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Gonzaga University School of Law – Spokane, Washington – Class of 2002 – Cum Laude The Latin phrase “Deo patriae, scientiis, artibus” translates to “For God and country through sciences and arts”. The initials A.M.D.G. on the seal of Gonzaga Law School stand for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, which is Latin for “For the Greater Glory of God” the Motto of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): a Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
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“[The law] is a jealous mistress, and requires a long and constant courtship. It is not to be won by trifling favors, but by lavish homage.” The Value and Importance of Legal Studies – Joseph Story, (1779-1845)
This method is the fastest and cheapest way of getting divorced.
Here is the link to the Lincoln County Court where the Petition is mailed. Attached is a folder including the forms, which takes a long time to fill out. The easiest way to prepare the forms is online using this website. The cost is $249 which saves a great deal of time and aggravation. You can start entering information and then save your work and come back to it. Attached is the fee schedule which shows the costs of $314 filing fee, plus $30 presentation fee, plus $25 for certified copies, for a total of $608 plus postage both ways. This is incredibly cheap compared to spending tens of thousands of dollars litigating.
I only handle uncontested divorce by mail which requires an asset and debt spreadsheet. The spreadsheet formulas will automatically calculate the sum of assets and debts and the difference between the two parties. The difference should be close to zero except for property owned before marriage, inheritance received during marriage, and property acquired after separation. This spreadsheet will document that the parties have made a fair and equitable distribution of assets and debts.
Estate planning becomes highly relevant after divorce, so doing the two things together makes sense since the asset and debt information is identical for both, but it is easier to gather and less confrontational in the estate planning context.
Also, the process of having one lawyer represent both parties for estate planning means I cannot represent either party against each other ever. This encourages voluntary agreement because I lose two clients if you cannot agree on everything related to your divorce. This process works very well for certain people, but does not work for everyone.
There are many forms required for an uncontested divorce petition. You can download them below to see what is involved.
My philosophy is that trying to reach a resolution in the cheapest, fastest, least contentious way possible is best for many people and is a good place to start. You can always get counsel to represent you and only you. If you have MetLife legal insurance you can go to the MetLife website and look for family law attorneys. You should be able to find someone whose practice focus is consistent with that you need. It is important to have a good match between your goals and the lawyer best suited to help you achieve them.
Child support and parenting plans are an additional layer of complexity with their own sets of forms. I recommend addressing the property and debt issues and estate planning issues before attacking the child related issues.
The reasons are that there is a public policy against the trading of property and debt concessions in exchange for anything related to children. For example, child support is statutory and cannot be bargained in exchange for any other benefit to the parties because child support does not belong to the parties, it belongs to the children.
The other reason is that the child related issues tend to be the most difficult and by practicing communicating and coming to an agreement regarding property and debt issues and agreeing on the importance of estate planning for the protection of children, it makes agreement on child related issues more likely.
If divorce is ever something you are considering, the process of creating separate property trusts, postnuptial agreements, and proposed division of assets and debts can be helpful to reduce anxiety in marriage and also make an uncontested divorce more likely.
To Always Be a Human Being First, and My Role Second. To First, Do No Harm, then to provide the best legal outcome, smoothest process, best value, and to make a positive difference in the life of every client.
Christopher S. Mulvaney’s Mantra:
May I be filled with loving kindness for all life. May I be safe from dangers within and without. May I be healthy in body, mind, socially, and spiritually. May I be at ease and happy, doing good in the world.
May You be filled with loving kindness for all life. May You be safe from dangers within and without. May You be healthy in body, mind, socially, and spiritually. May You be at ease and happy, doing good in the world.
I am an experienced solo estate planning, debtor bankruptcy, and real estate attorney. At my law firm in Bellevue, Washington between Eastgate and Factoria, I do things a little differently. I am passionate about helping people take control of their lives.
One of my primary practice areas is urgent (bankruptcy), and the other is important, but not urgent (estate planning). Not letting the urgent crowd out the important is key. I have made a choice to include the positive difference I make in the life of each client in how I calculate profit. This means I have higher job satisfaction, and happy clients who confidently give referrals.
My goal is that my work is transformative for people during a challenging time in their lives. At Mulvaney Law Offices, PLLC (MLO), you will not find a gatekeeper. There are no forgotten cases hiding on an associate’s cluttered desk. It’s just me, working with each one of my clients one-on-one to resolve their legal concerns as favorably as possible.
As your lawyer, I will personally handle every aspect of your case. My office is not a factory churning out thousands of filings per year, where each case matters little. You, and your case, matter to me. You can see what clients have said about me, and leave your own reviews at these links.
Mulvaney Law Offices, PLLC is located in Bellevue, Washington, representing estate planning & chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy, clients in all 39 Washington Counties.
Washington State residents can meet with me in Zoom/DocuSign from anywhere in the world, and I can notarize their electronic signatures because I am a remote online notary. Just email me an image of your photo ID.
