Parenting Plans

A parenting plan is a document that lays out the arrangements regarding the children of the parents. It discusses where the children will live, how much time they will spend with each parent, decision making arrangements regarding the children, and dispute resolution mechanisms for parenting issues. A parenting plan must be filed with the court when a couple with children divorces. Even if both parents agree on the terms of the parenting plan, the plan must still be approved by the court- which will consider whether the terms are in the best interests of the children.

Mandatory Restrictions: The court must restrict a parent's contact with a child if the parent has engaged in certain conduct, including: 

• Willful abandonment for an extended time period
• Substantial refusal to perform parenting functions 
• Physical, sexual or pattern of emotional abuse 
• History of domestic violence
• Assault
• Prior adult sex conviction
• Lives with adult who has been convicted of a sex offense

       *The court may, however, decline to restrict contact if it finds future contact will not harm the child or past conduct did not affect the child. 

Discretionary Restrictions: The court may decide to limit residential time or contact with a parent based on a variety of other factors that would affect the child's best interests. 

Residential Time with Each Parent: Washington courts generally don't like to enter parenting plans that order 50-50 time with each parent. But they may do so if the parents have a history of cooperation and geographic proximity and 50-50 time is in the child's best interests.

Child's Wishes: Courts may consider the child's wishes in determining the residential schedule, especially if the child is older.

Because parenting plans cannot be changed without going back to court, it is important that both parents understand the terms of their parenting plan and that the terms reflect the unique concerns of the family.

For more information on parenting plans, contact a Kirkland Family Law Attorney. 

Unmarried Couples

"Common law marriages" are not recognized in Washington State. (Washington does, however, recognize common law marriages from other states that authorize them). Instead, Washington has a "committed intimate relationship" or "meretricious relationship" doctrine that governs unmarried couples who live together in "marriage-like" relationships. These laws allow the court to make a "fair and equitable" division of certain property and debt acquired during the relationship when the couple separates. 

There are no hard and fast rules that determine whether a relationship qualifies as "marriage-like" enough to invoke the protections of these laws. Generally, however, the court will consider things like:

• Duration of the relationship
• Whether the couple lived together continuously
• Purpose of the relationship
• Joint pooling of resources and services
• Whether both parties knew a legal marriage did not exist between them
• Stability and monogamy

So then what's the difference between a court's division of property among married couples and unmarried couples? The biggest difference is that the court cannot divide and allocate an unmarried couple's separate property. "Separate property" is property acquired before the relationship or property received by one of the partners by gift or inheritance. 

For more information, contact a Kirkland family law attorney. 

Divorce or Bankruptcy: Which to File First?

Generally, assuming the spouses can get along well enough to get through the bankruptcy process together, a divorcing couple should file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy first. (A Chapter 13 bankruptcy raises additional complications because it puts the couple on a joint payment plan for up to 5 years).

Here’s why: Assets are property that must be allocated between divorcing spouses. So, however, is debt. Because Washington is a community property state, almost all property- including debt – acquired during the marriage, is community property. 

In the current economy, many divorcing couples are more concerned about the division of their community debts than the division of their community assets. If the couple has substantial debt, it makes sense to file a joint bankruptcy before filing for divorce. This way, the debts are discharged in the bankruptcy before they are divided in the divorce. This simplifies the divorce process and avoids the situation in which one spouse agrees to pay a certain debt in the divorce, then files bankruptcy and has that debt discharged, leaving the other spouse on the hook for it.

Example: Just because the divorce decree says Spouse A will be responsible for the Bank of America credit card does not mean Bank of America cannot sue Spouse B for the debt.  If Spouse A files bankruptcy and the debt is discharged, Bank of America will probably go after Spouse B in spite of the divorce decree since the debt is a community debt. Spouse B’s only recourse will be to turn around and sue Spouse A for the amount of debt Bank of America recovered from him or her.

Additionally, if both spouses will ultimately need to file bankruptcy, they can avoid paying an extra filing fee if they file a joint bankruptcy before the divorce rather than two individual bankruptcies after the divorce.

To learn more about divorce and/or bankruptcy, contact a Kirkland bankruptcy or divorce lawyer.

Parenting Plan (Custody) Modifications

It is difficult to formally change a parenting plan in Washington. Because Washington courts emphasize consistency and stability for children, they only grant parenting plan modifications when the requesting parent can show they are warranted by a “substantial change in circumstances” that has occurred since the parenting plan was ordered.

There are 2 types of parenting plan modifications: major modifications (i.e. changes in the child’s primary residence) and minor modifications (i.e. adjustments that do not change the child’s primary residence). To get a major modification, a parent has to show: (1) the child has been integrated into his or her family as a result of significant deviating from the parenting plan; (2) risk of harm to the child in his or her current environment; or (3) that the other parent has been found in contempt twice within 3 years for not complying with the parenting plan. It is much easier to get a minor modification- which can be obtained based on reasons like involuntary changes in the parent’s work schedule or change of parent’s residence.

If both parents want to change the parenting plan and agree on how to modify it, the court can formally modify it as long as it is “in the best interests of the child.” Generally, this means a parent should only pursue a formal modification if he or she can’t work out a new schedule with the other parent.

To learn more about parenting plan modifications, contact a Kirkland family law attorney.

Legal Separation vs. Dissolution (Divorce)

Legal separation is very similar to dissolution. Legal separation must be ordered by a judge – a couple who has merely established separate households is not legally separated.  Some people choose legal separation instead of divorce for religious reasons or because they no longer wish to live together as a married couple but wish to maintain legal benefits of marriage, such as insurance.

In a legal separation action, the court will address the same issues as it would in a dissolution; it will order a parenting plan, child support, and divide the debt and property. A legal separation decree does not mean the marriage is dissolved. Neither party can legally marry someone else unless the decree is converted to a decree of dissolution.

To learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of legal separation, contact a Kirkland family law attorney.