Divorce and Separation
Divorce and Separation
The Levey Law Group is your Tacoma divorce attorney. We are sensitive to the challenges facing a family during a divorce and will guide you through every step of the separation and divorce process.
We are also experienced with the intricacies and unique challenges that can occur in a military divorce and other military related family law matters.
Your Tacoma Divorce Attorney
Your Tacoma Divorce Attorney
Each divorce proceeding is unique, therefore we have the most specialized team with expertise in the following areas:
- Child Custody
- Child Support
- Dependency
- Spousal Maintenance
- Property Division
- Mediation
- Collaborative Law & ADR
Spousal Maintenance
Spousal Maintenance
In Washington, “alimony” is referred to as “spousal maintenance” or simply “maintenance.” Spousal maintenance is designed to help the economically disadvantaged spouse after the divorce. Because Washington is a no-fault state, it is irrelevant which spouse was the cause of the divorce. Instead, Washington courts will look to a variety of factors when deciding whether maintenance is appropriate. These factors include:
- The financial resources of the person requesting maintenance;
- The time necessary for the requesting party to obtain training or an education in order to raise earning capacity;
- Standard of living of the couple during marriage;
- Length of the marriage;
- Age, health, and financial obligations of the spouse requesting maintenance; and
- The ability of the paying spouse to actually pay maintenance while meeting his or her own financial obligations.
It is clear from this list that the threshold question is whether the requesting spouse even needs maintenance at all. The issue of whether the paying spouse has the ability to make the requested payments is also a crucial inquiry. Either spouse may request spousal maintenance, as gender does not factor into the calculation or award in any way.
In general, three types of maintenance are available: temporary, short-term, and long-term.
For more information on this topic, read an article by Ken Levey outlining the differences in spousal maintenance here.
Property Division in Washington
Property Division in Washington
One of the most important questions in any divorce is who will keep what property. Washington is a community property state. This means that any property or income that is acquired by either spouse during the marriage is community property, and therefore belongs to both spouses. After determining what property is marital and what is separate, a judge will then need to fix a value to each asset.
After affixing a value to the marital property, the court will the make a distribution of assets that is fair and equitable. The court will take many factors into account, including:
- The length of the marriage;
- Each spouse’s economic situation at the time of divorce;
- If a spouse gave up his or her career to help support the career of the other;
- The extent of the marital property; and
- The extent and nature of each spouse’s separate property.
This is not an exhaustive list and the issues surrounding division of property can be very complex,contact the team at The Levey Law Group today to discuss the division of your marital assets.