Will The Court Split Custody
When it comes to child custody, the overriding concern is whats in the best interest of the kids. In most cases, the court believes keeping brothers and sisters together is the ideal choice.
While it is possible, unless there are extenuating circumstances, the court wont separate siblings. In the wake of divorce, children are vulnerable enough, and most judges are hesitant to do anything that may increase that.
Smoking Is Bad For Your Marital Health
Over the years, a number of studies, including ones from the University of Michigan and the Australian National University, looked at the relationship between cigarettes and divorce.
All of these found, to varying degrees, people who smoke experience a much higher incidence of divorce than nonsmokers.
Theres not necessarily a direct causal linkresearchers have also examined the connection between smoking and mental stability and as a compatibility factor in relationshipsbut there is a definite association.
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Scary Divorce Fact Or Urban Legend
Goldberg Jones Divorce
Its the spookiest time of the year: the leaves are turning, the days are getting short, and were preparing for Halloween.
Theres a lot to fear out there, including some things related to divorce. How do you know whats true or what isnt? How can you tell if youre dealing with a scary divorce fact or urban legend?
Usually, urban legends are the stuff of horror movies, a hook-handed madman preying on unsuspecting teens at Make-Out Point. But misinformation about divorce portrayed as fact can give unrealistic expectations and damage cases. Knowing whats real and whats not can go a long way toward defining your goals.
With that in mind, here are a few common urban legends and scary divorce facts you should know the truth about.
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Will Courts Split Custody And Separate Siblings
Goldberg Jones Child Custody, Featured Posts
When parents with multiple children divorce, do the courts ever split custody and separate the sibling?
Its traumatic and painful when a couple breaks up, but when theyre parents, its often downright devastating for the kids. Divorce throws a childs world in upheaval, and almost every aspect of their lives shifts in one fell swoop. The end of a marriage often comes with a move, a change in living situation, and swirling uncertainty.
In the case of siblings, things become even more complex.
Can You Deny A Divorce
Urban Legend: But what if my spouse wont give me a divorce? Again, this is something often heard on TV and in movies. It makes for good watching, but thankfully, this isnt a made-for-Lifetime drama.
Fact: No one can force you to remain in a loveless or dangerous marriage, and neither spouse can deny the other a divorce.
Its possible for one person to make it tough on the other, but the idea both parties have to agree is a common divorce urban legend.
Getting your spouse to consent to divorce makes it much easier, but its not required. You can fill out and file the paperwork and get the ball rolling. Part of the process involves serving the documents to the opposing party. Your spouse then has a certain amount of time to respond. If that doesnt happen, you can file for a default judgment. This essentially grants you a divorce on your terms because your spouse didnt object.
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Can Your Ex Keep Your Child From Playing Sports
Goldberg Jones Child Custody, Featured Posts
Kids these days are more active than ever before. Between school and various extracurricular activities, its amazing how busy and cluttered childrens schedules become. These are vital outlets for exercise, socialization, and plain old fun. Playing sports frequently forms a large piece of this puzzle.
Often these pursuits are so important they wind up as part of the parenting plan after divorce. But what can you do if your ex tries to interfere and stop your child from playing sports?
We use sports as an example, but you can substitute nearly any other activity in reality. Maybe its football or soccer, but it can easily be dance class, martial arts, or chess club. Whatever the specific activity, the regulations stay similar.
Parents have all kinds of objections to their children playing sports. It really depends on the sport, the child, their age, and many other factors.
- Parents may protest because of the possibility of injury.
- Some worry it takes focus away from academics and education.
- Maybe one parent simply doesnt want to schlep across town for practice three nights a week.
There are as many reasons to stop your child from playing sports as there are children who play sports. Many are compelling, others not so much.
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Joint Custody And Proximity
It may seem obvious, but joint custody works best when the parents live close to one another.
This makes regular, practical hurdles much more manageable. Getting the kids from one house to another, from school to home to baseball practice and the rest, is much easier when its all in the same general area.
This also gives kids the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with both parents.
Complications arise the greater the distance. Its one thing to go from Queen Anne to Eastlake, but another to go from Seattle to Tacoma or Olympia. In a case like that, kids may spend the week with one parent while splitting weekends and holidays between two homes. This weekend parent model is a common arrangement.
