A Divorce Attorney in Tacoma WA helps clients through the legal process of ending marriages and achieving an acceptable result for issues such as asset division and child custody. In some instances, mediation sessions may be necessary when the two spouses are at a stalemate in regards to these types of issues. An individual who wants to leave a marriage may contact a lawyer such as Kevin G. Byrd to get started on the filing process and to learn more about mediation.
Child Custody
For example, the spouses may want to share physical custody of their children but cannot agree on how to divide the time evenly. One might be adamant about keeping the schedules consistent on weekdays and switching every other weekend. The other might want a more straightforward schedule, with one parent having the kids Sunday through Wednesday and the other Thursday through Saturday. They also may be having difficulty agreeing about holidays and school vacation days.
Sometimes, the parents disagree completely about custody, with each person wanting primary physical custody and the other parent only having visitation one or two days a week or even less. This tends to be more common with spouses whose relationship has become acrimonious and they want as little to do with each other as possible.
Spousal Support
There may be a disagreement about whether either person should be paid spousal support. A Divorce Attorney in Tacoma WA can help clients on either side of this issue. In general, it’s better for the two spouses to come to an agreement through mediation instead of taking the matter to court. Litigation costs significantly more money, and it’s difficult to predict what a judge will decide.
In a complete turnaround from the way divorces were generally handled decades ago, only about five percent of divorce arrangements are brought into litigation. Sometimes, one spouse is so angry that he or she refuses to make any concessions for successful negotiations on certain issues. There may be a demand for a specific level of spousal support that the person who would be paying disputes. In court, a judge makes the decision on those issues.