Communication with Authority

Communication with Authority

 Is there a difference between what you should do if you are questioned or arrested by the police and what your parents taught you?

 

The short answer is – maybe.  It is a common occurrence to have someone questioned or arrested and simply spill their guts to the officer.  The theory is that I was taught to be honest and tell the truth – so I did.  There really is noting wrong with this approach so long as you don’t care if you will have a criminal record for the rest of your life, maybe go to jail or prison, spend many days in court, spend a bunch of money on fines, court costs, and legal fees, and maybe ruin your chances of getting a good job or even working in the profession you have always dreamed about.

 

We live in America, and we all have certain rights and responsibilities.  The U.S. Constitution and the Washington State Constitution, give each of us certain rights when we are confronted with a police interrogation or arrest.  It is your right to exercise those constitutional rights, and if you choose to ignore them, you need to accept the consequences.

 

There is no good reason not to be polite to a police officer, and if he or she asks your name or wants to see your identification – be a responsible citizen and cooperate.  If, however, the encounter goes any further, you need to keep in mind that despite what the officer or anyone else tells you, everything you say will be used against you.  You have a right to remain silent – use it!  You have the right to talk to an attorney – use it!

 

It is my opinion that you are not violating the principals and morals imparted to you by your parents if you elect to exercise your constitutional rights.  Our founding fathers fought hard for these rights – use them!

Graduation is right around the corner

Your Child’s Future

 

Graduation is right around the corner.  There is always so much to do that it can be hard to think about the future.  If your child is graduating from high school this spring, you really do need to take a couple of minutes and consider you and your child’s financial future. 

Most urgent is to resolve any post-secondary education issues.  Who will pay how much for the child’s college or trade school?  In almost all cases, you have a very clear deadline for when you have to exercise your right to resolve this issue.  Usually, the deadline is the child turning 18 or graduating from high school, which ever occurs last.  If your child is now 18 and will graduate this June, your are almost out of time to take steps to preserve your right to ask a court to order the other parent to contribute to the child’s post-secondary support.  The day after graduation is too late! 

Going hand in hand with the deadline for post-secondary support is the reality that a court will take some time, usually at least four months, to make a decision.  If your child plans on starting school in September, filing for post-secondary support needs to happen very soon. 

 

Finally, I have seen many cases where promises were made regarding post-secondary support, and then those promises were broken.  To make any commitment for post-secondary support binding, it needs to be in an order signed by the court. 

 

A further concern is if there are other younger children.  The Order of Child Support will no longer apply to the oldest child, and the total amount of child support will decrease.  Unfortunately, the new lower payment amount is usually not accurate.  The way child support is calculated in this state, the amount per child is less the more children you have.  A modification of child support at this time will ensure that the correct transfer payment is ordered, and this can be done at the same time post-secondary support is sought.

If you have a graduation coming up – Congratulations!  Enjoy this time in your child’s life.  With all the celebrating, don’t forget the immediate future.  Failure to take action now can have a very negative financial effect on both you and your child.

Your Parenting Plan and the Holidays

Your Parenting Plan and the Holidays

 

The holiday season is a great time for most of us.  Time with the children, family events, outdoor fun.  For some, this time of the year is complicated by conflicts over when the children will be with which parent.  The holiday season can be stressful, and, if there is no agreement on visitation, can be nearly beyond your ability to cope.

 

The best advance planning involves taking a good hard look at your Parenting Plan.  Plot out the regular visitation, holiday visitation, and winter vacation visitation on your calendar.  If you are able to talk to the other parent, try to get an agreement that your work accurately reflects his or her understanding of the Parenting Plan.  If you both agree, visits and exchanges during this season can be much less stressful.

 

If you and the other parent do not agree, there is still time to get the conflict resolved by attorney and/or court intervention.  It generally takes two weeks to get in front of a court on this kind of conflict, but, in emergency situations, the time line can be accelerated.  What rarely works is to wait to the last minute and then discover that your plans are not in accord with the other parent’s interpretation of the court order.

 

Putting your thoughts in writing, and documenting your delivery of these notes to the other parent can go a long ways toward creating a paper trail that can be most useful if the issue needs to go to court.  If you expect a conflict, or have had prior problems enforcing the Parenting Plan, you need to take early action to ensure you have a happy and appropriate holiday visitation schedule.

Something to ponder.....

Is there any such thing as a “minor” criminal charge?

 

Any attorney who spends time in courts that handle “minor” criminal charges will tell you that the vast majority of defendants are there without legal representation.  Often the attitude of these people is that this is really no big deal, and that they plan on handling the charge on their own.

 

Regardless of the criminal charge, it is important to have legal counsel.  A criminal conviction, whether DUI, assault, theft, reckless driving, etc., can remain on your record for the rest of your life.  This kind of conviction can prevent you from getting into the school you want, getting the job you need, and can cost you a significant increase in insurance premiums.  It is a big deal, and ignoring the issue or treating it as a minor inconvenience can be a mistake that can last a many years.

 

Another aspect of this issue is the likely hood that once a person has one conviction, they are more inclined to suffer future convictions.  I may seem too many that the immediate impact of a criminal conviction is fairly minor, but as they accrue the penalties increase. 

 

Even if you can’t afford to hire an attorney, there are often free criminal defense attorneys available for folks with low incomes.  I’ve heard defendants ridicule the public defender, but they work hard for their clients and often know that particular court far better than any private attorney.

