Family Law
Ms. Silva has extensive experience in all areas of family law including but not limited to complex parenting disputes, complex property distributions, and child support matters incident to dissolution of marriage and / or domestic partnerships. She has extensive experience with parentage matters and cohabitation matters. She routinely handles prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, child relocation actions, and post – decree actions for modification of child support orders and/ or parent plans as well as enforcement actions. She handles adoptions, in particular, step parent adoptions, the rare appellate matter, and matters for same sex couples and ethnically diverse populations.
Dispute Resolution
Ms. Silva started her professional career as a young woman in the field of social work. She gained extensive knowledge and experience in the field of interpersonal relationships, as well as in the art of effective communication and listening. She has applied the knowledge and experience she gained in her prior career to her work as a mediator and arbitrator. Although she has handled mediations in a range of civil matters, her background in social work and longevity in family law have particularly suited her for dispute resolution in this field. She is a very active mediator, helping litigants to understand problematic areas in their case, offering creative solutions, while emphasizing the benefits of an amicable settlement. She brings many years of experience as a neutral decision-maker for WSBA’s disciplinary committee to her work as an arbitrator.
Wills and Probate
Ms. Silva handles the preparation of simple wills, durable powers of attorney, health care directives, memorial instructions, and community property agreements. In this process, she assists her clients in clarifying their wishes, needs, and goals for both themselves and their loved ones so that they can be protected physically, emotionally, and financially in the event of unforeseen or untimely circumstances.
Ms. Silva also handles probate matters and understands that these proceedings require sensitivity to family relationships, as differences may become exacerbated due to the grieving process and time sensitive deadlines. Where litigation is possible or present, she is careful to protect her clients’ rights, to mediate a resolution if possible, but to always support the healing process.
General Practice
Ms. Silva is a versatile and dedicated lawyer. She has years of experience working both in and out of the courtroom, with clients of all backgrounds and ages, and in various areas of the law. In addition to her three major areas of practice, she handles contract matters, personal injury matters, administrative proceedings and criminal misdemeanors. Ms. Silva is very straightforward, honest, and ethical in her approach. Although she cannot guarantee results, so that you can make decisions in your best interest, she will provide you with the most candid assessment of your case that is possible given the applicable law and available facts. Throughout your case, she will explain the necessary procedures and applicable law in plain English so that you can understand the proceedings and so that she can assist you in securing the best resolution possible.