News & Insights from Will Reingold

In Washington, retirement accounts are considered assets subject to division at divorce.  The purpose of a retirement asset is to provide someone with income after his or her active working years, and to have accumulated such sums in a tax-advantageous way.  There are many varieties of retirement income vehicles.  Here is an overview of just […]

When you’re going through a divorce or other family law proceeding, there will inevitably be court orders that everyone must abide by.  Not everyone does.  These orders can relate to parenting plans, child support, restraining orders, and so on.  Oftentimes you can file a ‘Motion to Enforce’ the order at issue, but an alternative is […]

In Washington family law cases, a Guardian ad Litem (often abbreviated as a ‘GAL’) may be appointed by the court to represent and protect the best interests of the parties’ children. This could be during a divorce, a parenting plan modification, and other family law proceedings. Despite the varying contexts that could lead to the […]

Prenuptial agreements are touchy subjects. Sometimes they can be perfectly fair and fine contracts between soon-to-be spouses. Other times they can grossly favor one spouse over the other. In a previous blog post, I discussed how divorcing spouses may challenge their prenuptial agreement.  Courts apply a two-pronged test to determine whether to uphold the agreement: […]

In 1990, attorney Stuart Webb inadvertently pioneered a new process for divorce aimed to minimize conflict and to resolve matters collaboratively and expeditously. Webb practiced family law and introduced a novel idea: he agreed to represent clients only if both spouses committed to staying out of court. If either spouse filed a motion or initiated […]

If you and your spouse are undergoing a divorce with children, there’s a good chance you are thinking about what kind of custody arrangement you will end up with. In Washington, we refer to these as “Residential Provisions” or more colloquially a “residential schedule.”  They are a mandatory part of every parenting plan. Certainly, this […]

Merriam-Webster defines “defunct” as “no longer living, existing, or functioning.” In Washington, a “defunct marriage” is a term for spouses who have given up any hope of salvaging the relationship, and yet for whatever reason have not filed for divorce.[1] This blog explains why defunct marriages are relevant for purposes of a divorce. It is […]

You have a child with another person—either an ex-partner, ex-spouse, or someone with whom you never actually had a romantic relationship. You’ve gone through the court system and agreed upon or litigated a final parenting plan and child support order. You’ve been trying to coparent under the terms of the parenting plan for some time; […]

Why Appeal at All? People appeal their case because they want a better outcome then what they received at trial.  Maybe that means that the appealing party lost a jury verdict, or felt that they didn’t “win” enough at trial.  Perhaps someone in a divorce trial receives 55% of the assets but no spousal support […]

Most people are aware of the statistic that roughly 50% of marriages end in divorce; but did you know that only 5 – 10% of couples opt for a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage? So, what does a prenuptial agreement entail? Broadly, prenups are agreements between two individuals who plan to marry one another, the […]

In many states, child support obligations do not extend past either the age of 18 or the child’s graduation from high school.  In Washington, however, a parent can file a petition to continue child support after the child turns age 18 and while the child is enrolled in college or vocational school.  This is known […]

Stress and anxiety are unfortunate byproducts of divorce. For some, every aspect of one’s life may be negatively impacted by divorce: productivity at your job may plummet; concern about finances might keep you up at night; social interactions may be more difficult as you try to stoically act as if everything is alright; and, if […]