Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that is designed to help people settle legal disputes outside of the courtroom. The courts in Benton, Franklin, Yakima and Walla Walla counties require all parties in most domestic relations cases to go to mediation. In mediation, a neutral third party called a mediator works with the…
Health insurance is an important consideration for most people, given the high cost of medical bills. Without health insurance, a catastrophic illness or injury can quickly drive a family into bankruptcy. In many situations, one spouse may have covered the other spouse and children on his or her employer-sponsored health insurance plan throughout their marriage.…
In order to qualify for a child support modification under Washington law, it must be two years or more since your child support order was entered by the court or reviewed for a possible modification, or there must be a substantial change in circumstances that occurred since the order was last entered or modified. There…
Genetic testing occurs in the context of a parentage or paternity action, which is a formal legal proceeding in which a male can establish legal rights to a child as his or her biological father. Either the mother of the child or the alleged father begins a parentage action by filing a petition to establish…
A parent’s right or ability to take a child on vacation is generally addressed in the parties’ parenting plan. The provision relating to vacations may address when and for how long a parent may take a child on vacation, how much advance notice of the vacation should be given to the other parent, and whether…
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…
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…
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…
Sadly, your marriage or domestic partnership is ending. Your reality now includes understanding what is alimony, who pays whom, how much, and for how long. Here is what you need to know about alimony. What is Alimony? Alimony, also called ‘spousal support,’ is money paid by one spouse to the other to help the other…