Practice Areas

Family Law
Simple and Complex Cases
High Net Worth Divorce Long-Term Marriage
Trial Litigation Unmarried Couples Domestic Partnerships Asset Division Spousal Maintenance Child Custody & Support
Mediation and Negotiation

Estate Planning
Simple and Complex Wills and Trusts
Probate/Trust Administration
Business Succession Planning
Trust and Estate Disputes
Estate and Wealth Management

Real Estate
Commercial Real Estate
Sales and Purchases
Commercial Leasing

Personal Injury
Auto Accidents
Motorcycle Accidents
Bicycle Accidents

Criminal Law
DUI Defense
Misdemeanor Defense

Family Law

High Net Worth Divorce

In all divorces, assets must be identified and valued before determining how to appropriately distribute them. In high net worth divorces, identifying and valuing assets is more complex. There may be more than one home, 401(k) plans, stocks, bonds, limited partnerships, tax shelters and other assets. Each and every asset must be located, documented and valued. Some may be liquid, some not. The parties may agree on how to divide the assets. If they do not agree, a trial will take place and the court will decide.

In all divorces, assets must be identified and valued before determining how to appropriately distribute them. In high net worth divorces, identifying and valuing assets often requires special expertise and experience. There may be more than one piece of residential or commercial real estate, and retirement assets such as 401(k) plans, or pensions. Many cases involve stock shares, grants or options. Such cases can involve business interests or a professional practice. Each of these assets has unique characteristics, and division of such as may involve pitfalls or unexpected consequences in a divorce case. Qualified and competent advice is necessary to deal with such assets. Richard has repeatedly handled such matters and will assure a fair and appropriate division in each new case.

Long-Term Marriage
For Social Security benefits and retirement benefits from the military, 10 years is considered a long-term marriage. For purposes of equalizing the future financial status of both parties, a 25 year marriage may be the benchmark.

Trial Litigation

Although attempts are made to settle the divorce and come to a mutual agreement about distribution of assets and the amount of spousal and or child support, if an agreement cannot be reached, the case will proceed to trial. It is not uncommon for high net worth divorces and long-term marriages require a trial

Unmarried Couples

Under certain circumstances, the state of Washington recognizes relationships that are “marriage-like.” This is often an area requiring complex litigation when an unmarried couple separates. It is even more common in cases where there is a high net worth. If the court finds the unmarried couple has a marriage-like relationship, there is a rebuttable presumption that property acquired during the time the couple was together is jointly owned. The court divides the property in an “equitable” way. Equitable is not the same as equally.

Domestic Partnerships

In November 2012, Washington voted to recognize same sex marriages. Prior to this, the state allowed same sex couples to register as domestic partners, who have many of the same rights as married couples, including dissolution of the domestic partnership. Dissolution of the partnership confers the right to division of community property as though the couple had been married. It also allows payments for separate maintenance similar to alimony and spousal support.

Richard Hart is a premier Seattle divorce attorney who serves King County and Western Washington. He has an outstanding 26 year record of tough advocacy both in and out of the courtroom. He has a stellar reputation for success in negotiating the best possible settlements. Clients have claimed that he “exceeded” their expectations.

Asset Division

Washington State is a community property state, which means all property of all types that was accumulated during the marriage is deemed to be owned equally by both parties. There may be a dispute over whether the property is separate or community property. If the property is deemed community property, ownership should be divided equally between the parties. This is not as simple as it sounds when considering different types of assets common to divorces where there is a high net worth. Assets that must be valued include:

· Business and professional practices.

· Compensation practices including stock grants and bonuses.

· Personal and commercial real estate.

· Retirement rights, including pensions, 401(k)s and 403(b)s.

Different rules and formulas apply to how each different type of asset is valued. Complex issues arise when, for example, a professional practice or business was started before the marriage but increased in value during the marriage.

Spousal Maintenance

When people divorce, both parties will find their financial situation changes. On rare occasions, they may go their separate ways with neither party needing financial support from the other. In most cases, one party requires spousal support, which is called spousal maintenance in Washington. There is no defined mathematical equation the court uses to determine this amount, but instead, considers a number of factors.

The court will consider the assets and income of both parties. Other important factors include the standard of living acquired during the course of the marriage and the length of the marriage. The court will also consider the ability of the spouse requesting maintenance to provide for their own support and whether or not that person needs education or training in order to become self-supporting. The ability of the other spouse to pay, as well as all other relevant factors, will be considered by the court, including the emotional and physical condition of the requesting party.

Richard Hart is a Seattle divorce attorney who has vast experience in high net worth divorces. His clients include medical and legal professionals as well as engineers and technology experts in the Aerospace industry. He is aggressive in protecting the rights of his clients. His professional reputation is testified to by his clients who claim he “exceeded expectations” in obtaining an equitable resolution in their divorce settlements. Mr. Hart provides services to clients in King County and all of Western Washington.

Child Custody

When a couple who has one or more children divorce, the state of Washington expects them to both act in the best interest of the children and establish a Parenting Plan. Hopefully, the divorcing couple can put together their own plan that only needs approval of the court. If the couple cannot agree, then the court will decide what it believes is in the children’s best interest.

The Parenting Plan establishes the physical location of which parent the children will live with. Other issues the court expects to be included in the plan include: where the children will spend holidays and vacations; how future decisions will be made, whether jointly or by just one parent; and, how future disputes will be resolved. The Parenting Plan must establish a reasonable visitation schedule for the parent who is not living with the child.

