In the state of Washington, a court can order a parent to provide support for your children attending college or receiving vocational training. This type of support is called post-secondary child support and, in most cases, requires parents to return to court before regular child support terminates. Washington law sets forth various factors that a…
Many people use the terms “protective order” and “restraining order” interchangeably. However, there are distinct differences under Washington law between these court orders. Learning the difference between these orders is important should you or a loved one ever need to get the type of protection that one of these court orders can offer. A domestic…
Washington law does not set out what a “normal” parenting plan should be. Instead, it encourages parties to reach their own agreement about parenting their child. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, however, the court must issue a parenting plan after taking various factors into consideration, including the child’s age. A parenting plan contains…
Washington law provides for the division of debts in a divorce exactly as it provides for the division of property. In other words, debts are to be divided between the spouses in a fair and equitable manner. What “fair and equitable” mean for you depends on the circumstances of your case. Like property, debts are either…
Some people think that once your child becomes an adult, you can no longer collect back child support payments. In most states, however, this is simply not the case, including in the state of Washington. Although Washington law does establish a timeframe in which you must collect child support arrearages or back child support payments, you…
There are a number of different factors that a judge must consider in making a child custody order and parenting plan. However, absent a showing of harm, a court cannot use the sexual orientation of a parent as part of the reasoning for its custody decision. Under Washington law, the court must remain neutral as to the issue of…
The reasons for a sole custody order will vary from case to case; some common reasons for a sole custody order are that the other parent is incarcerated, has drug or alcohol problems, lives out of state, the role of domestic violence, or is otherwise absent in the child’s life. In other cases, one parent may have just…
The legal standards and procedures for modifying court orders after your divorce depends largely on the type of modification you are looking for. Parenting plans, child support, and spousal support can be changed based on a substantial change in circumstance. Changing the division of assets and debts, on the other hand, are much more difficult to…
The laws of some states do recognize the concept of common law marriage, but Washington is not one of those states. Common law marriage typically means that a couple has lived together for a significant period of time and held them out as married. Although Washington does not recognize common law marriages, there are ways…