Finding out your spouse is cheating or has cheated can be devastating for a marriage. Often times that leads to divorce. SO how does infidelity affect your divorce? Well….it doesn’t.

No Fault State

This is often hard to hear for the one that has been cheated on but Washington is a no fault state. That means you don’t need to find a reason above ““irretrievable broken”. That means the court is not interested in why you are divorcing. No one is responsible for the divorce or “at fault.” The marriage just isn’t working and cannot be fixed. So while you may want to crucify your spouse for cheating, you won’t be doing that in court.

Spousal Maintenance

Alimony or spousal maintenance as it is currently known, is always a big issue in a divorce. It gets even bigger when there has been cheating. Those who have been cheated on want to know if they get more and those who did the cheating want to know if they have to pay more. So does cheating change your spousal maintenance? No. Maintenance is determine on a variety of factors. Length of marriage, education level, need, and standard of living to name a few. A factor that is not used to determine maintenance is adultery.

While being cheating on is painful, it is not going to get you more money or affect the results of your divorce.

Divorce and Business.

You wouldn’t think these 2 things go hand in hand but they often do. That is why Sassy Litigations does both divorce and business. More and more people are partnering up not only in the martial sense but also in the business sense as well. Whether one spouse owns and runs a business or the couple is a couple-preneur that business will come into play during a divorce.

So How does a Business Get Divided?

Jeff Bezos’ divorce has sparked so much conversation about him losing “half” of Amazon. But is that really how a business is divided in a divorce?

First, and I have stated this time and time again. Washington is not a 50/50 state. Assets in a divorce are divided based on what is “fair and equitable”. So that may not be 50/50 but it could be.

Generally, the first step in dividing a business is to get a business valuation. You need to know how much a business is worth before you can divide it. Then there are 2 main options, award the business to one spouse and have the other spouse buy them out. If that doesn’t work then the business may be sold and the proceeds divided in a fair and equitable way. Another potential option is for the couple to stay on together and work the business. Of course for this to really work the couple needs to get along.

This is just if the couple owns the business together. What if the business is owned by one spouse and maybe a business partner? Things can get more complicated. Did you have the business before marriage? Did you start it after? These questions will determine if the business is separate or community property. Also whether your future ex-spouse will get anything from the business or your share of the business. These details will are better left for another post.

If you are divorcing and own a business you will want to consult an attorney skilled in this area to help you decipher the complicated web of the law. If you have a business and are considering marriage maybe a prenup is the way to go, The Princess can help with that.

Soon employers of all sizes will have to make some changes. The Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program takes effect January 1, 2019.

Employers/business owners should have gotten an letter about this but many seem to be clueless as to what this is.

The Program is a mandatory insurance program that will give eligible employees in Washington access to up 12 weeks of paid leave if they need to bond with a child, recover from a serious illness, or care for an aging parent.

As an employer you will need to either withhold premiums or cover them yourself. There is a calculation you can do to determine the premium.

For more information visit www.paidleave.wa.gov/employers.

It is so easy to make a website nowadays. What is not so easy is making sure your website meets legal requirements. Most people don’t even realize that websites have such requirements but they do. One of, if not the most important is the Privacy Policy.

A Privacy Policy is required by a lot of different laws:

  • Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
  • The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
  • The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
  • California’s Online Privacy Protection Act (OPPA)

All of the above require a privacy policy in certain circumstances. Even if none of the laws seem to cover you your circumstances it is still good business practice to have a privacy policy.

We live in a time where everyone wants to know how their personal information will be used and stored. Transparency on this builds trust with your clients and customers. And what business doesn’t want to be trusted by those they serve?

So what does your policy need to say?

  • What personal information a company collects from customers and other members of the public;
  • How it collects such personal information;
  • How it stores and protects the information;
  • How it uses the information;
  • How it may distribute such information; and
  • How its customers may access the information collected about them and what choices they have to review, edit/correct, and perhaps delete such information.

There are several copy and paste privacy policies out there. But is it right for your company? A privacy policy is a legal document and you don’t want just anything. You want to be sure that your policy is accurate to your practices and actually lays out what you really do with the information.

Below is a post I wrote for Hezalia about how women can protect themselves financially in relationships. This information really applies to anyone.
Ladies, it’s time we have a talk. Despite the pay gap women are still burning it up in the work force. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners; more than 11.6 million businesses are owned by women. One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned. 49% of employed women in the United States, including 42% of working women with children, are their family's main breadwinner. Yet, women still are not legally protecting their finances when it comes to relationships.
Here are few ways to look out for your money and property before marriage, during marriage, and after marriage.
Before Marriage
Times have changed, women are putting off marriage for later in life or actually altogether. Many couples are choosing to live together before marriage or forgo the ceremony and rings and live in no-martial committed relationships.  If you are going to do the later you may want to think about how to protect your assets. Washington does not have common law marriage so that means there is not an automatic presumption of marriage or the rights that come with it. If you have been together long enough to buy a home together or have acquired a fair amount of property together then you will be faced with how to divide those things up in case of a breakup. One way to figure out who gets what and who pays for what is to get a co-habitation agreement. It can lay out what property belongs to who, who pays the bills, and what happens in the case of a breakup.
Let’s say you are you are heading down the aisle. He or she has put a ring on it and the date is set. Have you talked about a prenuptial agreement? Since many women are marrying later in life that often means they have acquired a fair amount of property, whether that is a home or a significant savings or retirement account. Do you have children? You would what to make sure they get your assets and not your ex. A prenup can make sure your property stays with you and yours in case of divorce. It can also be used to make sure you get some sort of financial relief in the case of a divorce. This is important if you are going to be quitting a job to stay home and take care of the family.
During Marriage
If you are already married and missed the prenup no worries; you can get a post-nup. Postnuptial agreements are similar to prenuptial agreements except you get one when you are already married and not before. Since at this point your property may already be considered community you will be deciding how to divide that up and how to divide any new property going forward. Another way to protect your finances during marriage is to simply keep records. Know what your assets are. Know what your spouses’ assets are. Know the debts and liabilities. Make sure you have copies and access to all important documents. Additionally, if there are funds or property you are trying to keep separate then you want to avoid co-mingling.
After Marriage (during divorce)
If your marriage isn’t going to make it and you are now facing divorce there are still ways to legally protect your finances. The first will be to speak with a lawyer. It is important to know your rights and the law. You will also want to revisit your will and when allowed make necessary changes. Additionally, you should have any and all big assets valued so you know their worth.
No matter where you are in your relationship you should be looking at your legal options so you can better protect your finances.