Washington Legal News: Seattle Divorce & Domestic Violence Lawyer

When it comes to divorce, child custody, and domestic violence, you are not alone – far from it. Stories of ending marriages, custody battles, and abused love are in the news every day, both on a national level and right here in the greater Seattle area. We can learn a lot from these current events stories, both about Washington law and others who may share similar experiences with you. Below, please read our collection of Washington legal news stories.

News Category: All CategoriesDivorce and PropertyDomestic ViolenceChild Custody and SupportGeneral

Divorce and Property

• Study: Marital Discord Is Bad For Your Health
  May 12, 2010

  Studies going back for hundreds of years have established that being married can lead to a longer, healthier life – a life with lower rates of cancer, surgery, heart disease, dementia, and pneumonia. However, newer and better studies have found that having a healthier and happier life is not as easy as simply getting hitched; in fact, gaining the benefits of marriage necessitates a happy, working marriage, not just any marriage. Not only will a contentious or troubled marriage erase the benefits of a stable marriage, these new studies have found that a stressed marriage can harm one’s health significantly.
  
  In one study, scientists and psychologists have found that there is a deep connection between a person’s immune system and their stress and mental health state. The results were conclusive: women who were either unhappily married or still struggling with divorce had low white blood cell counts (weakened immune systems) while women who were in happy marriages or happily single had higher white blood cell counts. Another study found that even a fight between husband and wife will lower the immune system’s strength over the next day.
  
  Others studies have found that staying in a bad marriage can lead to stress hormones, depression, mood swings, a weakened immune system, increased chances of developing diabetes, chronic illness outbreaks, and an increased chance of heart disease.
  
  The bottom line, researchers say, is that while it is important to work through the issues in your relationship and solve your problems, it is not always better for your physical health to stay married in the long run. - 11 - 20

• New Study: Miscarriages And Stillbirth Can Increase Chances Of Divorce
  Apr 07, 2010

  You might have heard that money problems, affairs, or irreconcilable differences can lead to divorce in Washington State – but what about losing a baby? According to a new study conducted by the University of Michigan Medical School and published in the journal Pediatrics, married couples are significantly more likely to divorce if they have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth.
  
  Specifically, the study found that couples who experienced the death of after the 20-week mark, during labor, or soon after labor were 40 percent more likely to divorce after the incident, while those who suffer a miscarriage are 22 percent more likely to separate. The study followed 7,700 couples over a 15-year span. While a large percentage of couples whose marriage did not survive the loss of a baby separated within three years, it was found that the death of a baby or a pregnancy loss could affect a marriage even ten years down the road.
  
  Researchers say that many of the couples were already experiencing relationship problems and the experience of a pregnancy loss simply pushed them over the edge. Other couples struggle after one partner takes the loss in a different way than the other – or when one can’t understand the way the other has chosen to mourn. While some couples were brought closer together by tragedy, others simply couldn’t continue their relationship.
  
  Those who conducted this study say that simply knowing that the loss of a baby can threaten your marriage could help those going through the process recognize that they may need extra counseling, respect each other’s differences, and ask each other for support. - 12 - 20

• Living Together Before Marriage Doesn’t Lead To Divorce In Seattle
  Mar 29, 2010

  Traditionally, a couple should share a home before they tie the knot – but is there a reason for this rule to exist? While many perpetuate the myth that living together before marriage will lead to divorce, a new study shows that whether or not a couple chooses to cohabitate before taking their vows doesn’t have a significant impact on the fate or success of the marriage.
  
  A new study released by the National Center for Health Statistics and based on the National Survey of Family Growth conducted in 2002 shows that while couples who don’t live together before they are engaged or married have a slightly better chance of staying married, living together before the wedding day does not significantly hurt your chances at happiness.
  
  Out of the 13,000 people surveyed, 65 percent of women were married successfully for ten years, while 66 percent of women who waited to live with their husbands lasted a decade without divorce. For me, 69 percent lasted ten years married while 71 percent lasted ten years married after waiting to move in with their partner. Generally, an unmarried couple who lives together but never makes it official has a 55 percent chance of staying together for ten years.
  
