We at Mason Law Wish You a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

The holidays will be difficult this year as we continue under the threat of COVID-19, and the restrictions that follow from it. The Spokane County courts have indicated that the disease is not an excuse to deviate from any of the parenting plans. All parents should still be able to see their children as ordered, and that is a blessing in these hard and unusual times -- the blanket rule is keeping people out of court, and, hopefully, in the Christmas spirit.

I am thankful that I have so much word-of-mouth business that I have to advertise very little.  I like to think that it is because I maintain the spirit of reconciliation and understanding all year long.  Yes, I fight when I have to do so, and I fight well, but my real expertise is in finding creative solutions that meet the needs of all parties sufficiently that "peace" can be found in the difficult process of divorce or other family law conflict.  No matter how calmly or heatedly a case begins, sooner or later it ends.  And if parents can think of their children, or the husband and wife can think of the other, then the case ends better for all in the long run.

So, let's end this year, and enter the next, remembering that a relationship ending, or a new dispute being addressed, can always benefit from opening your heart to the interests and needs of others.  In other words, may you enjoy your Christmas holidays, and carry a bit of that spirit with you all next year.  Best wishes from Mason Law, Spokane, WA - (509) 443-4681.

Family Law Temporary Orders

When your divorce or parenting plan case is first filed it is often nearly a year until trial.

Between filing the case and getting a final outcome by trial or agreement, there must be an interim court order to regulate financial and parenting issues.  These orders are called “temporary orders.”

Temporary order hearings are almost always on paper filings only (without testimony) and so you must prepare sworn statements of witnesses with personal knowledge of your parenting history, and file documents to give the court a snapshot of your current financial situation. Often, these statements and documents must be compiled within in only days, in a rush to a temporary order hearing.

Mason Law of Spokane can help you prepare for these hearings and follow the complex court procedures to get your position and facts before the court.  You will find them on the web at spokaneinjuryanddivorcelaw.com or call them at (509) 443-3681 for a consultation at their office located at West 1707 Broadway in Spokane.

“But It’s in My Name”

In community property states, of which Washington is one, the marriage owns all the labor of both persons during the life of the marriage, and everything purchased by the proceeds of this labor belongs to the marriage, unless otherwise gifted or contracted away.

And when the court turns to “characterizing” property as separate or community property, the court looks to the “source of funds” with which the property was purchased.  In short, if you cannot “trace” a separate property source for the purchase, then the purchase is presumed to be made with community funds, and the asset is presumed to be community property. “Title” (whose name it is in) does not matter.

Of course, there are exceptions and complexities, for example, if you can claim that when something was titled in your name it was meant to be separate property as a gift, or part of an enforceable property agreement between you and your spouse, then title is evidence of that agreement.  Or if an inherited house, that would normally be separate property, is titled in both spouses’ names, that can be evidence that the intention was to gift the property to the community, by the deceased or by the inheriting spouse.

This little sample is not legal advice.  It is simply a reminder to seek legal counsel in the face of very complex legal rules.  For help understanding these complexities in the laws of Washington State, call Mason Law in Spokane at (509) 443-3681.

Keeping your Family Together.

If your family has been disrupted by divorce, or a break-up between any pair of parents, in 2019, the underage children get caught in the middle. Washington State courts will probably give you substantial time with your children if you do not have behavioral, criminal, or drug problems.  So, hire a capable family attorney if your former significant other says: “I will take the kids from you.”

Legally speaking, it is in the best interests of the kids to be raised by both parents on terms that most match what went on before the break up, and that is what the court is required, by statute, to arrange.  Some attorneys will promise your angry ex-spouse that they can get "sole custody," and keep you from your children.  They may even try to convince the court that your presence is harmful to the children!

