Non-Traditional Families

Families come in many shapes and sizes.  There is the traditional American nuclear family with a husband, wife, and 2.5 children. There are extended families living under one roof. There are blended families, families with spouses of the same gender, families with unmarried adults, families with mor...

The Greek Chorus

In ancient Greek plays, there would often be a group of people in the background who commented (through song, dance, and spoken lines) upon the action going on between the main characters on stage. We call this the "Greek Chorus". Today when divorce lawyers talk about the "Greek Chorus", we are talk...

Amicable Divorce

I often have people come in for a consultation about an amicable divorce. They and their spouse agree that they want to keep the divorce amicable, and often they hope to be able to work out their own settlement between themselves (the "kitchen table" approach) without professionals. What makes me wo...

Split – Divorce From the Child’s Perspective

Split Trailer - splitfilm.org from ellen bruno on Vimeo. On October 2013, the movie Split (www.splitfilm.org) was premiered at the annual IACP Forum. This documentary looks at divorce from the perspective of the children involved. As they point out on their website, in the US almost half of all chi...

Congratulations: Mark Alexander Elected to the Family Law Executive Committee!

We just learned that Seattle Divorce Services attorney Mark Alexander has been elected to the statewide Family Law Executive Committee. That is a committee at the Washington State Bar Association that oversees issues related to Family Law in our state. We want to congratulate Mark on his electio...

Should I Use My Regular Attorney For My Divorce?

Today's legal landscape is one of increasing specialization. Lawyers working in a particular area of the law need to be familiar with the statutes, the case law, the court rules, and even the unwritten rules in their area of practice. In some small towns, lawyers still have to be generalists because...

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...

Same Sex Marriage in Washington

We were extremely happy to see same sex marriage passed by the voters in Washington State! It is just basic fairness - adults who love each other should be able to marry. There is no reason to discriminate against some couples because of their gender preferences. I saw a post by Carol Betts, a fr...

Tips for Negotiating Relationships with Grandparents during a Divorce

Former corporate lawyer turned parenting blogger KJ Dell’Antonia recently wrote a great article about parenting and divorce. Often, not just the parents are negotiating the time they will spend with their children post-divorce but the grandparents as well. So, how do you navigate the murky waters of...

Seattle Attorney Carol Bailey on Amicable Divorce

Carol Bailey is an attorney here in Seattle with a strong interest in more peaceful divorce processes. In an article in the Seattle PI blog last February, she talked about amicable divorce, making several very good points....
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