Working Hard

To Find Solutions

Divorce & legal separation

We provide help in navigating the difficult issues associated with ending a marriage with the goal of achieving fair outcomes that work for you and your family.

Mediation

Mediation provides families with an alternative way of resolving disputes without the expense and conflict of litigation. Matthew Jolly is an experienced mediator who can help families find reasonable solutions to complex problems.

Parenting plans

Often the key to avoiding endless fights over children is a well-crafted parenting plan that addresses potential disputes and is consistent with the best interests of the children.

Child support

We work with our clients to determine child support consistent with the parent’s resources and the children’s needs as well as modifying support payments when a parent’s or child’s circumstances change.

Guardian ad litem

Matthew Jolly is an experienced King County Guardian ad Litem who has worked as an advocate for children and helped address challenging family situations.

Mediation and settlement conferences

An Alternative to Conflict and Litigation

Mediation can be a great option for couples to resolve family disputes without the expense or conflict that can result from litigating those issues in court. As a mediator, Matthew Jolly works with both parties to find solutions that everyone can accept and that are tailored to each family’s individual needs and circumstances.

Mediated agreements offer significant advantages over court ordered resolutions. Mediation allows separating and divorcing couples to take control of planning their own lives and make their own decisions about their future. It is an especially valuable tool for parents who want to find a way to work together on behalf of their children and not spend their time and money locked in conflict with each other.

Parties who reach resolutions through mediation generally report that they are more satisfied with the outcome than those who litigate. Mediated settlements also have a consistently higher compliance rate because the parents have created their own agreement and voluntarily elected to accept that outcome. As a result, families who mediate their own resolutions are significantly less likely to return to court over and over again to resolve future disputes.

Matthew Jolly has helped countless families successfully negotiate agreed resolutions. He is willing to host mediations in our Bellevue offices or travel to the office of an attorney in order to conduct a mediation or settlement conference and assist the families in reaching compromises and agreements.

Parenting plans

Planning On Behalf of Your Children

A "Parenting Plan" sets forth the residential schedule for children of divorce outlining when they are with each parent. The parenting plan also addresses decision-making with regard to the children and provides a means for resolving disputes that arise between parents around such issues as education, religion and health care. Often the key to avoiding endless fights over children is a well-crafted parenting plan which addresses potential disputes and which is consistent with the best interests of the children.

The Law Offices of Matthew Jolly have over 20 years of experience in developing, negotiating or litigation parenting plans on behalf of parents and their children. We have a history of findings resolutions for even the most challenging issues such as addressing parental relocations, substance abuse issues, domestic violence, and families with a special needs child.

Child support

Fair and Accurate Support

Child support is the money paid by one parent to another to cover a portion of the costs of food, clothing, and shelter for the children. The amount of child support is generally set at a pre-determined amount based upon the incomes of the parents. Sometimes parents can be obligated to pay additional expenses for the children in addition to normal child support such as day care, counseling expenses, and school tuition.

We can assist parents in determining appropriate child support payments based on each family’s unique circumstances. We can also help address modifications to child support necessitated by changed circumstances such as a job loss.

Guardian ad litem

An Experienced Advocate for Families

Matthew Jolly has served on the Guardian ad Litem Registry for the King County Superior Court since 2003. He has completed investigations and issued reports for countless families.

A guardian ad litem or parenting evaluation is the process by which a person designated by the court or the parents develops recommendations for a parenting plan for a child or children. These recommendations typically deal primarily with the residential schedule of time that the child spends with each parent. However, recommendations can also address such problems as conflict management, decision-making authority, counseling for a parent or child, substance abuse problems, domestic violence issues, or special needs of a child.

As a Guardian ad Litem, Matthew Jolly does not work for either parent. His role is to develop recommendations for the court that are in the best interests of the children. As such, He is an advocate on behalf of those interests and does not owe a duty of allegiance to either parent. This is true even when one parent is paying 100% of the costs.

Each case and family can have different requirements and investigative needs. While Matthew Jolly has a general process that he follows in most cases, the process can be modified or adjusted depending on the specific issues involved or other factors such as time constraints. A typical evaluation will include a review of relevant court filings, questionnaires for the parents, interviews of the parents, telephone interviews of family members and involved professionals, and observations of the parents and children in their home. Depending on the age of the children involved, the evaluation can also include an interview of the child. At the end of the evaluation, a written report is provided to the court and parties outlining the findings and making specific recommendations on behalf of the family.

Guardians ad Litem are typically appointed either by agreement of both parents or by a Judge or Court Commissioner who is seeking more information about a family’s circumstances.

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