Happy Holidays from Mason Law - to you and all the families in your lives.

Here at Mason Law we fight when we must, but we also never forget that family never ends, and that is why we make the process of divorce as painless as we can while still protecting your interests - especially your long-term interests. 

Yes, your legal parenting plan ends when the children turn 18, but Thanksgivings and Christmases will still come and go.  Grandchildren will be born. There will be graduations from college and trade schools, promotions to celebrate, and the comedies and tragedies of life to share.  Your family might have divorced, and people might have gone their separate ways, but family never ends.  Ties of affection, new and old - even old affections that fell apart - all leave their lasting marks as part of your lives.  As long as any human being lives on with those pieces of time together and emotions shared is alive, family history - all of it - lives on.

This holiday season, look at each other with compassion.  Try to look out at the world through the understandings, even out through the misunderstandings, that some person had at whom you are tempted to be angry or frustrated.  Contemplate how maybe he or she could be frustrated with and by you, and how maybe the other person is a little bit right. Broaden your perspective. Broaden your heart and accept our sincere hope that you never need family law services again in your life.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Mason Law.

Visitation During Divorce

During the chaos in the early stages of a divorce, the courts will be looking to maintain the stability of the children as best they can.  The courts will be looking to provide that stability by trying to determine which parent spent the most time with the children during the marriage (or relationship), and the strength and stability of the bond with each parent.  Of course, the parent should be mentally and emotionally stable, as well, to provide a secure home for the children.

The court does not know you or your children, so you will need to be ready to explain your relationship with the children, and, ideally, have long-standing friends and neighbors who can describe your parent-child relationships in written statements under oath.  "Reality" is reduced to a file of a few pages before your first hearing -- the "temporary order hearing" -- that will set the ground rules during the divorce.

Here at Mason Law, in Spokane, WA, we are accustomed to helping you gather these facts quickly and under pressure to assist you in getting the visitation with your children that will serve their best interests.  Call us at 509-443-3681 to help with your parenting plan hearings, and then, later, to help you get the best parenting plan at trial.

Parenting Plans

Sometimes divorcing parents get so involved in speaking ill of each other, that they (and their attorneys) overlook the factors considered by the court that are all about the children - and not about the parents' emotions.

The court will look at "the best interests" of the child.  If you left the children at home to go to church, to go fishing, or to go have an affair, the court does not care which it was.  (This is the meaning of "no-fault" divorce.)  The issue is only how much love and energy you put into the children

The court wants to know who has the strongest and most stable relationship with the child.  Who has nurtured the child?  Who has gone to the school to get lessons and made sure the child did his/her lessons?  Who has fed the child healthy meals?

And what does the child need now, and into the future, to grow and thrive?

If the child is sufficiently mature, the court might "take into account" the child's wishes, but no matter how old the child gets, the court is the decision-maker (not the child), and the court will look at which parent's home will best serve the child's growth and development.  There are some other factors, as well, but the focus remains on: Which parent has put in the time and effort to help the child grow?  If both parents have done so nearly equally, and have similar work schedules, then 50/50 plans are much more common in recent years.

Here at Mason Law we help you get beyond the irrelevant things you might want to say in pain and anger, and we help you focus on what the court needs to know about the best interests of your children. Contact Craig Mason at Mason Law at 509-443-3681 in Spokane, WA.

Let’s Begin the New Year with some Important Information.

Washington repealed its Non-Parental Custody Act (RCW 26.10), and as of December 31, 2020, orders final by that date shall remain in effect as final orders, but any pending case is automatically dismissed and must be re-filed under the new Guardianship Statute (RCW 11.130.185 and related statutes).

The key showing that must be made under the new statute is: “clear and convincing evidence” there is no parent of the minor child willing or able to perform “parenting functions.”

Parenting functions are all the ways in which one nurtures a child: feeding, clothing, loving, educating, and financially supporting.

Frankly, no one is sure where this new statute will lead, as statutes require years of court interpretation before the doctrines are clarified.  But Mason Law of Spokane, WA, has been through statutory changes before, and will go through them again.  If you have a grandchild, niece, nephew, or other child, whose parents cannot care for them, and you wish to step in, call Craig Mason of Mason Law in Spokane, WA, at 509-443-3681 to discuss the facts of your situation.

Spokane is My Home

Beautiful Spokane and the surrounding area of Eastern Washington is where I was born and raised, with most lines of my family having homesteaded in the Davenport and Reardan areas in the 1860’s and ‘70’s, and others locating in Montana and North Idaho before 1900.

I worked my way through SFCC and EWU and then went to the University of Washington for my master’s in sociology and my J.D. with high honors and was an author and editor in the U.W. Law Review.

On top of the years of legal work I have also taught at The University of Washington, WSU-Tri-Cities, Columbia Basin Community College, Gonzaga University, and Eastern Washington University. I have seen many former students in the practice of law in the Tri-cities and Spokane.

I strive to maintain the decency and practicality of my family’s traditions in my practice of law. (My two grown children, who also exhibit these traits, give me hope that I am succeeding.)

My name is Craig Mason. I wanted you to know a bit about me before you make that call looking for the right family attorney you can trust to handle the process and navigate through the family courts of Washington State. I hope we can sit down and review your specific needs. Please call my office at W. 1707 Broadway in Spokane (509) 443-3681.