Attorney Articles & Analysis

Parents in Washington are increasingly choosing 50/50 parenting plans. A common belief is that if you share equal residential time, neither parent will pay child support. That belief is usually wrong. Washington’s child support laws focus on your child’s needs and each parent’s ability to pay, not on “who has the kids more nights.” Even when residential time is split 50/50, the court typically: Understanding how this works can help you set realistic expectations before you negotiate a parenting plan or walk into court. How Washington Calculates Child Support Washington’s child support system is governed primarily by chapter 26.19 RCW (the child support schedule) and chapter 26.18 RCW (enforcement). Legislative policy The Legislature has said the purpose of the child support schedule is to “[ensure] that child support orders are adequate to meet a child’s basic needs and to provide additional child support commensurate with the parents’ income, resources, and

A civil protection order can turn your life upside down overnight. You can be forced out of your home, kept away from your children, ordered to surrender firearms, and face harm to your reputation – even if the allegations are false or badly exaggerated. This article is for people in Island, San Juan, Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties who believe a civil protection order against them is not warranted and need to understand their options. 1. Quick Overview: How Protection Orders Work in Washington Washington consolidated its civil protection order laws into RCW 7.105, which covers:  The legal standards are the same statewide, but in practice each county’s courts (and even each judge) have their own way of handling filings, exhibits, and hearings. If you’re in Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Sequim, Oak Harbor, Camano Island, Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Port Orchard, or the San Juan Islands, your case will

If you’re a homeowner in or landlord in Island, Jefferson, Clallam, Kitsap, or San Juan County, “no lease” situations can be some of the most stressful: In Washington, once they are considered a tenant you can’t just change the locks or throw their stuff outside. Whether there’s a written lease or not, you usually have to go through court.  If you’re reading this article, you may have already had your local law enforcement tell you so: “We can’t do anything without a writ of restitution. You need to go to court” – or simply – “It’s a civil matter”. What process you use now depends on whether or not the law sees the unwanted tenant as having formed a landlord-tenant relationship with you. 1. The “normal” expedited eviction process when there is a lease When there’s a written rental agreement, Washington typically uses the unlawful detainer process under RCW 59.12