Insight, Analysis, and Perspective for Businesses and Individuals

The decision to sever a child’s relations with his or her natural parent is not to be taken lightly.  It has been said that “[a]n order terminating parental rights deprives children of their right to financial support, their right to companionship and guidance, their right of inheritance, and their right to Social Security benefits in […]

Other states have alimony, but in Washington State, we call spousal support or alimony “spousal maintenance.”  Here is a quick overview of spousal maintenance in Washington State so that you can be prepared for that first meeting with your divorce attorney. What is it? Spousal maintenance is a monthly payment by one spouse to another […]

Several weekends ago, I celebrated a belated Mother’s Day and birthday with my extended family.  One of the pictures taken reflects four generations of our family: my mother on one side and my father on the other.  That may not seem noteworthy, but they have been divorced for 41 years.  If you were to look […]

More and more couples are opting for a process called a “Collaborative divorce” when their marriage is at an end.  At its core, Collaborative Divorce is a dispute resolution process that asks each party to determine his/her goals, interests, and priorities for the divorce process which are then openly discussed and used to form the […]

Four months into the 117th United States Congress, the anticipated federal legislative proposals to restructure the federal estate tax are finally seeing the light of day.  Senator Bernie Sanders and others recently introduced the For the 99.5% Act (the “Act”).  True to its name, the Act takes direct aim at income and wealth inequality through […]

When you were younger, after getting married and having children, you met with a lawyer and created an estate plan.  Now the kids are grown, finished with college, and are is settled in their adult lives.  Of your three children, two are married.  One has your first grandchild on the way.  Your retirement is still […]

(This blog is the second installment in a multi-part series regarding privacy in the workplace.) Employers have a general right to protect their property and employees. In addition to surveillance and monitoring, some employers choose to conduct searches of areas and equipment used by employees. This can include searches of offices, lockers, desks, phones, computers, […]

Your divorce can be one of the most important business decisions that you make in your lifetime. Whether you have years of employment ahead, have stayed home to support the household, or are nearing retirement, a divorce is a life event with long lasting personal, emotional, and financial implications. Some couples are quick to call […]

We have all read the headlines that divorce rates are increasing worldwide and those rates are not expected to be dropping soon.  The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many of us to our limits.  People are stressed out and locked down, which has put pressure on relationships that may have already been holding on by a […]

The real estate market in Seattle is notoriously expensive and competitive and everyone seems to be looking for more space as we enter the second year of a pandemic.  There is also a rise in nontraditional partners buying houses together.  If you are considering buying a house with a partner to whom you are not […]

From time to time a person may want to change their name—maybe their first name, or maybe their full legal name.  Maybe it is for a serious and legitimate reason (perhaps they have married), or maybe it is for a more whimsical reason (Instagram stardom?).  If you go by what you see on TV, you […]

With Democrats gaining control of the White House, the House of Representatives, and, albeit somewhat tenuously, the Senate, there is a growing possibility of legislative changes to the federal estate tax laws to fulfill Democratic policy objectives and combat the significant budget deficits caused in part by the Covid-19 pandemic.  In the unlikely event some […]