Maple Valley Family Law

Divorce is a complicated process that can leave you emotionally beaten down and worried about what the future will bring. Getting a divorce often means losing assets that you hold dear, daily contact with your kids, and a familiar lifestyle to which you've grown accustomed. Studies show that a divorce is one of the most difficult life-events a person may ever face. It may even be more traumatic for children, especially if the divorce is contentious.

If you're living in Maple Valley and have questions regarding divorce or any other family law issue, our King County divorce lawyers can help. With more than 50 years of collective experience, our professional divorce litigators understand how difficult this whole process can be. If you're looking for a lawyer that will aggressively defend your legal rights while offering compassionate counsel when you need it most, contact our law office today.

Sometimes couples agree that divorcing is their best option after working to save their marriage for some time. Couples that are eager to maintain a healthy post-divorce relationship, often because they have kids, may be able to file for an uncontested divorce in the State of Washington. However, we urge you to explore this option in detail with help from one of our Maple Valley divorce lawyers.

Sometimes one spouse serves their partner with divorce papers without warning. There are countless reasons why someone may take this drastic action, but when it's entirely unexpected it can lead to high levels of animosity and anger. If you were served with divorce papers by your spouse, you should know that their lawyer has already filed motions for temporary orders in the King County Family Court, so you need to respond without delay. Indeed, the choices you make now will likely affect the rest of your life, so do everything you can to protect your personal interests.

If you are considering filing for divorce and are simply gathering pertinent information, maker sure you fully understand the repercussions of a divorce. If you have kids, it's possible you could lose custody of them. You will have to divide your personal assets fairly with your spouse. You may even have to make monthly child support and alimony payments. Get the facts first, and then make sure you're working with an experience Maple Valley divorce attorneys who will act as your personal advocate.

Maple Valley is a lovely little city of around 26,000, situated in King County, Washington. The original name of the city was Vine Maple Valley, but the Post Office thought the name was too long and cut out the “Vine.” Today, Maple Valley is mostly residential and features businesses commonly seen in America's suburbs including Safeway and Walgreens. If you're a fan of the suburbs and would like to find out more about the area's local government or gather information for new residents, check out the Maple Valley municipal website , which features all sorts of useful facts.

Maple Valley residents have a strong sense of community, and it's common to see families enjoying outdoor festivities or a pickup softball game at a local park. Lake Wilderness Park is a popular place for swimming, boating, and fishing, and it even has a boat launch available during daytime hours. The popular park also features a disc golf course, which provides wholesome entertainment to anyone that owns a Frisbee. If you're more into trails, check out the Cedar River Trail, which connects to Lake Wilderness Park and Four Corners. For more information on outdoor opportunities in Maple Valley, check out this link.

Even married couples living the suburban American dream sometimes file for divorce. For couples living in Maple Valley, this means petitioning the King County Family Court, which also handles other family law issues like support modifications and paternity, among others. Trying to navigate the Washington Court system without legal representation would be foolish, but you need to take time and find a lawyer that you trust with some of the most important decisions you'll ever have to make. If you would like more information about family law matter, contact one of our Maple Valley divorce attorneys for a free consultation.

Whether you're contemplating a divorce, in need of a support modification, or dealing with questions involving paternity, you need to understand the laws that govern these issues. Additionally, every situation is unique, so it's important to ascertain how these lays apply to your situation. This isn't easy because family law is often confusing for someone who has probably never set foot inside of a courtroom. Our Maple Valley divorce lawyers can help you understand how the law applies to your case, but the following information will help you understand how some of these laws work in real life situation.

Child custody – No issue can be as contentious as child custody, and with good reason. Parents want what's best for their kids, but divorcing parents often disagree on this subject. The prospect of missing out on any aspect of their child's upbringing may cause parents to act unreasonably during a divorce, but this should be avoided at all costs. Sometimes it's impossible to prevent animosity and resentment from boiling to the surface during divorce negotiations, but if parents reach an impasse the court will implement a parenting plan that neither of them will like.

We urge clients to compromise when necessary, but we never ask them to give up. If you're spouse and their lawyer won't act in a fair way, we will fight back with artful negotiation or with skillful litigation. However, in most cases couples need to figure out a way to work toward a fair middle ground. This may not always be easy, and we can't promise that our Maple Valley divorce lawyers will always tell you what you want to hear. All we can promise is that we will tell you what you need to hear when any contentious matter arises.

Child support – Often, a custodial parent will receive child support from the non-custodial parent, but there are some exceptions to this rule. The King County Family Court uses a table of sorts to calculate the base levels of support based on each parents income, age, and overall health. Still, other factors may influence the final amount. The cost of the child's schooling or medical health needs are two such examples.

For mothers who were never married seeking support from fathers who deny responsibility, there are legal options to consider. First, you can ask one of our Maple Valley child support lawyers to petition the court for a paternity test. If the DNA results confirm your story, we can then seek monthly child support payments. If you are required to make child support payments ever month, it would be fooling to ignore your responsibility because the law imposes still penalties.

Spousal support – Also called alimony, this is when monthly payments are made to a former spouse. The duration of spousal support is linked to the duration of the marriage. If it lasted 25 years or more, the payments will likely last for the rest of the recipient's life or until they remarry. If the marriage was less than 25 years, the duration is based on the 3 to 1 ratio. So if a marriage lasted 15 years, alimony payments would last 5 years. For more information about alimony contact one of our Maple Valley spousal support lawyers.

Divorce for men – Men face unique circumstances when divorcing because they are often the primary breadwinner in the home, making them more likely candidates for alimony. Some fathers worry about fair treatment in court, but the family court seeks to treat mothers and fathers the same. However, this doesn't mean that you won't have to fight to protect your fair interests. Our Maple Valley divorce for men lawyers understand your unique needs and will do everything the law allows to ensure your legal rights are protected.

Protection orders and restraining orders – These legal tools are used to prevent abuse from a spouse, partner, or parent. They are almost always effective, but it does require the expertise of a qualified Maple Valley protection order lawyer. Abuse comes in many forms but it's never healthy and rarely ever stops once it starts. Get the help you need today bu contacting us for a confidential consultation.

Modifications of support – It's possible to petition the court for a modification of either child support or spousal support, but the latter is quite rare. It will be necessary to prove that you're undergoing economic hardship, or that there's been some other significant change in circumstances since your parenting plan was finalized. Preparing this evidence requires experience, and our Maple Valley support modification lawyers can help.

There are a number of other issues not mentioned above like property division, adoption, and military divorce. Our King County family law lawyers can help you address any of these issues, so don't hesitate to contact our law office today for your free consultation.