Family Law Blog

McKinley Irvin Blog

A little knowledge can go a long way to protect your assets and family relationships. Planning can save headaches and money, and can provide peace of mind. The articles and tips in this section of the McKinley Irvin website are intended to help you understand and prepare for some of the more common issues you’ll encounter in a divorce, child custody, or other family law matter.

Please be advised that family cases can be very complex. The information provided here should not be construed as legal advice in your case.

  • 6 Things to Do Before You Ask Your Spouse for a Divorce

    6 Things to Do Before You Ask Your Spouse for a Divorce As commonplace as the practice may seem, a divorce is an enormous undertaking. If you’re in a position where you plan on asking your spouse for a divorce (or if you know a divorce is coming), you can protect your best interests and prepare yourself for what’s to come by being proactive before the divorce begins. While it may feel callous or selfish to plan for a divorce, especially if your spouse is unaware, remember that while the ending of a marriage is an emotional process, a divorce is a legal process. If you head into a ...
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  • Bad Social Media Habits to Avoid During Your Divorce

    Bad Social Media Habits to Avoid During Your Divorce Divorce is challenging, which is why so many people take to the most readily available outlet they know to vent their emotions: social media. Social media is a great tool for keeping in touch with friends, sharing exciting experiences, and getting into contact with new people. However, during a divorce, social media can be damaging and dangerous. While social media can sometimes serve as a great outlet, it should never be a place you go to share personal information pertaining to your divorce . Find out what bad social media ...
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  • Child Support for Children with Special Needs

    Child Support for Children with Special Needs When a court decides how to distribute child support payments, they consider several factors, including the mental and physical health of the child. The child’s well-being will always come first in the eyes of the court, so if a child has a special set of needs, the court will consider how those needs may affect the child’s care and living expenses. Whether you and your child’s other parent share custody or one of you has primary custody, it is important for you to understand how your child support could be affected by your ...
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  • A Guide to Divorce Hearings in Washington

    A Guide to Divorce Hearings in Washington Depending on the divorce process you choose, you may end up attending one or more court hearings to help fine-tune some of the conditions of your divorce while your case is pending. A hearing is a court proceeding that determines temporary or procedural matters in your divorce and is different from a divorce trial. If you are beginning the divorce process, make sure you are prepared for each step, including any potential hearings. To learn more about divorce hearings in Washington state, read below. Hearings to Obtain ...
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  • How Does Wealth Affect Divorce?

    How Does Wealth Affect Divorce? A dissolution of marriage is, in many ways, like the dissolution of a business when it comes to assets and property. The financial holdings of the divorcing couple must be identified, valued, and distributed between the parties. When a divorce involves a hefty financial portfolio, each of those steps are more time-consuming and resource-intensive, often taking years to resolve. There are even more ways in which wealth will affect the divorce process: Marital agreements are often a factor Wealthier couples are more likely to ...
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  • The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Why You Should Tell Your Divorce Lawyer Everything

    The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Why You Should Tell Your Divorce Lawyer Everything Full disclosure isn’t always in your best interest, but when it comes to discussing your divorce case with your attorney, you should always tell the complete truth. The issues of your divorce are personal, and you may feel the need to protect your privacy. If your divorce lawyer doesn’t know everything about your case, however, it could make the process even more difficult. In fact, keeping important information from your attorney will often wind up hurting your case. Before you decide to withhold information from your ...
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  • Understanding Child Custody Rights in Washington State

    Understanding Child Custody Rights in Washington State Legal issues involving children, such as child custody, can be extremely emotional, frustrating, and oftentimes difficult to work through. Parents want what is best for their children – but when they cannot agree about what that looks like, court intervention might be necessary. However, dealing with the legal restrictions and laws in your state can be challenging. Whether you’re going through a divorce, a separation, or are renegotiating a long-standing custody arrangement, it’s important for you to understand your rights ...
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  • Am I Responsible for My Spouse’s Gambling Debt?

    Am I Responsible for My Spouse’s Gambling Debt? Gambling losses can have a devastating and lasting effect on your life and the lives of those around you. In some cases, a person’s gambling debt might even be cause enough for a divorce. In any case, if you are getting a divorce and your spouse has acquired debt through gambling, you might be wondering what will happen to that debt once you split. Will your spouse be responsible for all of it, or will you be asked to pay a portion? During a divorce, all shared property is divided between the two spouses, and this includes ...
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  • Divorce & Age: What’s the Connection?

    Divorce & Age: What’s the Connection? Can your age play a part in determining whether or not you will get divorced? Statistically speaking—yes, it could play a major role. Nobody plans to get divorced when they marry, but there are certain trends that may indicate a higher likelihood of a marriage ending in divorce if the couple marries at a specific age. Statistics show that millennials and couples from generation X have lower divorce rates than their parents, the baby boomers, which tells us quite a few different things about how age relates to divorce. And, ...
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  • Understanding Your Final Divorce Order

    Understanding Your Final Divorce Order The final divorce order, or dissolution decree, can be somewhat difficult to understand, especially amid the stress of ending a relationship. Throughout the entire divorce process, you and your spouse will spend a great deal of time in and out of court and negotiations, discussing the key aspects of your divorce. During this time, you likely live apart, start to arrange your lives without one another, and learn how to co-parent or divide your other responsibilities. For all intents and purposes, it may seem as if you are ...
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