Attorney William Brendgard Vancouver Family Law and Qdro Legal Services

Read Family Law Handbook from Washington Courts (pdf)

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS

Washington was one of the first states to recognize domestic partnerships. State laws about family relations will now apply to domestic partners. If they are properly registered with the state, the partners can create joint property interests, share debts, and qualify for dozens of rights that were formerly available only to married spouses.

MARRIAGE

Marriages will not be valid if officated by someone not legally or religiously authorized; if the person is under age; if the person is still married to another person; if the parties lacked the actual consent at the ceremony; or if there is no marriage license.

Marriages are partnerships creating a third legal entity, the marital community.

Under community property laws in many western states, the marital couple together own all property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, regardless of who earned it or whose name is on the title. If one spouse should pass away, the surviving spouse will continue to own all community property.

Property and debts from the marriage are presumed to be the ownership and the obligation of husband and wife equally. Each spouse separately owns property they acquired before marriage.

Either spouse can manage and dispose of property for the couple. Either spouse can bind the couple to debts. Limited exceptions are found such as inheritance received and personal injury compensation, which both remain separate property even if won during the marriage.

Marriages continue for life until legally dissolved. The legal process of dissolution changes mutual and joint ownership of marital property, into separate ownership by divorced spouses. Like a business partnership, the law helps to end their connections in an orderly manner, and will see that the partners' rights are divided fairlCommon law marriages are not part of Washington law but we do allow limited use of community property laws to divide assets of people who have cohabited or lived in a meretricious relationship -- an exclusive long term marriage-like relationship in which the parties pooled their resources and acquired assets for common purposes.

UNMARRIED PARENTS

Before recent changes in the Uniform Parentage Act, a set of laws adopted by nearly every state, the court had to establish paternity, either by agreement of the parents, or with genetic testing. Now, parents can sign a Paternity Affidavit at the time of birth. This will establish the legal father and include him on the birth certificate without need for court action.

CHILDREN AND PARENTING PLANS

Children are very important people in the legal system. Their best interest is always the first consideration. The court will place the children's interests above that of each parent. Parents who decide to live separately must work to create a good life for their children and it is essential they cooperate.

The laws help families by planning the children's time through the year, by giving the children a fair amount of financial support, and by keeping each parent's rights and duties in order.

A parenting plan is a document setting out the children's residential schedule throughout the year. The parenting plan states with which parent the children will reside during the week, and on weekends. Other sections cover holidays, birthdays, and school vacations such as spring break and summer.

See the sample parenting plan page of this web site.

In determining the best interests of the child, the state law has the court to consider these factors.

RCW 26.09.187 RESIDENTIAL PROVISIONS.

     (a) The court shall make residential provisions for each child which encourage each parent to maintain a loving, stable, and nurturing relationship with the child, consistent with the child's developmental level and the family's social and economic circumstances. ..     Factor (i) shall be given the greatest weight.

     (i) The relative strength, nature, and stability of the child's relationship with each parent;

     (ii) The agreements of the parties, provided they were entered into knowingly and voluntarily;

     (iii) Each parent's past and potential for future performance of parenting functions as defined in RCW 26.09.004(3), including whether a parent has taken greater responsibility for performing parenting functions relating to the daily needs of the child;

     (iv) The emotional needs and developmental level of the child;

     (v) The child's relationship with siblings and with other significant adults, as well as the child's involvement with his or her physical surroundings, school, or other significant activities;

     (vi) The wishes of the parents and the wishes of a child who is sufficiently mature to express reasoned and independent preferences as to his or her residential schedule; and

     (vii) Each parent's employment schedule, and shall make accommodations consistent with those schedules.

(3) "Parenting functions" means those aspects of the parent-child relationship in which the parent makes decisions and performs functions necessary for the care and growth of the child. Parenting functions include:

     (a) Maintaining a loving, stable, consistent, and nurturing relationship with the child;

     (b) Attending to the daily needs of the child, such as feeding, clothing, physical care and grooming, supervision, health care, and day care, and engaging in other activities which are appropriate to the developmental level of the child and that are within the social and economic circumstances of the particular family;

     (c) Attending to adequate education for the child, including remedial or other education essential to the best interests of the child;

     (d) Assisting the child in developing and maintaining appropriate interpersonal relationships;

     (e) Exercising appropriate judgment regarding the child's welfare, consistent with the child's developmental level and the family's social and economic circumstances; and

     (f) Providing for the financial support of the child.(END)

Parents who are truly commited to placing the needs of the children first can usually work out an acceptable plan. With the help of a counselor, mediator, lawyer, or judge, a full parenting plan is written and becomes a useful scheduling map for parents living apart.

