Most often, it is husbands who conceal assets. Many husbands are able to get away with hiding assets because women are either not aware that such practices are widespread, or are too intimidated to actually complain about this.

Look for the following signs that your spouse has assets that have not been disclosed as part of the divorce process.

Your spouse may insist on maintaining complete control over his/her bank account information, and may not even share online passwords.

Spouses who want to conceal information are typically secretive, and may own a private post box, or mail box for receiving mail.

Also check whether your spouse has unreimbursed business account expenses.

If your spouse previously worked with financial software, and has recently chosen to delete the software, he or she may have something to hide.

Spouses sometimes complain that their income has been dropping, in order to minimize possible alimony payments.

If your spouse maintains a bank account in other countries that have lenient banking laws, then rest assured that he or she is secretly stashing money away.  Many people also choose to ferret money away in an offshore asset protection program.

Often, spouses who don’t want their real wealth to feature in divorce papers, may delay commissions or bonuses, or hold off on signing new contracts.

Another trick that Seattle divorce lawyers often see is creating phony debt with the help of family members and friends.

If you are considering a divorce, and have questions about child custody, child support, parenting, alimony, and other divorce-related issues, speak with a Seattle divorce lawyer at our firm.

The initiative called the Art of Marriage Ops campaign has been launched by nonprofit organizations Family Life and Military Ministry.  According to FamilyLife, many times, spouses of veterans labor under the misconception that when a veteran returns from active combat, he can just pick up his life from where he left off.  Unfortunately, many military couples find that that’s actually not true at all.

The Art of Marriage Ops claims to give couples the chance to rediscover each other, and reclaim the relationship.  The program is based on advice from experts as well as real-life stories that can help couples understand that they’re not alone in their struggles to hold on to their marriage after deployment.

There are several reasons why military marriages are so susceptible to divorce. Many veterans may suffer from physical and mental conditions, and serious injuries sustained during combat.  Many veterans are also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that develops after a soldier has been exposed to life-threatening or traumatic situations.   A veteran may return with severe injuries that include amputations, brain injuries, and genital injuries.

Adding to the stress is the high employment rate among veterans.  Also, many veterans have undergone more than one deployment, which increases mental stresses further.  Mental stress, unemployment, and poor health – these are all ripe conditions for the development of marital stress.

If you are a military spouse considering divorce, and have questions about child support, alimony, parenting and other divorce-related issues, speak with an experienced Seattle divorce attorney at our firm.

Tea Party favorite Representative Joe Walsh recently settled a child support lawsuit with his ex-wife.  Under the terms of the settlement, the two agreed to confirm that the Representative was never a deadbeat dad.

Joe Walsh and his wife Laura were married between 1997 and 2004, and finalized their divorce in 2006.  The lawsuit had been filed in 2010 by Laura Walsh, who insisted that her husband owed her more than $117,000 in child support back payments.  She filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband, claiming payments.  According to Walsh, in recent years, his income levels decreased while his wife began making more money, and therefore, he was under the impression that he did not have to pay her any child support.

The lawsuit threatened to derail Walsh’s election campaign.  He is coming up against Democrat Tammy Duckworth, who has made no bones of the fact that she considers him an irresponsible father.  The Democratic opponent is likely to use the state of his finances to boost her election campaign.

Rep. Walsh recently held a press conference in which he insisted that his wife and he had reached an amicable settlement.  The details of the settlement have not been disclosed.

In Washington State, child support payments are calculated based on a standard calculator.  Your payments will depend on the number of children involved, the net income of the noncustodial parent, monthly cost of family group health insurance paid by the noncustodial parent as well as the custodial parent, net monthly income of the custodial parent, monthly alimony payments made by the custodial parent to an ex-spouse from a previous relationship, and monthly daycare costs paid by the custodial parent.

If you are a parent in Seattle Washington, and have questions about child support and other divorce-related issues, speak with an experienced Seattle child support lawyer at our firm. 

In a survey of divorce lawyers by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, close to 40 percent of the lawyers said that they had seen an increase in the number of couples choosing to sign cohabitation agreements.  About 50% of the lawyers had also seen an increase in the number of legal conflicts involving unmarried couples over the past 5 years.

Additionally, many children are now born to cohabiting couples. According to a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2006 and 2010, approximately 22% of all births were to cohabiting couples.