Custody issues are separate from support issues. The financially supporting parent cannot withhold support due to problems with visitation. Neither may a parent withhold visitation from the parent who has failed to make timely support payments.

Child Support

Washington State has a formula for determining the amount of child support to be paid and which party pays it. Certain financial worksheets provided by the administrator of the courts must be filled out and submitted to the court.

The court reviews the worksheets and issues an order for support, which is generally based on a standard calculation, depending on the combined income of both parties. The court may issue an order for support that deviates from the standard calculation if the order is supported by the court’s written findings of fact. The financial worksheets are required to be attached to the court order for support.

Seattle divorce attorney, Richard Hart, is one of the premier divorce attorneys in King County and all of Western Washington. A large percentage of his clients are professionals with higher incomes than standard. His 26 years of experience enables him to provide the best possible financial guidance in working with the court-required financial worksheets for everyone in all income brackets.

Mr. Hart is noted for working with clients in establishing workable Parenting Plans acceptable to the parties and the court. He combines his record of success, compassion and professionalism in order to obtain the best possible outcome for parents and their children.

Mediation and Collaborative Law

Mediation and collaborative law are both methods of resolving legal disputes without going to trial. Both are voluntary processes that depend on the parties to sit down together and attempt to resolve their issues without going to trial. They then put their resolutions on paper and all sign the settlement agreement. Although both are process to settle the case without going to court, there are some differences between the two methods.

Mediation

Mediation usually consists of one meeting where both parties to the divorce proceeding will meet with a mediator who is a neutral third party. They attempt to resolve all issues, including child custody, asset division and spousal maintenance without going to court. The parties are usually represented by an attorney, but they may participate in mediation without legal representation. The role of the mediator is to remain objective and guide the parties to resolution. A successful mediation is fair and less time-consuming than a drawn out divorce process that requires a trial to resolve the issues. It is also confidential.

Collaborative Law

Collaborative law is a process where attorneys and their clients commit to resolving their issues without going to court. Unlike mediation where the parties can participate without legal representation, collaborative law requires the parties to have attorneys present at all meetings and work with them to come to a settlement agreement.

The process begins with all parties and their attorneys agreeing not to litigate the issues and to follow the rules for the collaborative process. The process is expected to be non-adversarial. The goal is to focus on the best interest of all parties. When an agreement has been reached, it is put into writing and all parties sign it. Even though there may be several meetings, the process saves time and money.

Seattle divorce attorney Richard Hart has 26 years of experience as a divorce and mediation attorney. As a King County Superior Court Volunteer Master Attorney, he has conducted numerous conferences to help attorneys and their clients settle their cases in an equitable manner without court intervention.

Mr. Hart has a track record of success in the courtroom. This has convinced him that the Collaborative Law approach is an excellent one and he brings his many years of negotiating expertise to the table in order to secure the best possible outcome for his clients in all of Western Washington.

Estate Planning

Are you prepared for the death or incapacity of yourself or a family member? What can you do to be prepared for the payment of estate taxes and the transfer of personal or business assets at your death? What can you do now to avoid costly probate litigation and difficult administration issues in the future? Does your business have a business succession plan if a key employee dies or becomes incapacitated? Are you currently serving in a fiduciary capacity such as Personal Representative, Trustee, Guardian, Conservator, or Power of Attorney and require assistance with tax issues, administrative issues, or avoiding potential litigation?

Jill E. Bliss will help you answer any of these questions and work with you to implement a flexible estate or business plan that will protect you, your loved ones, or business partners if you become incapacitated or die. Jill handles extensive pre-death and post-death planning that will help with cutting down the time consuming process of probate administration in various domiciles at your death while also assisting with reducing estate taxes to the lowest amount possible. Jill will assist you and your family through the complicated legal issues surrounding probate and trust matters as well as the transfer of assets such as real estate, stocks, personal property, and various business interests.

Jill is a practical thinker. Her expertise is getting to the nugget of the legal issue and not getting caught up with unnecessary drafting. Jill provides legal representation to individuals, businesses, creditors of estates, fiduciaries, trust and estate beneficiaries and business owners. She has extensive experience in probate court, appointment of personal representatives, probate administration, probate litigation, and probate mediation and arbitration. She also assists clients with the appointment of guardians for incapacitated adults and minors. Jill is dedicated to offering practical and effective legal advice and representation that considers your unique circumstances and needs.

Jill recognizes that each client can have differing goals and personal or business objectives. Jill knows how to listen and is committed to identifying your personal needs and goals and recommending options that best serve you and your family.

Real Estate

The following is placeholder text known as “lorem ipsum,” which is scrambled Latin used by designers to mimic real copy. Donec eget risus diam. Suspendisse nec congue purus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae.

Phasellus sodales massa malesuada tellus fringilla, nec bibendum tellus blandit. Nullam sit amet nisi condimentum erat iaculis auctor. Quisque congue porttitor ullamcorper. Mauris id fermentum nulla.

Personal Injury

Phasellus sodales massa malesuada tellus fringilla, nec bibendum tellus blandit. Nullam sit amet nisi condimentum erat iaculis auctor. Quisque congue porttitor ullamcorper. Mauris id fermentum nulla.

Criminal Law

Phasellus sodales massa malesuada tellus fringilla, nec bibendum tellus blandit. Nullam sit amet nisi condimentum erat iaculis auctor. Quisque congue porttitor ullamcorper. Mauris id fermentum nulla.