CHILD SUPPORT

Child support is based on the combined income of the two parents who live separately. Deductions are made from gross income for taxes. The base amount of child support is split between parents by proportion of income, say 60/40.

The child support is paid monthly to the parent with primary residence or custody of the child. Discounts are sometimes given for extra parenting time by the paying parent, or when the paying parent also supports children from another relationship. Child support continues to age 18 or graduation from high school, whichever is last.

The child support order also says which parent gets to claim the child as a tax dependent in which future years. Parents with fairly even incomes will take turns by even/odd years, or with two children each parent will often claim one child.

You can calculate child support at Washington DSHS Support Calculator

DISSOLUTION AND LEGAL SEPARATION

Washington, like nearly every state, has a no-fault divorce system. The petitioner states that the marriage is irretrievably broken and does not need to prove why the marriage failed. The court can dissolve the marriage, so the term dissolution is more often used instead of divorce.

A legal separation is similar except the parties remain married after the property and debts are divided. Six months after a decree of legal separation, the marriage can be dissolved by further court order.

The main issues in a divorce are Property, Debts, Parenting Plan, Child Support, Spousal Maintenance, and Restraining Orders.

Property

Generally assets acquired during the marriage are jointly owned. Each spouse is entitled to roughly half of the value of community property. The court is only required to make a "fair and equitable" division of property. This is not necessarily 50/50. Separate property owned by one spouse before the marriage is also before the court in deciding a fair result.

Sometimes an asset can be a combination of community and separate interests. If a husband owned a home prior to marriage, but he and his wife together spent money and labor remodeling and improving the home, she is probably entitled to half of the value of the improvements made by the marital community.

The spouses value and divide their significant personal property. vehicles, real estate, and financial accounts. Valuation can be obtained through market opinions from real estate agents, appraisals, and blue book guides. .

Retirement assets such as pensions, IRAs and 401(k) accounts are also marital property when earned during marriage. After divorce, funds can be rolled over to the other spouse. For more information on dividing retirement assets, see the QDRO page of this web site.

Debts

The spouses divide responsibility for their marital loans, mortgages, and credit cards. The court will make a fair and equitable division of debts, and possibly assign the spouse with more income to assume a greater share of the debts.

The division of debts in the divorce is not binding on the creditors. For example, if a credit card is assigned to the wife in the divorce decree as her sole debt, the creditor still has rights to collect from the husband. If the husband pays it off to save his own credit, the decree has a clause allowing him to seek reimbursement from her.

Spousal Maintenance

Also known as alimony, maintenance is intended to help equalize the financial circumstances of the spouses after separation. A clear case for maintenance is in a long-term marriage where one spouse has been the sole breadwinner, and the other has not recently worked and is not yet capable of self support. The amount is based on many factors including: the needs of the receiving spouse, the other spouse's ability to pay, their health and education, and the length of time the person needs to become more financially self-sufficient. Each spouse submits a detailed monthly budget as a basis for the calculations. There is no chart or strict formula used for spousal maintenance as there is in child support.

Maintenance is based on continuing a certain period of financial security, because of a long-term reliance on the other spouse's income. The court expects a person to make every effort to earn income. Maintenance is set at a monthly amount, for a specific period of time. Rarely is maintenance permanent, and will usually reduce or expire in a set length of time, such as one year of maintenance for each five years of marriage. The payments are taxed as income and are a corresponding write-off for the paying spouse.

Restraining Orders

In cases of severe conflict, the court can enter restraining orders that require a person not to assault, harass, disturb the peace, or enter the other person's home, school, or work place. Violation of the orders can result in a criminal charge. Orders can be obtained within a divorce, or in a separately filed case for an order of protection.

Contact information

William Brendgard has been a trusted advisor for hundreds of people in their personal legal matters. Areas of special interest include community property, child custody, nonparent rights, spousal maintenance, and prenuptial agreements.

William Brendgard is well known for providing realistic advice and competent professional services.

brendgard dot net Family Law Page