When a child is born to married parents, there is no need for either parent to take steps to establish their parental rights; Washington law presumes that a child born during a marriage is the legal child of both the mother and the father. When a child is born outside of a marriage, however, a…
Washington law does not prohibit parties from getting a divorce if the wife is currently pregnant. However, there are some unique legal issues that are likely to arise in this context regarding the unborn child, whether the child is born during the marriage or in the months following the divorce. Individuals who find themselves in…
There are two main ways under Washington law to legally establish paternity for a child who is born outside of a marriage. A father can sign a paternity acknowledgment form, which establishes him as the child’s legal father. Alternatively, a court can issue an order that establishes a man as the legal father of the…
In the state of Washington, just like in many other states, there are laws in place to prevent one parent from taking his or her child and simply moving out of state or far away from the other parent. After all, it would be unfair to the noncustodial parent to allow the custodial parent to…
Custody cases are difficult for all parties involved, and particularly for children. Some parties are able to privately negotiate their own residential schedules, either on their own or with the help of a third-party mediator. When parties cannot reach a custody agreement, however, the judge must make a decision about what arrangements would be best…
Although family courts historically may have given preference to mothers in awarding child custody, times have changed significantly. For far too many years, most people, including family court judges, assumed that the mother should have custody of the child, and the father should pay child support and alimony to the mother. In today’s world, however,…
In the typical divorce, the spouses’ retirement plans, pensions, and mutual funds often may be the most valuable assets that they own. As a result, the division of these items of property in a divorce can be a hotly contested matter. Under Washington law, retirement funds that either spouse acquired during the marriage are the…
Spousal support, which is also referred to alimony or maintenance, is a sum of money that one spouse is ordered or agrees to pay the other spouse on a regular basis during and/or after their divorce. In some cases, the spouses purposely agree to make a spousal support obligation non-modifiable. This means that the spouse…
While both parents have a responsibility under Washington law to financially support their children, changes in financial circumstances and related issues can justify a modification to a parent’s court-ordered child support obligation. However, it is important to remember that a parent’s child support obligation will stay the same amount until the court issues an order…