As experienced divorce lawyers, we can assist you with all aspects of your divorce, including the following:

• Divorce planning - we can help you plan and prepare prior to a divorce if you are contemplating dissolving your marriage so that you are in the best possible position when the divorce is filed.
• Dissolution of Marriage - filing a divorce or legal separation petition or responding to divorce or dissolution of marriage papers if you have been served - we can handle a contested divorce or uncontested divorce.
• Child Custody / Visitation - sometimes referred to as parenting time, the parties' custody and visitation with their children will be spelled out in a court order called a "parenting plan". This is generally where the proceedings get nasty and when you will need an attorney the most. We can handle child custody or visitation issues at all levels.
• Child support - including child support enforcement issues. We can handle all child support issues.
• Spousal support - sometimes referred to as alimony or spousal maintenance. We can handle all spousal support issues.
• Division of Marital Property - sometimes referred to as division of marital assets. Washington is a community property state and courts will attempt to equitably divide any assets acquired during the marriage. Also, Washington is a no fault state, so the circumstances triggering the divorce will not be considered in dividing the marital assets and marital debts. We can assist in asset classification and valuation issues, discovery of hidden assets, and other marital property issues.
• Post-divorce modifications - including child visitation modifications, child support modifications, and spousal support modifications.

Divorce cases are first and foremost about the lives of the people involved. Divorce means permanent changes for both spouses and children, and there are many questions at the outset: will I be able to support myself, where will I live, where will the children live, how will our debts be paid, just to name a few. At the Law Offices of Brian Chase, PLLC, we understand the outcome of your divorce will affect the quality of the rest of your family's lives. Our divorce attorney is dedicated to helping our clients through the challenges with compassionate yet uncompromising representation.

We represent clients in valuing and dividing community property, cases involving moderate to substantial employment benefits, including stock options, 401(k) plans, and government and private sector pensions. We are experienced in actions which require valuing and distributing property interests from the family home to investment portfolios to business interests and real estate. We can help you understand the issues in your divorce and will represent you zealously throughout your case. We approach our cases with intensity and respect, and we recognize our responsibility not only to our clients, but also to promote and protect the best interests of children. 

When a marriage breaks down, it's hard to be confident about what will happen in the immediate future. The decision whether to seek legal separation or divorce and the advantages and disadvantages of each can be made easier by consulting with a family law attorney. Although most parties seek a divorce, we also represent clients in legal separation actions, including those involving contested custody and parenting plan issues, child support, property and debt distribution, and spousal maintenance. An action for legal separation is very similar to an action for a Washington State divorce, and the same essential procedures are followed. Of course, the big difference is that at the end of a legal separation case the parties remain legally married, but with court orders in place, such as a parenting plan, child support orders, and property divisions. We recognize our responsibility in legal separation and parenting plan actions not only to our clients, but also to promote and protect the best interests of children.

Child custody or visitation (also called parenting time) is either agreed to by the parties and memorialized in a parenting plan ("residential schedule" if the parties are unmarried) or decided by the court. Visitation issues often include birthdays, holidays, summer vacation, special events, and weekends. We prefer to have the parents attempt to work out custody and visitation arrangements because we believes that parents are in a better position to know what is in the best interest of their children. If the parents are able to work out those issues, we will memorialize the agreement in writing. However, if the parents cannot agree, we will zealously advocate on your behalf in court and present the issues to the court concisely, logically, and persuasively on your behalf. 

Child Support

As experienced child support lawyers, we understand and utilize the child support guidelines for determining child support. In doing so, we will take the time to explain the child support guidelines and help you determine the amount of child support the guidelines will award for your case. Some of the factors the court may consider include:

• Incomes of the Parties
• Number of common children
• Child care expenses
• Medical insurance costs
• Extra education expenses

Child support is an integral issue in most Washington State family law actions. Parties getting divorced in Washington who have children in the marriage cannot get divorced without a determination of support for the children. We have represented clients in actions involving the establishment and enforcement of support obligations, cases involving post secondary educational support, education expense contributions, allocation of tax exemptions, the payment of extraordinary expenses, support deviations, long distance travel expenses, and establishing security for future support. We are also familiar with cases brought by the state through a prosecutor's office or the Department of Child Support.

Spousal Support

Spousal support is often referred to as alimony or spousal maintenance. As knowledgeable spousal support (alimony) lawyers, we understands the factors considered by Washington courts in determining whether spousal support should be awarded, and the amount of spousal support that could be awarded. Some of the factors the court may consider include:

• Duration of the marriage
• Relative incomes
• Ability to pay
• Ability of each party to support themselves
• Length of time in retraining or obtaining gainful employment

Child Support Enforcement

Sometimes a child support obligation has been established but is not being honored. At the Law Offices of Brian Chase, we represents mothers and fathers in child support enforcement proceedings (sometimes referred to as "deadbeat dad" hearings). In Washington, spouses who fail to pay child support can receive jail time or lose their driver's license. Washington courts take child support matters very seriously.

At the Law Offices of Brian Chase, we handle contempt of court actions, and have negotiated and litigated on behalf of parties seeking back support judgments, as well as those defending against such actions. While a child's well being cannot be reduced merely to the amount of financial support he or she receives, supporting a child at a level that is fair to all of the parties is important to a child's growth and development.

Child Support Modification

Under Washington State family law, child support may be periodically adjusted to account for changes in circumstances between the parties. Support obligations may be modified based on a number of factors including the age of the child(ren), changes in residential schedule, a child wishing to attend college after high school, or changes in the income of one or more parties.

While a child's well being cannot be reduced simply to how much financial support is paid by the non-custodial parent, the law is designed to serve the best interests of children based on what is fair to each parent's ability to pay.

Child support can be a difficult emotional issue for parties. After an initial support order is in place, many changes in the lives of the parties take place. Parents make more money, get remarried, and maybe change careers. We approach each case with intensity, respect, and with a drive to obtain the best results for our client.

If you are interested in finding out more about modifying a child support order, contact us.

Parenting Plan Modification

Parenting plan modification actions are brought after a final order has been established in a family law case, such as a divorce or paternity. One or both parties may request a modification of the final order on a variety of issues including changes to the parenting plan / residential schedule, decision making, holiday or special occasion schedules, transportation arrangements, or restrictions on the visitation of one of the parents. Some of these modifications are considered "minor modifications" and can be affected without filing a separate action. However, some are considered "major modifications" and a separate action must be filed.

As transportation and communication technologies play a greater role in our society, changes are inevitable in everyone's lives. If you have a parenting plan entered in a divorce or paternity action, and you are interested in modifying some or all of that order, or if you have been served with a modification action by the other party, make an appointment with one of our family law attorneys.

Our hourly billing rates currently start at $200.00 per hour, and we generally require that our clients make at least a $3,000.00 refundable deposit with us. Please contact us for more information regarding fees and required retainer amount.

For Domestic /Family Law matters, we charge a consultation fee of $100.00 for up to 1 hour of attorney time, which must be paid at the time of service.