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Do All Divorces Go To Trial
Urban Legend: When you think of divorce, the first image that springs to mind is probably a courtroom. You have judges, gavels, and lawyers in suits. Both sides call witnesses, cross-examine, make objections, and it all plays out like an episode of Law & Order.
Fact: A divorce can wind up in a courtroom. But not every last one winds up in front of a judge. In fact, most dont.
Before things get that far, couples usually come to terms in one way or another. If both spouses agree on all the important issues, a split can be fairly simple. The less complex a marriageshort, no kids, little shared propertythe smoother things often proceed.
When theres more conflict, tools like mediation or arbitration are frequent options. These allow both sides to sit down, often with representation, and hammer out a mutually agreeable divorce settlement.
While they do happen, the idea of an intense, drawn-out divorce trial largely remains more of an urban legend than a scary divorce fact.
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Age Of Majority And Child Support
When it comes to the Evergreen State, the age of majority is 18. This generally means that when your kids hit this milestone, they legally become adults and the government no longer considers them dependents.
They can vote, join the military, and all indulge in most of the things that, legally speaking, make them adults. In specific situations, however, they retain their dependent status.
The most common of these instances involve high school, postsecondary education, or a child with special needs.
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Does Adultery Cost Everything
Urban Legend: Many people think adultery costs a person everything in a divorce. You cheat, you lose the kids, the car, the house, and the dog, right?
That makes great drama for movies and TV, but thats not the way it works. In reality, an affair may cost you your marriage, but it doesnt necessarily impact divorce settlements.
Fact: As with most states in the union, Washington practices no-fault divorce. The courts dont play moral police.
That means no one takes the blame for ruining a marriage and you dont have to prove anyone was in the wrong.
Unless adultery directly damages your finances, its not likely to play a part in the division of property. The same goes for custody disputes. If an affair impacts your ability as a parent, its more likely to play a role.
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Special Needs And Continuing Support
Theres also a third situation where support continues past a childs 18th birthday. In cases of special needs, the court often orders payments for a longer period.
The most commonly occurs in cases where a child is mentally or physically incapable of caring for themselves. Thus they require lasting parental care. It varies, but in cases of permanent disability, the court often even orders payments to continue indefinitely. Or at least until the child is no longer considered disabled, if they ever reach that point.
Much like postsecondary education, in cases of a known disability, a child support order should address this matter ahead of time. It shouldnt come out of nowhere and blindside anyone.
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What This Means For Fathers Rights In Washington
Johnson v. Johnson has been an influential decision and is a case that continues to be cited in similar situations today.
The court does truly stand behind the belief that the best interests and welfare of the children is the controlling consideration in child custody cases.
Fighting for custody may seem like an uphill battle, and it may prove to be an uphill battle. But if you are the parent best suited to the job, you have a strong chance to be awarded guardianship.
In the case of Johnson v. Johnson, the court recognized the demonstrable positive influence a good father can have on a childs life and rewarded that accordingly.
This decision also laid out a number of significant factors to be taken into account in future child custody cases.
These include:
Reiterating the childs welfare should be paramount in all such situations.
Each case must be tried and considered on its own specific merits.
Regardless of gender, traits like character, stability, emotional maturity, and others, cannot be discounted.
Trial courts must be allowed broad discretion in these matters, factoring in ALL available information.
We love our children. For many of us, our worlds revolve around them. This is a huge part of why custody disputes are so often such passionate, heated cases.
Fathers have just as much stake in raising our children as mothers, and despite the popular conception, from a legal standpoint, have equal rights to be granted custody.
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Timing And Time Of Year
In recent times, January has become known as Divorce Month, a season when couples look into their options for ending a marriage. People often put off such an unpleasant task until after the holidays. Holiday stress also often triggers the decision. End-of-the-year financial reasons, like taxes or work bonuses, frequently play a role. And sometimes people just want a fresh start in the new year.
A recent study from the University of Washington supports this anecdotal evidence with numbers. Examining data from 2001 through 2015, researchers found that divorce filings rise sharply beginning in January, though the numbers dont truly spike until March. During this time, people often explore their options, save money, talk to attorneys, and generally establish a plan of action.
