The goal is to help you help yourself, so we will update this page as we’re asked questions about particular legal matters.
- Elder Abuse (Episode 5). Check out this Elder Abuse Handout for a summary of information and resources.
- Family Law in WA (Episode 8) Divorce in Washington State is referred to as Dissolution. Once you file the Petition for Dissolution to start the case, Washington has a 90 day cooling off period which means that you can’t get divorced (even if you agree on everything) until the 91st day. For the mandatory forms that you will use in your case (including the Petition for Dissolution, Parenting Plan, Child Support Order, Motion for Temporary Orders, Findings of Fact and Decree Dissolution), please visit www.courts.wa.gov and click on “forms”. Nearly every family law form is there. The Dept of Health Vital Statistics Form is not, however, nor are county specific forms. But the remainder of the forms are for state-wide use and are mandatory. The filing fee for divorces in Pierce County is $314 and they won’t take a personal check. Please visit the Pierce County fees page.
- Buying or selling a car in WA? You’re going to want to visit the WA Dept of Licensing in person or online. You can & should complete the transaction via the DOL http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/transfertitle.html
- Facebook. (Episode 14). After the Cambridge Analytica fiasco came to light (that this third party used detailed information from profiles of some 30 million or more American voters to cater specific messaging regarding politics), I checked out my privacy settings and was shocked to learn that while my profile was set to “private” or “friends only” that all of my friends were set to “everyone” meaning that anyone could look for me and potentially get information about my friends/contacts/networks. I’ve now set my privacy settings to friends only and have gone through as much of the settings as I can. To set your privacy to “closed” as opposed to “open”, take your browser to the top of your home page, and you’ll see the drop down arrow to the right of the question mark. Hover over the arrow and when the drop box comes down, you’ll see the topic “settings”, about 3/4 of the way down. Click on Settings. Then the first thing you want to do is “Download a copy” of your Facebook data (you’ll see that link underneath the topic “Manage your account”). I don’t know if this option will always be available so take advantage of it now. Then, after you get the download going, get back to the Settings page and then click on “Privacy” on the left. You want to make sure that only “Friends” can see your future posts not “Everyone”. Click Edit if its not set to “Friends”. Under how people find you, make sure that “who can see your friend’s list is set to “Friends” not EVERYONE. And who can look up your phone number, that should be “Friends” too. And do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile? No. Then go to “Ads” in the General Settings Tab, in the menu on the left and under Ad Settings, set each “Ad” section to “NO”. Under “Advertisers you’ve interacted with”, I found Advertisers I had NEVER interacted with, not on FB and not on my private computer or phone.
Hopefully, Facebook and Zuckerberg will treat us with with more respect, like they are required to do with residents of the EU with regard to privacy; and default our settings to “private” so as to not allow our information to be shared without our knowledge and consent. - Employment Law Part 1 — Episode 17: EEOC website; WA State Human Rights Commission; Washington Law Against Discrimination:
- Employment Law Part 2 — Episode 18: Check out OSHA’s website for specific federal statutes giving you whistleblower protection related to safety linked issues.
- Employment Law Part 3 — Episode 23: Independent Contractor vs Employees. What status do those that work for you hold? See WA State LNI’s Interpretation
- Sports Betting – Episode 21: A Changing Landscape after Murphy v. NCAA 5-14-18. For Washington’s law and current policy positions on Sports Betting, Online Gaming, Gaming generally, raffles and lotteries, please visit the WA State Gambling Commission. As it stands, sports betting in Washington state remains ILLEGAL.
- Need a Legal Plan, why not try LEGAL SHIELD?
For more information, have a listen to Episode 22 - USERRA – Episode 29: Want a summary of your rights, check out this US Government (Dept of Labor) publication.
- ABLE Accounts – Episode 30: These are great accounts that help supplement a disabled person’s basic needs. These accounts can only be opened through your State agency. For Washington residents, please start here. In Oregon, please visit the Oregon Savings Network.
- Intro to Bankruptcy – Episode 31: Here is the list of Court approved credit counseling centers that you’ll be required to interact/meet with prior to (or along with) filing bankruptcy
Noah Your Rights 