An Experienced Seattle Attorney Offering a More Respectful Divorce
We help divorcing and separating clients resolve conflict so they can move forward. We focus solely on helping clients reach resolutions in their divorces and separations in a respectful manner in which the clients make their own decisions. Experience has taught us that clients make the best decisions for themselves, and not to view our job as going to court to try to “win” a divorce, because all too often even the “winner” loses.

In divorce court, intimate details of a couple's finances and other matters are presented to a judicial officer (who must be a total stranger to the couple) who then makes the decisions based on the arguments from each side. There is a better way: instead of turning over their most important decisions to a total stranger, divorcing and separating couples can make their own decisions and divorce in a manner that respects each as individuals and preserves their relationships, dignity, and privacy. We have committed ourselves to those principles and supporting couples who desire to make these choices for themselves.

Besides divorce (dissolution of marriage), we also assist with legal separations, parentage/paternity, domestic partnership, unmarried couple, and modification family law cases. We are conveniently located in downtown Seattle, and serve the greater King County area.

Better for Couples Who Divorce
We are committed to helping divorcing clients reach lasting resolutions that best suit their values, goals, and needs. We do that by listening to our clients and helping them identify what is most important to them. We then help our clients create a reality-based divorce settlement that is in alignment with their priorities, goals, and needs.  That is why we emphasize Collaborative Divorce and mediation. Because these processes are not always advised, we can help you find the divorce process that is best suited for your unique situation. We have advanced training and experience in non-adversarial dispute resolution methods to be able to help clients select the most suitable divorce process and resolve conflict without going to court.

Better at Protecting Privacy
Collaborative Law and mediation in divorce are especially well suited for protecting privacy. Instead of placing personal information in the public court record, negotiations in Collaborative Divorce and mediation are private and confidential. Unlike a court decision, many of the details of your settlement can remain confidential even when the case is concluded. In Collaborative Law cases, everyone signs an agreement at the start that negotiations stay confidential. 

  Better for Children
By helping divorcing parents preserve a working relationship, Collaborative Divorce allows parents to reach better solutions for their children and build a better co-parenting relationship for the future. Parents rarely work better together after a child custody or visitation fight in court, and the children often end up losing that fight. We all know that children learn from their parents, including lessons drawn from how their parents handle their divorce or separation. Collaborative Divorce is family-focused divorce, and allows parents to model as best as possible for their children.

Collaborative Divorce
We believe that Collaborative Divorce often results in a more efficient and better outcome with less expense and stress than going to court, and can often be the best way to proceed. By providing skilled help and support, we can usually help divorcing couples reach their own resolutions even if there are major disagreements. The divorcing couple's agreements are then placed into legally binding divorce settlement documents. Additional information about Collaborative Law and divorce, and other available divorce options, are on the Family Law and Divorce Options page of this website.

Suitable for Many Divorce and Family Law Cases
Collaborative Divorce is highly effective, has been successful for many tens of thousands of divorcing couples. It is extremely well suited for complex cases, such as cases involving complicated property and business issues, special needs children and unique parenting issues. Although more challenging, with the right team support and structure, the Collaborative Divorce process may even be used for certain cases involving domestic violence and abuse. Part of our job is to help you identify the factors so you can decide whether collaborative divorce or another negotiation-based dispute resolution process is right for you.

Over 20 Years of Expertise in Divorce Law; Well-Recognized
Rated among the Top 25 family law attorneys in Washington State by Washington Law and Politics magazine, lawyer J. Mark Weiss has more than two decades of experience helping couples divorce, including extensive litigation, mediation, negotiation and Collaborative Divorce experience. Mark received the “Attorney of the Year” award from the Washington State Bar Association Family Law Section, was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and has been on the “Super Lawyers” list of Washington Law and Politics Magazine in 2007 and 2008. Now retired from divorce litigation, his experience is now entirely focused on non-adversarial dispute resolution in family law, including divorce. For more background information, click the “About Us” tab above.

  Divorce Consultation and Settlement Attorney
In addition to Collaborative Divorce, we also provide consultation services to separating and divorcing clients and attorneys representing them, including second opinions and consultation on negotiation strategy to achieve an optimal divorce settlement. We can provide the benefit and value of an experienced outsider's perspective to your family law situation, focusing on what is most important to you. Our significant experience, skill, and advanced training allows us to provide consultation services for clients and attorneys who wish to seek a second opinion from an attorney experienced in litigation, but whose sole focus is now on amicable settlement of divorce and family law matters.

  Convenient Seattle Location - Serving Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island and Surroundings
From our convenient downtown Seattle location, we serve clients from throughout King County and beyond, including Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Everett and surrounding areas.  Mark provides guidance, insight, skill, and support to help guide you through your divorce or separation, or other family law matter. 

 DIVORCE TIP OF THE MONTH

Divorce lawyers know firsthand the difficulty of financially separating couples. Divorce usually involves separating one household into two households. Even during good economic times, it costs more to run two households than one household. During difficult economic times, the financial decisions during divorce can be more difficult. Most divorce attorneys see more people separating and seeking divorce when stress is higher, including economic stress. Real estate, investments, and retirement may be worth less than in the past, and debt may seem higher. Job security may be less. When times are tough, it is often tempting to try to "aggressively fight" for what seems as the best economic divorce settlement, including child support, spousal maintenance (alimony), and property division. Being overly aggressive during your divorce may not be the best strategy. Paradoxically, being overly aggressive during divorce can not only be much more expensive, but can also have an adverse impact on your future after your divorce. Regardless of how aggressive or passive you may be during your divorce process (whether mediation, negotiation, Collaborative Law, adversarial negotiation, or litigation), there is nothing you or your spouse can do to change the past that led to the divorce decision, and nothing you and your spouse can do to change the facts that exist in the present moment. All you can do is to act in ways that may have an effect on your future during and after your divorce. Your and your spouse's actions will have negative, neutral, or positive effects on your post-divorce lives. The challenge lies in choosing actions and behaviors that are neutral and positive, and to sidestep negative and counterproductive behaviors divorce. Examples of negative or counterproductive behaviors in divorce, could be to give up on yourself, or to be unnecessarily aggressive. While there may be times when aggressive or passive behavior is the least destructive, the better approach during divorce is generally to become clear on your economic and other needs and interests, and then seek to partner with your spouse to meet your needs and interests. Doing so in a way that is healthy for both, so you can form separate households given the current real economic circumstances is often the best way to proceed. Having skilled guidance to facilitate this divorce transition can make an enormous difference, and getting that guidance early can be economically and emotionally beneficial. Skilled mediation or Collaborative Divorce law attorneys can make a great difference in the quality of the outcome of your divorce, even in difficult economic times such as these. 

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