  While the differences between couples who live together before marriage and couples who wait are very slim, all couples who marry have an advantage over those who move in but don’t make vows. This adds weight to the importance of defining a relationship and making official plans for the future. In the end, making a commitment remains to be a more important step than sharing rent or a mortgage. - 13 - 20

• Washington Post: Recession Means Couples Waiting To Divorce
  Mar 24, 2010

  The recession has caused Washington house prices to plummet, bankruptcy rates to skyrocket, and unemployment rates to rise. But how has the recent problems with the economy affected divorce rates? According to the Washington Post, divorce rates fell significantly in 2008 – not because fewer couples wanted to end their relationships, but because fewer couples could afford to get divorced.
  
  Is divorce a luxury? In some cases, couples have put off ending their relationships to focus on paying their mortgage or getting their kids to college. Many with strained finances are opting to live on separate floors and wait a year or two before legally severing their tie. Many law offices report that one out of four couples are living together as they wait for their divorce to go through in order to save money.
  
  In 2008, there were 20,000 fewer divorces, with only 838,000 divorce cases in court. While the tough economy should increase the number of divorces – financial strain and money problems are the number one cause for divorce – the rate of divorces has decreased. Many states require months or a year of separation before a divorce, which can be a considerable financial strain. However, some experts say that many families may be putting differences aside in order to fight together against hard times, upside-down mortgages, and layoffs.
  
  This pattern reflects a similar pattern seen during the Great Depression: divorce rates fell during hard times and then increased as the country recovered. For now, divorces may be “backlogged” until better times. - 14 - 20

• Seattle Affair Splits Cheryl and Ashley Cole; Lawyers Discuss Assets
  Feb 25, 2010

  After an alleged affair with a woman in Seattle, United Kingdom celebrity couple Cheryl and Ashley Cole have filed for divorce. Now many are speculating on the division of property for this high-powered couple who share millions in assets.
  
  The high-profile couple married three-and-a-half years ago. Despite their individual fortunes, Cheryl said that she found the idea of a prenuptial agreement “disgusting,” because they would be together for the rest of their lives. Now, however, her decision to skip an agreement before marriage may cost her during the divorce.
  
  Ashley, a musical artist and famous television personality in England separated from her husband this week after information surfaced regarding a Seattle, Washington, affair her soccer star husband allegedly had during a pre-season football game in the United States. The other woman, Ann Corbitt, went to the media after the short-lived relationship.
  
  Many divorce lawyers are speculating on how their assets will be divided in the divorce settlement – a short marriage that does not involve children could mean both parties walk away keeping only what they had when they were wed. It may be that their attorneys will split the assets they earned as a couple during their marriage. Both have earned millions of pounds each during the marriage.
  
  The couple jointly owns a mansion in Surrey worth an estimated 6 million pounds, though rumor says that Ashley is planning a move in the near future to Italy. - 15 - 20

• Study: Link Between College Education And Divorce Rates
  Feb 08, 2010

  A new study reported in the Wall Street Journal has uncovered revealing information about the link between college educations and divorce rates. Betsey Stevenson and Adam Isen examined a number of surveys and data sets to determine the relationship between having a college degree and having a happy, lasting marriage.
  
  What they found was surprising: while women and men who have finished college are most likely to stay married and to report happier marriages, the groups most likely to divorce within ten years are those who only had some college education. Those with only high school educations fell somewhere in the middle.
  
  The authors of the study can only guess why these correlations are present, but said that it is likely that college-educated women are more likely to see marriage as a source of personal fulfillment and less as a means of economic stability. They also said that it may be that those who do not finish their college educations may have traits that don’t allow them to ride out rough or unhappy times in their marriages.
  
  While studies have always found that men who receive college diplomas are happier and more successful in marriage, the fact that women with a college education also enter into healthier and happier relationships is a new trend that was not so pronounced 50 years ago. However, unlike 50 years ago, a college-educated woman is less likely to get married than those with only high school diplomas.
  - 16 - 20

• Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards Quietly Separated from Wife
  Jan 29, 2010

  A report by People magazine stated that former Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, quietly separated from his wife, Elizabeth, before he admitted to fathering a child outside of their marriage.
  
