In-The-Middle: The Benefits of a Neutral Third Party

Family law matters almost always include a set of conflicting interests and dissenting opinions. In some situations it is necessary to bring in a third party to sort through the wants and needs of the opposing parties and to help make progress with the issue. Mediation and arbitration are two possib...
June 8, 2012

Is Alimony An Option For You?

In a divorce, all property is to be divided in a fair and equitable manner. However, in some cases a judge may also order alimony, which is commonly called spousal support or maintenance. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines alimony as “an allowance made to one spouse by the other for support pending...
June 1, 2012

What to Consider When You’re Over 50 and Getting a Divorce

Divorce among those over 50 used to be rare, but increasingly couples are deciding to divorce later in life, sometimes after decades of marriage. In fact, a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, Aging Baby Boomers Boost Divorce Rate Among Older Adults, showed that while divorce rates are down i...
May 28, 2012

Divorcing Couples Rfinancing Their Home: HARP 2.0

A friend of ours, Chris Coggeshall, who is a mortgage broker we work with regularly, wrote the following very helpful article for us:   Deciding what you want to do and what you can do with the house when divorcing is a question that most couples face. In years past, prior to the hous...
May 24, 2012

Considering Divorce After 50

It used to be rare for older couples to divorce, but it's becoming more common place. In fact recent research at the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green University in Ohio found that while the national divorce rate has dropped, the rate among baby boomers, now in thei...
May 21, 2012

Positive Co-Parenting

The traditional popular view of divorce assumes that after the divorce there is going to be a state of constant war between divorced parents. However, many couples have bucked that trend and found ways to work with each other cooperatively with co-parenting after divorce. When this happens, not only...
May 17, 2012

How do Child Support Orders Work?

If children are involved in a divorce, financial care of a child or children is one of the most important matters to resolve. In Washington State, each parent pays a proportional share of the support of the children. That share of the estimated cost of raising the children is based on each parent's...
May 14, 2012

Special Parenting Plan Considerations for Teachers

Mark Alexander If teachers with children are going through divorce, their occupation raises some aspects which should be considered when drafting the parenting plan’s residential schedule (what used to be called custody and visitation.)...
May 10, 2012