Les Miserables - Select dates in August

Les Miserables - Select dates in August

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First Interstate Center for the Arts

Dates: 8/6/2019, 8/7/2019, 8/8/2019, 8/9/2019, 8/10/2019, 8/11/2019

 

Domestic Violence Protection Orders

Domestic Violence Protection (DVP) orders under RCW 26.50 serve a vital function in protecting a spouse, domestic partner, or former romantic partner from misbehavior of the other party, from violence and threats of violence to stalking. (Unfortunately, they are sometimes mis-used for strategic advantage, as well, in divorces or custody battles.)

 

These DVP orders usually first issue from the court “ex parte,” which means without notice to the other person until he or she is served with the restraint.  Normally a fully hearing will be set within 14 days from the ex parte order being granted by the court, so that the restrained person can present his or her side of the story.

The penalties are severe for violating these orders, from a gross misdemeanor to a class C felony.  Even if you are completely innocent of the alleged domestic violence, you must obey the order unless and until it is changed in the full hearing.  To prepare for that hearing, as the person bringing the petition, or as the person defending against a petition, you need good legal help to prepare your facts for the court. 

Craig Mason of Mason Law, located in Spokane, Washington, can help you fully prepare for court, so that your story is heard. Call Mason Law at (509) 443-3681 today.

Choosing the Right Family Lawyer for You.

Having the best family law attorney in Spokane for your particular needs can be a very difficult decision.  The right lawyer can make a real difference both in the outcome of your divorce, but perhaps just as important, the sometimes gut-wrenching emotional toll that it takes upon an individual at this very vulnerable time.

Here are some tips –

1.  Interview prospective lawyers expressing your specific needs.

2.  Ask for advice, but make your own decision.

3.  Choose an attorney…not a firm.

4.  Settle for nothing less than expertise and experience.

Mason Law may well be the correct choice for you.  You will find them on the web at spokaneinjuryanddivorcelaw.com.  Once you have done a quick study and maybe read some of the divorce and child custody blogs found there, then pick up the phone and dial (509) 443-3681 for a consultation at their office located at West 1707 Broadway in Spokane.

So…You Think you have Already Worked Out your Divorce.

We all hear this from time to time, something like “we pretty much have everything worked out" or "we just need some help to finish the process." At Mason Law, they hope this is true, and if it is, then Mason Law is happy to facilitate final documents.

Often, however, one spouse, relying on unenforceable statements of the other spouse, signed away property to the other, or allowed the other to take large account with significant funds in it, as “their half,” and now that spouse suddenly wants more of what remains.

Or, worse, the spouse making false promises does the same thing regarding child support or parenting arrangements, and your early agreements now put you at a disadvantage. 

Worst of all, men appear belatedly at a law office, who have completed their own divorce, with final documents; and they gave away all equity to their home in lieu of having no child support. Having been served with a modification of child support, then they learn that a promise not to pay child support is unenforceable as against public policy.  Having given away his assets, this ex-husband now faces a post-divorce demand for child support.

There are ways to protect agreements, even equity for child support agreements, but proper legal steps must be taken. Mason Law has long helped Spokane area residents navigate through the formalities and technicalities of divorce law in the State of Washington.  Call (509) 443-3681.   

Is the Other Parent Trying to Get "Sole Custody" of your Children?

Your family has been disrupted by divorce and the kids are caught in the middle. If you do not have really significant behavioral, drug, or problems with crimes that implicate your ability to parent, Washington courts will give you substantial time with your children, even if your soon-to-be-ex is threatening you with "taking the kids from you."  That just will not happen unless you or the courts seriously misfire.

These days the law presumes that it is in the best interests to be raised by both parents, and that is what the court will arrange, unless something goes really wrong.  Some unscrupulous attorneys will promise your angry ex-spouse that they can get "sole custody" and keep you from your children, and they will ramp up hyper-aggressive allegations against you to try to show that your presence is actually harmful to the children.

Spokane family lawyer, Craig Mason, is accustomed to pushing back against these outlandish attempts to keep you from your children, and he has years of experience in helping people like you arrange the facts and witness statements to defeat such attempts to take you out of the lives of your children.

When you hire Attorney Mason and his staff to represent you in a Washington family court you can enter with confidence that you have excellent and effective council.  Make in introductory appointment at Mason Law located at W. 1707 Broadway in Spokane WA by calling (509) 443-3681. 

How Many Parents Can a Child Have?

A child can never have too many people love and nourish the child.

The Washington State legislature has addressed the complexity of modern family life with an entirely new parentage statute.  RCW 26.26A allows for a child to have “more than two” parents, which is true enough with blended families.  The statute adds legal definitions for those who have been parents-in-fact (“de facto parents”) of children for years and gives them a route to be included in visitation orders.

The case law has been evolving rapidly as judges try to provide reasonable regulation to address family-life reality as it comes to the courts. These new statutes will take years to fully interpret in new case law, but the judges and the legislatures are working to protect your relationships with children who need you.

To help you present these complex issues to the judges who are adjusting the law to the new realities, call Mason Law at (509) 443-3681 for an experienced family law attorney to help you maintain precious relationships with the children in your life.

Property Division at Divorce

Community property division can be a very complicated matter.  When a marriage breaks up in the State of Washington it is imperative that you have representation when it comes to the matter of equitably splitting up property to be sure that you receive everything that is entitled to you. 

The marriage owns all labor of both spouses, and so all wealth accumulated by effort is community property.  If one spouse has separate property, from before the marriage or from an inheritance after the marriage, it will remain separate property unless it is hopelessly "commingled" (mixed up with) community property.  In Washington (as in about half of all community property states), all property, separate and community, is within the power of the court to distribute.  Just because your property is separate property, that does not mean it cannot be given to your spouse in a divorce.  The judge is to make a "just and equitable" distribution of the property once it has all the facts from trial.  Assuming the judge will give you back your separate property, you will need to be able to "trace" that property at trial.  This is a complex, but very important, process. Likewise, if the community invested in one spouse's separate property, then the community will be entitled to the value of that investment in the separate property.  Again, this is complex.

A qualified family lawyer in Washington State will be needed to sort it all out.  In Spokane that man is Craig Mason and his staff at Mason Law.  Why not sit down with a divorce attorney who has fought for the rights of his clients for decades, during this very stressful time?  Call the office of Mason Law today at (509) 443-3681.