+ Adoptions
- Adoptions
There are many types of adoptions. We primarily assist clients with:
- Step-parent adoption – By far, the most common type of adoption occurs when a stepparent adopts the child from his or her partner’s previous relationship. The non-custodial parent will have to terminate his or her parental rights to allow the stepparent to adopt the child.
- Second-parent adoption – A second parent adoption allows an individual to adopt his or her partner’s biological or adopted child without terminating the latter’s parental status.
- Adult adoptions – This adoption legalizes and solidifies relationships between an adult and someone he or she looks to as a parent, often times a step-parent who for many reasons was unable to adopt the child during the child’s minority.
If you are considering an adoption, we can help. Whether you are hoping to adopt as a step-parent or through other means, it is important to understand all your rights and responsibilities, how the process is conducted, what you need to do to be prepared and what you can expect each step of the way.
Your attorney will:
- Help you work on an adoption plan that suits your family’s needs;
- Draw up the necessary paperwork and file with the proper agencies;
- Help you understand and prepare for the state-required post-placement study;
- Offer counsel and options should speed bumps occur; and
- Represent your best interests throughout the proceedings.
+ Business
- Business
- Business Entity Formation
- Sole Proprietors
- Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
- Corporations and S-corporations
- Corporate Governance
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Buy-Sell Agreements
- Contract Review and Preparation
- Franchises
+ Estate Planning
- Estate Planning
- Wills and Trusts
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions
- Health Care Directives, Living Wills, POLST, Advance Directives
- Elder Law and Guardianship
- Charitable Giving
- Community Property Agreements
- Transfer on Death Deeds
+ Family Law
- Family Law
- Divorce, Legal Separation, or Invalidity of Marriage.
- Committed Intimate Relationships
- Division and Valuation of Assets and Debts, including businesses, retirements, and real property
- Paternity/ Parentage establishment and disestablishment
- De Facto Parentage
- Establishing Parenting Plans or Residential Schedules
- Non-parent Custody
- Relative Visitation
- Child Support
- Military Issues
- Relocation
- Modification of Parenting Plans, Child Support, and Spousal Support
- Post-Secondary/College Support
- Domestic Violence/Restraining Orders
- Enforcement of Court Orders
- Collaborative Law
- Hague Convention (International Abduction)
- Mediation
- Prenuptial, Postnuptial, Co-habitation, and Separation Agreements
We limit our practice to Pierce County so you can rest assured we know the “ins and outs” of the local court. However, our years of Family Law courtroom experience have taught us the best and most durable outcome for your family may not be obtained from court/litigation. The Judge or Commissioner has a very limited snapshot of your family and a limited amount of time during which he or she must make a decision. Your legal matter may be best resolved through alternatives to litigation such as the Collaborative Law process, mediation, or private arbitration. We are knowledgeable and experienced in negotiating all of these alternatives.
+ Guardianship
- Guardianship
A person may be considered incapacitated if they are at significant risk of harm because of a demonstrated inability to adequately provide for their own nutrition, health, housing or physical safety. In that instance a Guardian of the Person may be needed. Some incapacitated persons may need the assistance of both a Guardian of the Person and Estate.
Our attorneys can assist you in determining whether guardianship may be appropriate to assist a friend, relative, or neighbor who may be disabled or incapacitated because of mental deterioration, developmental disability, physical incapacity, or a mental illness.
We help families petition the court to appoint a guardian who then assumes the rights of the incapacitated person, and makes decisions regarding the person’s daily life.
We can assist family members who seek appointment as the guardian and aid them in fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities, as well as assist families who want to have a certified professional guardian appointed to assist their loved one.
Our attorneys can assist you with the following:
- Petitions for Guardianship
- Full or Limited Guardian of the Estate
- Full or Limited Guardian of the Person
- Guardians for Minor Children
- Annual of Triennial Accountings
+ Landlord Tenant
- Landlord Tenant
+ Probate
- Probate
This can include:
- How to file a Last Will and Testament
- What to do if there is no Will
- How to get appointed as the Personal Representative, Administrator, or Executor of an Estate
- How to transfer assets properly
- How to handle and close accounts of the decedent
- How to determine which assets need to go through the probate process
- How to properly and fairly deal with creditors
- Determining who receives what parts of an estate
- How to handle the estate in compliance with Washington state law
+ Real Estate
- Real Estate
- Commercial leasing
- Easements
- Evictions
- Foreclosures
- Landlord Tenant (representing Landlords)
- Purchase and Sale Agreements
- Residential Leases