Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Your lawyer acts in your place. Your lawyer does not speak with your ex-wife as a service to her, but rather acts in your place to allow you to avoid making mistakes that may cost you down the road. The idea is that by using a non-interested lawyer (meaning someone who is not personally involved) they can think more clearly for you but more importantly the lawyer knows the law as it applies to your case and thus can help you avoid common pitfalls that you would not see coming.

So yes, you need to pay your lawyer for talking to your ex-wife. Trust me, it is cheaper than paying your lawyer to draft motions or respond to her motions. If your lawyer cannot make headway in discussing the situation with her, then perhaps it is time to stop talking and just litigate the matter and let a judge or court commissioner make decisions for you, but beware, because when the court decides disputes, often one or BOTH parties walk away much more unhappy than if they had agreed to what was previously on the table.