I’ve lived with my boyfriend for over ten years, are we in a common law marriage?
Are these two "married"?
No – not if you and your boyfriend live in Washington. Eleven states recognize “common law marriage”, but Washington is not one of them. “Common law marriage” is a a legal status given to some couples…
I’ve heard that Washington is a community property state. What does this mean?
Community property refers to the way that Washington laws treat the property of married people.* In general, married people in Washington have two kinds of property: community and separate. Community property is property that both spouses own equally, while separate property…
My wife and I always agreed that we would send our daughter to private school. Now that we’re splitting up, she says that she can’t afford it – even though she earns the same salary. Will the court make her stick to her promise?
Maybe.
An Order of Child support sets out the…
The Child Relocation Statute (RCW 26.09.430-560) requires the parent with whom the child resides primarily to give the other parent 60 days notice of any plan to move outside his or her present school district. If you can’t give 60 days notice (for example, because you did not know about the move in time) you need to give notice as…
I’ve heard that once a child reaches 12 years old, he or she can decide which parent to live with. Is this true?
Not in Washington. Unlike many states, including California, Washington tries to keep children away from court altogether in custody disputes. In fact, Washington courts often react quite negatively to a parent even saying “But…
There are 4 basic ways of appealing a court decision you don’t agree with:
We looked at Revisions and Reconsiderations in previous…
There are 4 basic ways of appealing a court decision you don’t agree with:
We looked at Revisions in an earlier post. Now…
Washington State child support orders set out each parent’s responsibility for the child’s Extraordinary Medical Expenses.
This provision is found at paragraph 3.19 of the pattern form child support order.
An extraordinary medical expense is a medical expense which in one month amounts to more than 5% of the child support transfer payment.
If you are the parent receiving…
Going to court on a family law motion, even if you have a lawyer, can be a bewildering thing. There are rules, rules, and more rules – then there are customs that are generally followed but not even written down anywhere (like the purple cover sheet form used for family law motions for reconsideration, found at the family law motions…
So you have an Order of Child Support (OCS) saying that you owe a certain amount each month – a transfer payment. Now what?
If you’re the parent who owes child support (usually, but not always, the non-residential parent), then you’re called the “Obligor” – that is, the parent obliged to pay support for your children. The other parent (your…