Because it takes so long, many people look at this as the best time to divorce. If you file early in the year, timing-wise, youre more likely to wrap things up during the summer. This is a consideration when there are kids. Once finalized, parents can establish a new routine along with a new school year. This can normalize things and help kids adjust. Courts are also hesitant to cause wholesale change for kids during a school year. Theyre often more open to altering a custody situation during the summer.
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Support Payments During High School
Probably the most common situation where support payments go past 18 is when the child is still in high school. For example, if your child turns 18 in February, they likely wont graduate until the end of the school year, usually in June.
In Washington, parents pay child support until the child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever occurs later. That or does a lot of work. The system intends to provide support as long as your child remains in school.
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Attorneys Are Focused On Achieving A Man’s Rights
- General Info
- Goldberg Jones is a local office of Seattle divorce lawyers serving all of Western Washington. We focus our representation on husbands and fathers rights. Our team of Seattle divorce lawyers is energetic, knowledgeable and aggressive in protecting your rights under Seattle divorce law. Whether you need a divorce attorney because you have been served papers, or would like to consult with a divorce lawyer, call Goldberg Jones for more information. Many men are not ready when bad news comes. There are serious issues to consider, including child custody and child support. As a place to start, call one of our Seattle divorce attorneys at 1-800-DIVORCE. Well answer phone questions about your situation at no charge. Theres no obligation, and its free. If you want to schedule an appointment with one of our divorce lawyers, the cost is just $95 for the first hour. Goldberg Jones believes we are your best choice among Seattle divorce lawyers because we practice Family Law exclusively and focus our representation on husbands’ and fathers’ rights. Goldberg Jones represents men in cases of child support law, divorce law, family law, child custody law and paternity law. As a man, you have legal rights in a divorce. Our Seattle divorce attorneys are focused on achieving a mans rights, YOUR rights! Call 1-800-DIVORCE to get your questions answered at no charge.
The Benefits Of Hiring A Divorce Lawyer
Its possible to handle the details of a split yourself. This fits best in shorter marriages, ones with no children, and little in the way of shared property to distribute. As already indicated, the more intertwined the lives of you and your spouse, and the more contentious things become. This increases the likelihood you need the guidance of a divorce lawyer.
If your spouse enlists an attorney, strongly consider finding representation of your own. If for no other reason than this puts you on even footing. Beyond that, the presence of a divorce lawyer proves useful in a number of additional areas.
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Division Of Property
The more property you and your spouse own together, the more assets you have to divide. Thus, the more complicated the process.
Washington is a community property state. Under these statutes, all assets acquired during a marriage, even those held in one individuals name, legally belong to both parties. In the case of divorce, this means the court divides everything between you and your spouse in an equitable fashion.
This doesnt mean all the property will be split evenly, but assets will be distributed so each party comes out on relatively even footing.
It is possible for you and your soon-to-be-ex to work together to come to terms. But if this becomes contentious, a lawyer or mediator helps you reach a fair agreement for everyone.
Child Custody
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When To Hire A Divorce Lawyer
Goldberg Jones Divorce
Even if we love and care about another person, relationships dont always work out. They end for a variety of reasons. The question of when, and even if to hire a divorce lawyer is one you may need to ask yourself.
As problems in your marriage mount, you may consider whether or not divorce is even the best choice. The question of dissolving a marriage is ultimately an intense, difficult, and incredibly personal choice that throws your entire world into upheaval.
During a time that may be full of emotional turmoil, where you may not always think clearly, having a skilled professional to guide you through the process can be a huge benefit.
This may not be a comprehensive list, but ask yourself these questions before hiring a divorce lawyer.
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Parenting Plans & Youth Sports
In many cases, its up to the parents to decide whether or not to stop their child from playing sports. Ideally, you and your ex can discuss whats truly best for your kids. But some individuals take it upon themselves to make this decision for everyone.
For example, maybe your son plays baseball, but your ex prevents him from participating on visitation weekends.
Parenting plans include clauses for all kinds of things. If an activity is important to your child, you can even write in provisions prohibiting either parent from interfering with their ability to participate.
When thats the case, and your ex tries to stop your child from playing sports, you may have legal recourse.
If theres a valid, court-approved parenting plan in place, your ex must adhere to the terms. One party or the other cant simply choose to stop following the order. It may seem extreme, but if your ex continues to violate the parenting plan, you can even file a motion for contempt.
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