If your break-up or divorce takes this unfortunate turn, Spokane family lawyer, Craig Mason, routinely fights back against such outlandish, and damaging, attempts to keep you from your children.  He has years of experience in helping people just like you prepare and present the real facts, and in developing the relevant witness statements, to defeat such attempts to deprive you of participating in the lives of your children.  Call Spokane Family lawyer Craig Mason at (509) 443-3681.

Happy Holidays from our Family to Yours.

Here at Mason Law we hope that those of you in Eastern Washington and throughout our area have a wonderful, safe, and healthy holiday season.  We have been here helping Washingtonians for with legal issues of all types for decades ranging from civil litigation, to personal injury, to family matters.

While we trust you will not need us in 2020, rest assured that our family will be here to serve yours in the year to come.  When you get a minute, visit our website at spokaneinjuryanddivorcelaw.com.  The very best to you and yours from all of us here in Spokane at Mason Law.

Settling your Divorce without Trial

Roughly 90 percent of family law cases settle short of trial.  There might be a large battle over initial orders – temporary orders put in place right after the divorce is filed – but then people calm down and realize what the courts are likely to do at trial.  Then, within the range of likely trial outcomes, the parties decide to save all the emotional and financial expense of trial and work out an agreement that is the basis of the “final orders” in your divorce.

In drafting the settlement agreement, you should have competent legal advice to make sure that you know your rights, so that you can fully understand the range of likely trial outcomes.  Also, an attorney can draft your agreement and final orders so that they have the legal effect you intend.

A settlement agreement is an enforceable contract.  Do not wait to get an attorney until after you have signed a settlement contract, which you now regret.

Mason Law in Spokane WA, can help you fully understand your rights, and protect your benefits of the bargain in drafting the agreement and final orders.  If you are about to begin negotiations to resolve a divorce call Mason Law today at (909) 443-3681.

How to Divorce Peacefully

Divorce can be a low-conflict process, especially if people keep a few things in mind.  (1) The judges are to make parenting plans in the best interests of the children, and if parents also take this viewpoint, then their views can converge on the needs of the children.  Their divergent views of each other can be set aside, and need not ever be resolved, for the marriage to be dissolved.  Everyone can move on.  (2) The judges are to make a just and equitable division of all assets and liabilities, whether the judge ultimately finds the property or debts to be community or separate property.  Parties can step back, and ask themselves:  “What would look fair to a detached stranger?”  While “wants” diverge, what truly is “just and equitable” is likely to converge.

Craig Mason is one of those attorneys in the State of Washington who can guide you realistically to resolution.  While Mr. Mason has intensely litigated cases when his client is under attack.  Mr. Mason will not be the one inciting the conflict.  He will be counseling you in your best long-run interests. If you want to avoid courtroom contentiousness, if possible to do so, call Mason Law located in Spokane at West 1707 Broadway.  What you are going through is tough enough, maybe there is a quieter, gentler solution.  Call the team at Mason Law at (509) 443-3681.

Just and Equitable Distribution

If you are considering a divorce in the state of Washington, there are three basic things to consider.  These basics apply both to the dissolution of marriages, and to the dissolution of domestic partnerships that are registered with the Evergreen state.

Here are the three:

1.  Washington is a “no fault” state…the courts do not care who was “at fault.” (Infidelity does not matter at all. Please do not try discuss it with the court.)

2.  It is also a community property state. Property gained during the marriage will be characterized as belonging to the marriage…even if one person sat eating bon-bons while the other worked, all labor done during the marriage belongs to the community.

3.  Washington is a “just and equitable” state which means property will be dispersed in a “just and equitable” way, which is not necessarily a 50/50. 

Also, Washington is among the community property states in which even separate property can be given to the other spouse, if the court determines that it is “just and equitable” to do so.

You need help in these complicated court proceedings.  Craig Mason and his team at Mason Law can help you as they have helped many others over the years.  From their office located at West 1707 Broadway in Spokane they will help present your idea of the “just and equitable” resolution to your divorce.  Give Mason Law a call today at (509) 443-3681.

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.   

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.