Divorce or Legal Separation while working at Microsoft, Google, or the IT Professionals
Like other professionals, divorces and legal separations for software engineers, IT professionals, or other information technology professionals present unique issues that are indicative of your industry.
If you are a software engineer at Microsoft working on the Bing Project, a Google programmer in Freemont, or an information technology professional such as a Network Administrator, this page should answer two of the more common questions you are wondering if you are looking at separation.
Our top two most common questions we get from IT professionals are:
- Will she get some of my stock options at Amazon or Microsoft?
- Can I get a 50/50 parenting plan?
These two questions involving two distinct areas of family and divorce law. The first question deals with asset division. The second question deals with child custody and parenting plans.
Will she get my Stock Options? Asset Divisions in King and Snohomish County
Lawyers love to answer questions with a question. And, this question begs another: Do you have a prenup?
Not surprisingly, many of our IT professional clients come with a prenuptial agreement. The reason is simple. A prenuptial is a “rewrite” of Washington’s laws regarding community property. Having a prenup significantly alters the landscape for you financially when it comes to divorce. And since we know that almost 50% of all marriages end in divorce, it makes sense to be prepared. If the answer to this question is yes, then stop here.
You will need to have your prenuptial agreement inspected by an attorney in order to answer this question. If you can’t wait, take a look at the language in your prenuptial agreement regarding property. You’re specifically looking for any definitions of community property v separate property. You’ll also want to see if there are some predefined division language such as wife gets X% after Y years of marriage. The possibilities for how a prenup is written are endless. When in doubt, have you prenup evaluated. It’s money well spent.
Even if you don’t have a prenup, there are still tools to help protect your stock options and stop you from losing half of them. Assuming that there is no prenuptial agreement, standard rules for community property apply. The income of a network administrator in the Seattle Metropolitan area is $71,000 and a typical software engineer at Microsoft earns between $91,951 to $121,597, see glassdoor.com for more data.
The income of your spouse v your own income and the length of your marriage will be key issues for consideration. If your wife stays home, expect to pay something. Our job is to get that number as small as possible. Getting back to your stock options, since you own a home, you can use that value to offset your stock options when it comes time for mediation and settlement.
Can I get a 50/50 parenting plan?
If you are not an IT professional, please see our other pages on 50/50 parenting plans. IT Dads coming into our office tell us that keeping access to their children is the absolute most important thing they want to protect in their divorce. Under our state law, past performance is indicative of future results. Most programmers we’ve represented worked 60+ hours a week at their job.
Despite the grueling schedule, programmers consistently tell us that maintaining access to their children is the absolute most important thing they want to protect in their divorce. Which is why we often recommend co-parent parenting plans. Fortunately, many of our IT clients tend to engage in at some form of co-parenting with their spouse.
Dual income earners have a tendency to be more likely to default to a 50/50 parenting plans. ”Property splits” in standard “stay at home” parent situations typically favor the stay at a home parent and disfavor the person that works. Increasingly, there have been more “reverse roles” in these type of cases. However, most parenting plans tend to resemble more 50/50 arrangements.
In these contexts, we typically see awards of property that are proportionately balanced without a spousal maintenance or alimony component. Most IT related divorces to occur around the 7-10 year mark in the marriage. Outside and abnormal factors such as “.191” factors can greatly construe the custodial award. It goes without saying that there are exceptions and not every case is the same. Please consult with one of our attorneys to obtain specific advice for your divorce or legal separation.
In instances where your 401(k) or stock portfolio reaches into 7 figures, retention of a firm early enough in the process of divorce or legal separation, can greatly mitigate possible financial loses , especially in instances of no prenuptial agreement.
Divorce for IT Professionals
Even the simplest most trivial matter can be the difference between winning it all and losing it all. IT professionals are some of the smartest people we know, but this is new ground for you. You know that your facts are unique and that no two cases are alike. If you have something that you think is material or helpful for consideration with our team, please write it down and bring it with you during your consultation. In order to help you evaluate your options carefully, we need to know everything. Contacting our legal team for a consultation is the best way to get advice for your specific legal situation.
Please note: Before calling, it is important to note that our firm is NOT an “ARAG” firm. Microsoft employees receive ARAG benefits through Microsoft. These employees often seek attorneys that use or are listed as an attorney on ARAG. Given the needs of our clients, we cannot accommodate clients wishing to use ARAG. If you are seeking an ARAG attorney only, you may want to consider other options rather than calling us. The reality is that if you are looking for an ARAG attorney, we are probably not the best fit for your needs.