  John responded to this report by saying, “it is an extraordinarily sad moment, but I love my children more than anything and still care deeply about Elizabeth.”
  
  People included the Edwards’ story on its cover and reported that Elizabeth had a mediated visit in a North Carolina hotel with the 23-month-old child whom John fathered with his mistress.
  
  Elizabeth’s sister, Nancy Anania, told People that Elizabeth said, “I’ve had it.  I can’t do this.  I want my life back.”
  
  Elizabeth’s spokeswoman has stated that she is moving on with her life following an “excruciatingly painful period for her.”
  
  The couple is currently living in different residences. - 17 - 20

• Social Media Makes It Difficult to Break the Ties After Divorce
  Jan 28, 2010

  In the recent past, when a couple would divorce, it was easy for the ex-spouses to avoid each other’s friends.  With new technology, including social media websites, breaking the ties after divorce has become even harder.
  
  In the movie, He’s Just Not That Into You, there is a scene where Drew Barrymore’s character complains about the numerous technological ways she is being rebuffed by potential suitors – email, texts and MySpace.  She comments that, “it’s exhausting.”
  
  The problem that couples face now when they divorce is the connections they still have on social media websites, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.  These couples used to only see these friends at social gatherings, but not now they see them 24 hours a day on these social networking sites. 
  
  In an article provided by the New York Times News Service, titled, “Prolonging the Heartache: Digital Ties that Bind Make Breakups More Difficult,” it talks about the fact that breakups are being redefined.  The article describes this situation by stating, “where once a spurned lover could use scissors to cut an ex out of the picture, digital images of the smiling couple in happier days abound on the Web and are difficult to delete.”
  
  The advice for couples who have recently divorced – change their passwords, stop posting on social media websites and consider getting a new email address. - 18 - 20

• Tiger Woods' Wife Reportedly Wants to Save Marriage
  Jan 27, 2010

  After all the media attention and allegations about Tiger Woods’ affairs, his wife, Elin Nordegren wants to save her family.  According to a Florida insider who talked with People.com, Elin is desperate for her two kids to have a dad and Tiger “wants to go back to being a golf star with major endorsements.”
  
  The Florida insider went on to say that Tiger “wants his clients, who have kids of their own, to think he is a good family man.”
  
  Tiger checked himself into a Mississippi sex-addiction clinic earlier in January and it is speculated that this week will be crucial in determining if his marriage can be salvaged.  According a former patient at the clinic, “this is the rough part where the patient has to admit to his wife that he [cheated].”
  
  Apparently, Tiger’s wife and management team ordered him to check into the clinic.  A source had told US Weekly that he didn’t want to go to rehab.  The source also told US Weekly that Tiger is having a difficult time not being able to play golf. - 19 - 20

Domestic Violence

• Study: Bad Economy And Job Loss Exacerbates Domestic Violence
  Aug 17, 2010

  A new study has found that domestic abuse rates increase during times of financial stress – with couples experiencing three times more domestic violence during tough financial times. The study also found that domestic violence rates increase 117 percent from 2008 to 2009, during the economic downturn.
  
  While the study’s researchers were quick to say that financial stress doesn’t directly cause violence and abuse in families, they did conclude that it often exacerbates existing problems – and than many domestic abuse victims have an even harder time leaving their intimate partner if they don’t have the funds to do so or the ability to secure a job.
  
  The study focused on families that had been faced with unemployment within the last five months, and the majority of domestic violence victims interviewed cited stress and job loss as major factors in their abuse. But while domestic abuse shelters say that they have had an increase in victims who need support, law enforcement says that their number of domestic disturbance calls have not gone up. They say that while economic problems could spark an act of domestic violence, it is usually not the core problem. Instead, drinking and drugs are often problems, as are those with a history of violence and abuse.
  
  As for officials and lawmakers, many are concerned with the new information that a bad economy can affect the rate of domestic abuse. Especially because many state governments are also suffering from financial problems, lawmakers wonder how domestic violence shelters and other resources for abused spouses will handle the extra need.
  - 20 - 20

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