Family Law: What is it, anyway?
“Family law” refers to all legal matters having to do with any aspects of family and domestic relationships. Primarily, family law includes divorce and legal separation, and the legal resolution of the many disputes that are part of such unpleasant, but very common life changes. Family law used to be known as “domestic relations law” or “matrimonial law.” Lawyers who practice family law are called “family law attorneys.” Both of the attorneys at Scholl Law Firm, P.S., in Tacoma, Washington, are highly skilled, well-respected, family law attorneys who are passionate about their work.
As our society and culture have changed over the years, so has the reality of our family structures. Families now come in different shapes and sizes than they did in the days of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and Ward and June Cleaver. Our society’s broad acceptance of cohabitation and unmarried parentage, together with the growing acceptance of same sex couples, continue to bring major changes and challenges to family law. For instance, while gay marriage is prohibited by Washington law, our state’s Legislature has taken tremendous strides in recognizing and governing the legal rights and responsibilities of same sex couples by enacting comprehensive domestic partnership laws. And, as even same sex couples now have children together, such legal issues of child custody, and child support, are now part of our domestic partnership laws.
When married couples, or domestic partners separate or divorce, there are legal steps that must be carefully accomplished to end the relationship in a way that addresses and protects the interests of both parties, as well as ensuring the ongoing care and custody of any minor children the couple have.
Questions of which spouse or partner is going to be responsible for what debt, which is going to own what possession, and how one spouse or partner is going to be compensated for property and possessions taken by the other all have to be addressed and resolved within the court system. And, because Washington is a community property state, the specific details of when and how property was acquired and debt was incurred can be critical in protecting the rights of each spouse or domestic partner.
As a marriage, domestic partnership, or co-habitation relationship comes to an end, decisions, many of them very painful, have to be made. Initially, one person inevitably has to move out of the home, a process that can pose as many financial issues as emotional ones. For couples who are homeowners, decisions have to be made about which one, if either, will keep the family home, how the mortgage will be paid, and how the one who is moving will be compensated for his or her interest in the home’s equity.
And, of course, for parents of minor children, the legal issues arising from the demise of the marriage or other domestic relationship are far more complicated, far more painful, and far more important. Houses can be refinanced or put on the real estate market. Debts and bills can be divided and paid or not paid. Car titles can be transferred, and retirement accounts cashed out or rolled over in one name or the other. Family photographs can be reproduced. And furniture and household goods can be sold, left behind, given away, or just taken to the dump. Even dogs and cats can be split up, taken with, or given away to new homes. But not children.
In family law matters, issues of property and money are far less important to our courts than are issues about children. And no issues are as frequently disputed, sometimes bitterly, in a divorce or family law matter than issues of children and parenting. Most Washington courts require that parents in a divorce, legal separation, parentage action, or other family law matter involving minor children attend a seminar on the Impact of Divorce on Children. The mandatory parenting seminar is offered live and online.
Washington state law requires that when a couple with children legally separate or divorce the Superior Court must approve a written Parenting Plan that sets out such details as which parent is the primary residential (“custodial”) parent, and what the specific schedule is for the children’s residential time (“visitation”) with the other parent. The Parenting Plan also provides details as to which parent is to make various decisions essential to raising the child or children; who provides transportation of the children for visitation with the non-custodial parent; and which parent gets to spend which holidays and vacations with the child or children.
The law requires the Court to determine that the various provisions of the Parenting Plan are in “the best interest of the child,” and, if the parents cannot resolve any disputes and agree to such a Parenting Plan themselves, the law requires that a Superior Court judge or commissioner make such determination for the parents.
Similarly, Washington law requires that the Court enter an Order of Child Support in any divorce, legal separation, or domestic partnership dissolution in which children are involved. Child support cannot be negotiated or bargained away between the parents, and the fact that one parent is unhappy with the Parenting Plan does not in any way relieve that parent of the legal and moral duty to support the child financially. Child support orders are also required in a parentage action, which may be brought in Superior Court by either parent, or by the State, in cases where unmarried couples have a child together. In the Order of Child Support, each parent is assigned a specific percentage of the total responsibility for the child’s financial support based on both the combined incomes of both parents and what portion of that combined figure is earned by each parent. One parent then makes monthly child support payments to the other.
The role of the family law attorney does not end when the marriage or domestic partnership does. Former spouses and partners are frequently no better at getting along in their new role as co-parents after a divorce or separation than they were before. In fact, as one former spouse re-marries, and one former partner becomes involved with someone new, the emotions and stresses that characterized the divorce or separation can reappear to make the challenge of post-dissolution co-parenting a more daunting challenge than most parents can imagine. When parenting disputes and issues arise between former spouses or partners, most Parenting Plans require the parents to participate in formal mediation or similar form of alternative dispute resolution before taking the dispute back to the Court. Sometimes such disputes can be readily resolved, either through mediation, negotiation, or one parent just deciding to give in to the other. In many instances, however, one parent or the other will file a Petition for Modification of the Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule, or Order of Child Support. A modification action puts the underlying issues of the Parenting Plan and child support before the Court all over again, and requires both parents, once again, to attend the mandatory parenting seminar. Our courts assume that the content of the seminar did not take with at least one of the parents the first time, or they would not be back.
Another area of high conflict can arise if the primary (“custodial”) parent decides to relocate with the child or children. Many family law attorneys, including the two attorneys at Scholl Law Firm, P.S., consider that disputes involving child relocation can be some of the most bitter, unpleasant, and challenging of all family law matters. Washington now has very specific laws regarding the steps the custodial parent must take before relocating with the child or children, and the rights and remedies available to the non-custodial parent who opposes the move. Washington state’s child relocation laws apply to all situations in which a Parenting Plan or Residential Schedule has been entered by the Court, whether in an initial divorce matter, a parentage action, a domestic partnership dissolution, or a parenting plan modification.
One reason that we at Scholl Law Firm, P.S., see a large number of child relocation disputes is that we represent so many parents who are in some way connected with the military. With Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base only miles from our office in Tacoma, Washington, we know that the military lifestyle gives rise to some of the most difficult issues in family law. It is enough of a challenge when a military family must relocate intact to a new duty station. Much more stressful and painful is what happens to family relationships when after a military divorce the custodial parent either want to relocate or is required to relocate, whether locally, to another state, or even overseas.
Another challenge family law attorneys deal with because of the intestate, and even international, mobility of parents and children arises from the fact that family law is almost always a matter of state law. And family law differs from state to state. While Washington is a community property state, the state of Oregon, to our immediate south, is not. And, while most states, including Washington, are no-fault divorce states, there are still states that require one party to show legal cause for a divorce. Also, residency requirements for divorce differ significantly from state to state.
At Scholl Law Firm, P.S., our family law clients come to us from states from coast to coast, and in many instances we represent family law clients who live overseas. But our attorneys are licensed to practice law only in Washington, and cannot represent or advise anyone in a matter where jurisdiction is in a state other than ours. If you live elsewhere but have either a pending family law matter in Washington, or you believe your family law matter involves Washington, we would be happy to review your situation to determine if jurisdiction is in Washington.
