Articles | Seattle Divorce Services

Extended Hours

In order to better serve clients, Seattle Divorce Services has recently added the option to schedule a consult outside of regular business hours by special arrangement. Attorney Mark Alexander will have a limited number of early morning appointments available. Attorney Mimi Buescher is scheduling...

What are Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements?

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are legal agreements made before or shortly after marriage when couples determine their rights and responsibilities related to property and debts. A prenuptial agreement is signed before marriage, while a postnuptial agreement is signed after marriage. In gen...

Dividing Retirement Benefits

Because Washington is a community property state, any asset acquired during the marriage is presumed to belong to both spouses, regardless of whose name it’s in. That includes wages and employment benefits as well as houses, stocks, and cars. Transferring all or part of tax-deferred retirement bene...

What am I Entitled To in a Divorce?

In a divorce, the judge is charged with dividing marital property in a fair and equitable way. What's considered fair and equitable depends on the unique circumstances of each party, so there are a wide variety of possible outcomes regardless of what you expect you are entitled to. During a divor...

Can I Fill Out My Own Divorce Papers?

"Can I fill out my own divorce papers?" On another blog, Mark Alexander of our office responded to this common question: You are certainly allowed to, and virtually all the Washington State forms are available online. However, they are bare-bones forms, which were designed to ens...

Theories of Fairness

I was recently discussing "fairness" with another divorce lawyer. He explained the concept that there are four different theories of fairness: they are based respectively on Law, Equity, Needs, and Belief. Fairness based on Law is what we think of most often when we negotiate settlements in divo...

How Long Does Spousal Support or Alimony Last?

Divorce laws vary state to state but in modern times the idea of lifetime alimony is becoming less frequent, especially when families have both parents working outside of the home. Still, spousal support can be awarded in a divorce when there is a large income disparity between spouses – in addition...

Handling Your Finances During a Divorce

Divorce is not only an emotional split, it's also a financial one. It pays to know your financial rights and responsibilities before you divorce. Divorce can be financially devastating, so there are things to keep in mind before you divorce. Don’t be left in the dark. A Daily Finance article H...

Private School Tuition as Child Support

Mark Alexander of our firm recently answered a question about child support and private school tuition: First, the obligation to pay for private school tuition is a child support obligation, although private school tuition is usually NOT ordered unless there is a history of the child previously a...

FasTrack Divorce™

We have begun offering a new option for resolving cases through a streamlined hybrid method designed to keep costs down. This method was developed by two Seattle area Collaborative attorneys, Virginia Goldberg and Peggy Hoban. From the FasTrack Divorce™ press release: THE SIMPLE AND PREDICTABLE DIVO...