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Paul Battan has the experience to help you with all family law matters:
Divorce, legal separation and annulment
Divorce (which is known in the state of Washington as “the dissolution of marriage”), legal separation, and annulment (which is known in the state of Washington as a “declaration of invalidity of marriage”) are three separate legal procedures by which marital relationships are ended. We are very experienced in all aspects of these types of cases.
Parenting plans, custody and visitation
As part of divorce, legal separation or annulment, parenting plans are necessary for the well-being of children. The terms custody and visitation are not generally used in the state of Washington; they are included within the concept of the parenting plan. Parenting plans are specific to each family. They are based on children’s needs and parents’ beliefs about those needs. When parents fail to agree to a parenting plan, a court will order a parenting plan that it believes is in the best interests of the children.
Spousal maintenance
When one spouse needs financial support during the transition from marriage to separation, and the other spouse can afford to provide it, spousal maintenance may be appropriate for a reasonable length of time. There are no objective standards for computing the amount or duration of spousal maintenance in Washington. For this reason, it is a very challenging issue.
Child support
Orders of child support are required whenever there are dependent children. Child support in Washington is based on the parents’ incomes and the Washington State Child Support Schedule.
Property and debt
Property and debt must be identified, valued, and equitably divided, often by special orders such as qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), which divide pension benefits. We are fully qualified to handle these types of cases.
Third party custody
Grandparents, aunts, and uncles are more frequently raising their grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The harsh reality is that some parents’ attraction or addiction to drugs, alcohol, or crime supercedes their ability to parent. In some cases, a parent may be capable of only limited parenting because of his or her own youth or disability. We are experienced in representing relatives who wish to protect a child, while also preserving family relationships, by using a simple power of attorney for the care of a child, by establishing a guardianship of a minor, by filing a legal action for third party custody, or by an open adoption.
Adoption
Parent-child relationships are of fundamental constitutional importance in American law and are of fundamental social and emotional importance to the parent and to the child. New and permanent parent-child relationships can be formed by adoption.
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