 

A well qualified attorney can often obtain a result that keeps the charge off your record.  The best way to ensure a positive result is to have someone represent you that knows the court and has experience with your criminal charge.  At a minimum, you can usually get a free consultation with an experienced attorney in your area.   The more you know, the better the change of getting a positive outcome.

Being Set Up

BEING SET UP

You may have been in a relationship for many years, but, as often happens, your partner may be looking for a chance to set you up. Regardless of the motivation – anger, revenge, or just a desire to get an advantage in the divorce, it happens all the time.

A mild mannered mom who has spend many years staying at home caring for the kids, and a husband who has been increasingly verbally abusive. They are in the kitchen, and he is belittling her, ridiculing her, and running her down for the hundredth time. She’s humiliated and a little angry. He turns his back on her, and bends over to pick up something on the floor. She kicks him in the hind end. (Not that he didn’t deserve a good swift kick in the butt). He immediately calls 911, and the wife is charged with assault-domestic violence. The husband files for a divorce, and asks the court to place the children with him. After all, his wife is violent, and, according to the husband, a drunk. The court agrees that it is safer to leave the kids with the husband, and the wife is out of the house with no kids, no money, and no job.

In another example, a husband comes home from work and wife is screaming at him. Most nights the anger is directed at some little thing that he has done or failed to do, but regardless, he is showered with abuse. Finally, one night he goes to bed, but is woken a little later by the wife standing at the foot of the bed screaming at him. He has had enough, and yells back. He is so angry, that he punches a hole in the bedroom wall. The wife calls 911, and the husband is arrested for malicious mischief-domestic violence. The wife files for divorce, and the husband is not allowed unsupervised contact with the kids, forced to go through a year’s worth the anger management counseling, and in the end has little to no contact with his children.

I’ve seen dozens of these stories unfold in my practice. I can’t prove that the "assault" was contrived, but I know that in at least some cases they were nothing more than a set up. Why spend the money and time fighting over the kids in a divorce, especially if you are likely to lose, when a little premeditated hi jinks can get the job done?

If your relationship is getting kind of rocky, it is time to get some advice from someone that deals with this kind of thing every day. You can usually get a free consultation, and the information you receive can go a long way toward helping you protect yourself. Know what to look out for, and know how to protect yourself. Getting some good advice can only help, and if all works out well in your relationship all you have done is invest a small amount of time in getting good advice.

Vicious Cycle

Vicious Cycle

            If the time ever comes that the relationship is on the rocks, maybe you can learn from others.  I’ve worked with many people in this position, and in almost every case the end result is determined by whether my client has the ability to just walk away for a while.  It may sound like a small thing, but many just don’t seem to have the strength to do so.

            It can start out really simple.  The wife or girl friend gets a two week protection order.  During the two weeks, you just have to talk to her, text her, e-mail her, have a friend or family member get in touch with her.  If you could only talk, everything would be just fine.  And in fact, you might talk to her and believe that you are on the path to working through your problems.

            Let’s do a reality check.  The two quick calls where you left a message and told her how much you cared, the four text messages where you said the same thing, the long love letter e-mail, and the call you asked your mother to make can and often are separate criminal offenses.  Each offense, in this case eight, is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. 

            Don’t think it will happen, well it can and it does.  To make matters worse, after a couple of convictions for violations of protection orders, any future violation can be charged as a felony.  What started as an innocent attempt to work out your relationship problems can turn into years in jail or prison.  While you sit in a cell, you lose your home, children, job, and your ability to find decent employment once you get out.

            This is not a rare occurrence.  It happens all the time, and most of the people involved are still saying how they didn’t want to hurt her, they only wanted to make up, right up until they are transported to prison.

            Even if she says, “don’t worry about the protection order – I’ll get it dismissed”. “ I need to see you.”  “The kids need you.”  “I’m so sorry,  I didn’t mean it.”  IT DOESN’T MATTER!  If you are reported in violation of the protection order, you will go to jail.

            Take my advice, regardless of your emotional state, give it a rest.  If there is any hope of making things right, a little time apart won’t make any difference.  Get in to see an attorney right away, and follow that attorney’s advice.  Regardless of how innocent it seems, if you don’t protect yourself very bad things will happen.

Support for College

Support for College

               If you have a child graduating from high school this year, now is the time to be thinking about paying for the child’s education.  If you have been receiving child support, that support is likely to end very soon.  Most Child Support Orders terminate support upon the child reaching age 18 or graduation from high school, whichever occurs last.  Only a very few orders provide for payment toward post-secondary education.  The most common language requires you to petition the court for this support prior to the time child support ends.

               From a practical standpoint, if you wait too long you can lose the right to ask a court to require the other parent to assist with post-secondary expenses.  Even if you petition the court in time, it may very well take so long to get the issue settled that the child has already started school.

               In Washington the courts are willing to decide these issues once the child has applied and been accepted at a school.  Generally, acceptance letters are sent out by this time each year.  In the case of a community college, your child will need to take the initiative because the registration deadlines are later. 

               Once a petition is filed and served, a court will usually hear the case within four months.  Consequently, if you file now you should have a court order in place before any money needs to be paid to the school.

               As a final thought, it is pretty common in my practice to have parents say:  “Well, the other parent promised to help with college, but now they won’t help.”  Promises are fine, but if you want to be assured that your child will get help with school you need a court order.  This protects both parents, and gives you a legally enforceable right to the help your child needs.  If the other parent is making promises,  that’s great, but if they are sincere in their commitment they should have no problem working on an agreed order.  If they aren’t willing to cooperate, you need to take this as a red flag and talk to an attorney.