While the process for getting a divorce and getting a legal separation are essentially the same, the results are different. When a divorce becomes final, the parties are permanently and legally divorced and free to remarry. At the conclusion of a legal separation, however, the parties are still legally married. This means that they are…
While most parents are able to cooperate about their child traveling internationally, some parents have well-founded concerns about their ex-partner taking their child to another country. These concerns often arise in the context of highly contested divorce and child custody proceedings, in which parental abduction may be a concern if the child is allowed to…
The common thread between annulment and divorce is that each legal proceeding ends a marriage. Legal separation may signal the beginning of the end of a marriage but does not legally end the marriage. However, all three of these legal proceedings do have the potential to impact your finances and your children. An annulment is…
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…
While legal separation and divorce share some similarities, there also are many differences. Probably the most important difference is the fact that a legal separation does not officially end a marriage or allow a spouse to remarry; only a divorce legally and permanently ends a marriage, allowing either spouse to remarry. If your goal is…
In a hurry to get unhitched? Well, if you live in Washington, and want to divorce in Washington, you may have to slow your roll – a bit. The minimum waiting time is 90 days. That is, after the Petition for Dissolution is filed and served on the non-filing spouse, the clock starts ticking. If…
A new job, a new relationship or just a new life – you’ve decided to move. Your only concern is how to relocate with your child that you have legal custody of. There are several issues to take into account so let’s begin. When there is an existing court order, like a parenting plan: If…
Some couples choose to get legally separated rather than divorced for religious or personal reasons. While legally separated people are under no obligation to ever get divorced, those people who wish to remarry will have to get divorced to do so. In Washington, the state allows separated couples to convert their legal separation into a…
Having a driver’s license means having the freedom to go whenever and wherever you want. Most people in this country rely on a personal vehicle to get to work, to attend school, to run errands and shop for groceries, and perform any of the hundreds of tasks that we do with our cars. For that…