Washington family law does not require spouses to hire a divorce lawyer to handle their divorce if it is uncontested. But anyone who has gone through a divorce knows the benefits of hiring a lawyer.
Without a lawyer, spouses may not know that Washington is a no-fault state. This means that when one spouse files for divorce, the state will grant the divorce, no matter what the other spouse says.
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Time
One of the things that a divorce lawyer does is save time for their client. Lawyers already know the law. If a spouse wants to represent himself, he or she has to spend a great deal of time researching and learning all the Washington divorce laws to make sure they are doing everything that needs to be done.
Also consider the time it takes to prepare and file documents with the court. Keeping up with all the filing deadlines can be very stressful. Sometimes during the process, someone may have to make an appearance before a judge. An attorney will know what to do at these hearings. Having a Seattle divorce lawyer will take care of all these time-consuming duties so that you can focus on your own job.
Money
The amount that one spouse thinks is fair may not be the same amount as what the other spouse thinks is fair. Although the spouses may have thought that their divorce was going to be uncontested, suddenly when money enters the picture, it becomes a contested divorce. If a spouse is trying to handle the divorce without an attorney, he or she will not know how to solve these monetary conflicts.
A Seattle divorce lawyer will have knowledge and experience that most people don’t have. For example, without a lawyer, neither one of the spouses may be able to anticipate how their taxes will be affected by this divorce. One or the other may end up facing a huge unexpected tax bill at the end of the year.
The wife or the husband in the divorce may not understand alimony. They might have agreed to an amount that does not consider the future earnings of either spouse. Neither spouse will know the laws about child support and how changes in income affect child support, or how much is a reasonable amount to pay in the Seattle area.
Spouses may not consider who will be responsible for the college expenses of their children. Besides, there is always the possibility that children may have unexpected health care costs.
In many divorces, couples forget about the marital debt. They may forget about a credit card in both of their names. They may not realize that each person is responsible for the debt, but a divorce lawyer would know all about that. A divorce lawyer would make sure one spouse is protected if the other spouse quits making agreed-upon payments.
An uncontested divorce really becomes impossible when the parties are wealthy. Complex assets such as trusts and real estate can be hard to divide. Business ownership and stock ownership are riskier. These are more reasons that couples must have a Seattle divorce lawyer.
To split up business ownership, spouses don’t realize all the details that have to be taken into consideration. The financial reports of businesses can be written in many different ways. They can even be structured to make it look like a business is losing money when, in fact, it is not. Using a divorce lawyer who has been trained in figuring out the value of a business is very important.
Custody
It’s obvious that uncontested divorces can change into contested divorces very quickly and easily. This is probably the biggest reason why spouses should have attorneys when they seek a divorce.
Not only do spouses need to consider how to split up the money, they also have the sad duty to split up custody of their children. An attorney who has experience in family law is the best person to do this. These attorneys have studied family dynamics and can sometimes see what is better for the children when spouses are deadlocked over this issue.
A good attorney will spend their time talking with the children to figure out how they can best thrive and grow. They know when to call in a psychologist or other counselor to help the children.
Although most spouses think that joint custody with a week here and a week there is best for their child, sometimes that solution is totally disruptive to the child’s life. It’s hard for parents to see that without an outside lawyer who is not involved in the emotions.
When searching for a good divorce lawyer, spouses should look for someone who can be compassionate when needed and aggressive when that is needed. For example, as the children grow, sometimes it is necessary for one spouse to move to a larger house.
Perhaps a different school is needed to help a child. At other times, one spouse may be offered better job hundreds of miles away. An experienced Seattle divorce lawyer has come up against this situation many times before and might have solutions that the spouses may not have considered.
In all custody matters, it is wise for the couple to have someone help them set up a parenting plan. Nothing is harder for children than having different rules at different houses.
Negotiation
Emotions tend to take over when two people are getting divorced. If one spouse is trying to act as their own attorney, these emotions will get in the way.
Although both people will want to avoid going to court to settle their divorce, it is very difficult to avoid that if both people are emotionally upset. With an outside attorney, both people can settle down and let the attorney handle the negotiations.
Seattle divorce lawyers have been trained in how to handle volatile feelings during negotiations. They can look at the situation from the outside and work with all parties to come to a settlement that is best for each of them.