This confirms to Seattle family lawyers that cohabiting couples also need legal agreements that can clearly define their rights, obligations and duties in the event of a breakup.  In fact, a Washington couple that is not living together would actually require prenuptial or cohabitation agreements much more than a legally married couple.  When a legally married couple divorces, laws governing child custody, child support, and alimony kick in.  The courts have access to certain precedents that can be followed.

Washington does allow common-law marriages.  In such marriages, the couple enjoys many of the privileges accorded to married couples.  For instance, these couples have the right to file joint income tax returns, and call each other husband and wife.  If they want to break up, these couples can also go the divorce route, just like married couples.

A Washington couple that does not want to enter into a common-law marriage will definitely need the protection of a cohabitation agreement that clearly outlines all rights and obligations under the law.  Although cohabitation agreements have limited powers in matters of child custody and parenting, you can include some basic child support payment obligations too.

A case in point is the recent divorce settlement that was announced between former Yahoo boss Susan Decker and Michael Dovey.  The two had filed for divorce in 2007, and the settlement has only now been announced, after a period of 5 years.

The couple’s assets include a $5 million home in Belvidere, another $6 million property in California, 2 lodges in Lake Tahoe, and property in the Napa valley.  There were also several modes of transportation including 5 motorcycles, and two sailing boats, and season tickets for the Giants baseball team up for division.

Right from the outset, the divorce proceedings were nasty.  Both Decker and Dovey indulged in plenty of mudslinging and name-calling, accusing each other of drug abuse, extra marital affairs and espionage.  At the very last hour, just before the case was due to go to trial, the two announced a settlement.

As part of their agreement, they will sell off many of their homes, and divide the proceeds between them.  They have also decided to end their memberships of several clubs including the San Francisco Yacht Club, and also set up a $2 million trust fund for their children.

In any high- net worth divorce, there is more than just one house and the custody of the children at stake.  Typically, assets in these divorces include wide flung business interests, stock, retirement accounts, bank accounts, properties across the country, and various other assets.   These cases tend to be more complex, and may take a longer time to settle.  In a high-net worth divorce, a Seattle divorce lawyer will consult with a financial expert who is experienced in handling high net worth accounts.

In Washington State, cats and dogs are considered community property or separate property assets.  If you or your spouse introduced a pet cat or dog into your home after the marriage, the animal is considered your community asset.  However, if you brought the pet into the marriage, the animal is considered your separate property asset.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/sex-relationships/story/2012-02-29/Divorce-lawyers-Pet-custody-cases-increasing/53301298/1 

Unlike houses and furniture, pets cannot be divided in half.  Therefore, pet custody cases revolve around the question of who gets to live with, and take care of the animal.   Seattle’s laws don’t include any provision for visitation of pets, so couples in a divorce will be required to reach an agreement about sharing time with the pet with the help of a Seattle family lawyer.

Although pets are treated as assets, there are strong emotional elements in a pet custody case.  Seattle family lawyers have found that judges have begun to consider these emotional factors in pet custody cases.

The good news is that happy stories involving pet custody abound.  With some effort and cooperation, couples can divorce, and can share custody of pets just as they share custody of children.

The Seattle pet custody lawyers at the Engel Law Group are dedicated to the representation of persons in divorce, child support, child custody, alimony and other family law issues across Seattle.

Even as national divorce rates have dropped over the past 2 decades, there has been a spike in ‘gray divorce,’ or divorces involving senior citizens.  In fact, according to some estimates, senior citizen divorces have spiked to some of their highest levels on record.

In 1990, people above the age of 50 accounted for just 1 in 10 divorces.  By 2009, that number had increased to 1 in 4.  In 2009, more than 600,000 people of this age group filed for divorce.  What’s more, many experts estimate that the number of divorces involving senior citizens could soon touch 800,000 per year.

Senior divorces differ from divorce filings involving younger persons in some ways.  Infidelity, which is a major factor in divorces nationally, is not a huge factor in senior divorces, and accounts for just 27% of these filings.  Money is also not a major reason, with many senior couples financially well-established.  Many of these divorces can be traced to a lack of fulfillment in the marriage and the consequences of an empty nest syndrome.

Seniors in the year 2012 belong to the baby boomer generation, arguably the first generation to perceive marriage as a means of self-improvement, rather than as an economic and social institution.  Baby boomers are likely to have high expectations of their marriage, and those expectations are likely to seem unfulfilled when children have grown and flown the coop.

