Family Law Section – NWSidebar

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New Ethics Advisory Opinion on Representing Certified Professional Guardians

The Committee on Professional Ethics released Advisory Opinion 202501, addressing confidentiality and conflicts of interest for lawyers representing certified professional guardians. Key issues include lawyers’ obligations to maintain resident confidentiality while advising care facilities and the complexities of simultaneous representation. The opinion emphasizes the challenge of balancing interests in protecting resident rights.

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2025 Post-Session Report from the Washington Legislature

The 105-day 2025 legislative session began on Jan. 13 and adjourned sine die (last day of session) on April 27. Lawmakers’ primary focus was passing a biennial state budget while contending with a budget deficit of up to $15 billion over the next four years. The fiscal situation loomed large over discussions on taxes, spending […]

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The History and Future of No-Fault Divorce in the U.S.

Last month, a rise in divorce inquiries was noted at a family law firm, possibly linked to political rhetoric surrounding no-fault divorce. California pioneered this system in 1969, which promotes less adversarial separations. Washington state maintains strong protections for no-fault divorce, ensuring accessible and equitable solutions for residents.

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Legislative Recap: What Lawyers Should Know About the 2024 Session

The Washington Legislature adjourned Sine Die after a 60-day session, with the WSBA Legislative Affairs team monitoring and acting on nearly 300 bills. Key bills include the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act and amendments to the Business Corporations Act. Legislation passed includes ending child marriage and creating a task force for studying artificial intelligence issues.

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Real Property Hang-Ups in Divorce

Whether home ownership is divided by a court or agreed to in settlement, the decision over how to assign its value and divide the dollars is not the only consideration that matters. Post-divorce, there are often problems that could have been assessed and possibly dealt with earlier. Settlements and court orders can include instructions and […]

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What Happened in the 2023 Washington Legislative Session

The 105-day 2023 legislative session began on Jan. 9 and adjourned sine die on April 23. Legislators passed a two-year, $69.2 billion state operating budget providing funding increases for K-12 schools, with an emphasis on special education and programs to support affordable housing, as well as a $13.5 billion biennial transportation budget that supports improvements to the Washington State Ferry System, increases bicycle and pedestrian access to schools, and funds major highway construction projects statewide.

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Washington Legislative Recap: 2021 Session Summary for Legal Professionals

On April 25, the Washington State Legislature closed its unprecedented 2021 Regular Session, capping 105 days in Olympia that for the first time was also conducted nearly entirely virtually. Despite a few technical glitches and Zoom missteps, that have become commonplace during pandemic life, the session went surprisingly smoothly and WSBA Legislative Affairs was busy throughout, monitoring hundreds of bills that are of interest to lawyers and other legal professionals.

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A Family Law Perspective on the COVID-19 Crisis

When Washington’s stay-at-home order went into effect March 23, the uncertainty of where my firm, Navigate Law Group, might be when the dust settled weighed heavily on all of us. Similar concerns were felt throughout the legal community, and the ability of firms to embrace technology became a pressing issue.

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Court of Appeals Interprets ‘Proceeds’ Attached by Attorney Lien in Dissolution Case

Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently interpreted the term “proceeds” to which an attorney lien attached in a dissolution case. Matter of Marriage of Shulikov, 2017 WL 3476783 (Wn. App. Aug. 14, 2017) (unpublished), involved a dissolution case that had settled in trial court. The resolution involved payments of maintenance and child […]

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Social Security and the 10-Year Marriage Rule

Social Security retirement benefits may not be the first thing on your clients’ minds when they are getting divorced, especially if they are younger. The right to Social Security benefits is a federal entitlement not affected by state law, and rarely discussed much during divorce. But one critical timing mistake could cost your client a […]

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Religious Freedom Includes Right to Believe in Sanctity of Gay Marriage

I normally use my blog posts to discuss and expand on my guest writers and the topics they are discussing. However, the June article that Barb Rhoads-Weaver and I co-wrote in NWLawyer prompted a couple of letters to the editor that I would like to respond to instead.

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Amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct – Your Comments Are Needed

Washington state is making national news with the introduction of Limited License Legal Technicians. Washington will be the first U.S. jurisdiction to license legal technicians, but a number of states are already studying Washington’s model for possible adoption. Legal technicians are authorized to provide legal advice within the limited scope described in Regulation 2 of […]

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The Cost of Education: Post-Secondary Support in Family Law

The issue of post-secondary support is a hot topic in family law. Over the past five to ten years, tuition has skyrocketed nationally, but particularly in Washington. Here, it increased 67.3% in the five years before 2012. For the 2013 UW class, tuition had increased 82 percent over the prior four years.

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“Can I Testify via Skype?” Using Videoconferencing Technology to Enhance Remote Witness Testimony

“Can I testify via Skype?” This great question was first posed to us by an international family law client two years ago. While it seemed like a basic inquiry to our client, it took two years to arrive at a definitive answer. The Court of Appeals would only offer guidance once the same case was […]

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6 Surprising Facts About Cuba’s Legal System

Representatives from a professional research delegation share some surprising facts. In March 2013, I led a delegation of U.S. lawyers and guests to visit Cuba as part of a professional research delegation. Only 90 miles from the United States, it seems incredibly distant in many respects. The legal structure and the real-world struggles of the […]

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Tips for Managing the Holidays When You’re Divorced

Learn best practices to help your clients — or yourself — this holiday season. In the practice of family law, I sometimes have to remind myself that I am a lawyer, not a therapist. I do not have a counseling degree and I am not a mental health specialist, yet there are many times when there seems […]