Also, senior citizen divorces may involve different financial concerns.  For instance, there may be college loan payments that need to be maintained, and children’s wedding expenses that must be covered.

The Seattle divorce lawyers at the Engel Law Group are dedicated to the representation of persons in divorce, child support, child custody, alimony and other family law issues across Seattle.

A recent shooting incident at a Seattle school is once again raising questions about the state supervision of vulnerable children.  Those concerns are similar to the ones that Seattle family lawyers had raised after the Josh Powell tragedy earlier this year.

On February 22, a 9-year-old boy at a Bremerton elementary school brought a gun to his class.  According to police, he had accessed the .45 caliber handgun at his mother’s house.  When he slammed his bag on the table, the weapon discharged, injuring one of the girls in his class.  The third-grader suffered serious injuries, and has been in a hospital since.

Her family has been criticizing the state’s child supervision system, which they say failed their daughter.  In this case, the boy accessed the gun when he went to visit his mother, who had had her parental rights terminated.  His mother struggles with drug abuse, and has a criminal record.  The boy’s mother and her boyfriend have been charged with possession of firearms, after police found a number of weapons in their home.

The boy has been sentenced to probation and counseling, but the family of the young girl who was shot, has raised questions about the consequences of returning the boy to his uncle, who happens to be his current guardian, and who failed to prevent the child from accessing the weapon.  The girl’s parents are considering filing a lawsuit against state agencies, and have called on Child Protection Services to take all steps to make sure that the boy does not visit his mother unsupervised.

Earlier this year, Seattle child custody lawyers had similar concerns about parental visitation rights and child supervision, after murder suspect Josh Powell killed his 2 children and himself.  At the time of the deaths, the children were on a supervised visit with their father.

The Seattle child custody lawyers at the Engel Law Group are dedicated to the representation of persons in divorce, child support, child custody, alimony and other family law issues across Seattle.

The decision was made by a judge in Tennessee, and holds that the woman is liable for child support payments in a lawsuit that was filed by her former adoption agency.  In April 2010, the woman Torry Hansen was living in Tennessee, when she put her 7-year-old adopted son on a plane back to Russia.  Along with the boy was a note saying that the boy had violent tendencies, and that Hansen did not want to keep him any longer.  The incident played out heavily in the Russian media, and severely angered the public in that country.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_20123679/tenn-mom-who-sent-russian-boy-must-pay 

The agency that facilitated the adoption, World Association for Children and Parents filed a child support lawsuit against Hansen in Tennessee.  However, Hansen allegedly failed to appear in court, and also did not respond to requests for a deposition.  A judge has now ruled that she is indeed liable for child support payments.

Since that decision, Hansen has informed the court that the adoption was canceled, and that she is no longer the boy’s legal parent.  Attorneys for the World Association for Children and Parents admit that the adoption of the boy has been terminated in Russia, but assert that Hansen’s obligations toward child-support still continue.  If and when the child support payments are determined, the money will be sent to Russia and will be placed in a trust to be used only for the boy’s benefit.

The Seattle child support lawyers at the Engel Law Group are dedicated to the representation of persons in divorce, child support, child custody, alimony and other family law issues across Seattle.

There are several misconceptions associated with prenuptial agreements.  These are just a few of them:

Only the rich need prenuptial agreements. One of the biggest misconceptions that Seattle family lawyers come across is that prenuptial agreements are only for celebrities, or the fabulously wealthy.  That is not true at all.  It’s just that the wealthy have more assets that need to be protected in the event of a divorce, and therefore, prenups are almost mandatory for this class. .

A prenuptial agreement indicates lack of trust in a relationship. Many couples avoid raising the topic of a prenup, because they fear that it will give rise to uncomfortable questions about trust.  On the contrary, talking frankly and honestly about a future event that you both hope will never happen, actually lays the foundation for a healthy marriage that is based on trust.

A prenuptial agreement kills all romance in a marriage.  Again, when two people in love make joint decisions about financial and other matters before their impending marriage, it helps clear the air at the very outset, and actually eliminates any doubts or anxiety about finances.  Money is one of the biggest reasons why people file for divorce.  If the two of you take time to get financial matters resolved before the wedding, you’re likely off to a good start!

The Seattle prenuptial agreement lawyers at the Engel Law Group are dedicated to the representation of persons in divorce, child support, child custody, alimony and other family law issues across Seattle.