Divorcing in Washington State. The Basics
The place to begin is RCW 26.09 which governs the Dissolution Process in Washington. Each County also has its own set of rules you will need to review to successfully navigate the process.
You or your spouse has decided to separate. Now what? The date of separation can become important. The “date of separation” is when the marriage is considered to be defunct for purposes of property division. This matters because property acquired before the date of separation is considered community property, and property acquired after the date of separation is separate property under Washington law.
Step 1 – File Petition for Dissolution and Summons
To get the process started someone needs to file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The Petition must then be filed with the correct county (where you or your spouse live) and served on the non-filing spouse. In WA, we have what is called a “cooling off” period before a divorce could be finalized. RCW 26.09.030 This is a ninety (90) day period required before the court will finalize your divorce.
Washington is a no-fault divorce state, meaning you don’t need to prove that your spouse was at fault. Instead, you only need to demonstrate that your marriage is “irretrievably broken.” This can be done by agreement, or it can be contested.
Step 2 – Serve the Petition and Summons
After a Petition is filed the next step is service. The Petition and Summons must be served on the other party. This is completed by hand delivery. As the co-litigant you cannot hand the divorce papers to your spouse. In Washington, you can serve papers by having someone who is 18 years old or older hand-deliver them to your spouse. You can hire a professional process server, or you can ask a friend to hand-deliver the papers to your spouse. If you use a process server, they must complete a Proof of Service form after your spouse has been served and submit it to the courts.
If a spouse cannot be located or is avoiding service, the court may permit you to “serve” them through a publication. You need prior court approval first – and a good faith effort must be made to locate the spouse and serve them privately first.
In a service-by-publication situation, the notice of pending divorce is published in the newspaper where the spouse is likely to see it.
Acceptance of Service: If your spouse is cooperative and doesn’t object to the divorce, they can sign an Acceptance of Service. This is essentially a receipt for the divorce papers that does not require hand–delivery. The Acceptance is proof that your spouse received the divorce papers.
You have 60 days from the day you file your divorce papers to serve your spouse.
If you are not able to serve within that time, you can request more time. You should request more time before the 60 days is up if you can. You can file a written request or, if you have your initial court hearing before the 60 days are up, you can ask the judge then.
If you do not follow these procedures, your case may be dismissed, and you will have to file a motion to vacate the dismissal or file a new case and start all over again.
Step 3 – The Response
The Response is another mandatory form (Form 211). This should be filed within 20 days of service if you are served in the state. Failing to respond can have significant impacts. The Response is your opportunity to outline what you agree and disagree with based on what was included in the Petition. While the Response does not come back up immediately throughout the case, the contents therein will be become very important if your case does not settle and proceeds to trial.
Step 4 – Discovery Phase
Discovery is the process by which parties in a court case can obtain information and evidence that may be relevant to the specific facts or allegations in their case. Discovery is also commonly known as the “information gathering” stage of a case. In a divorce case, typically all income and financial assets are relevant. Interrogatories typically contain a request for the other party to list information such as their employment history, income, bank accounts, and/or retirement assets. Notice to Produce requests that the other party produce any and all documents they have, or can reasonably obtain access to, in response to the specific requests set forth in the notice.
Another method of obtaining information is through depositions. Depositions require you or your spouse to appear at a specific the date and time, and under oath, with a court reporter present respond to questions. During the deposition, you can ask for the specific information you need to build your case. This information can later be used as evidence or to impeach your spouse if they testify with conflicting answers to your questions.
Step 5 – Negotiations
Mediation is a process where parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who assists them in the negotiation of their differences. There are exceptions in cases involving DV but most cases require mediation to occur before a trial will be permitted. Arbitration is a process in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties to an arbitrator who will then make a binding decision on the dispute. Arbitration is not mandatory and must be agreed to by both parties. Arbitration in family law matters is also now governed by RCW 26.14. Either mediation or arbitration can be used to avoid a trial. It will likely depend on the facts of your case for which is the best option for you.
Step 6 – Trial
Divorce trials are what we call a bench trial. This means there is no jury and evidence is only heard by a judge and not a jury. The judge will be the one to make all necessary decisions about your case. You can agree to narrow the issues if you reach an agreement on some issues at mediation. Trials are very expensive, as they require a lot of preparation, so it is often in every one’s financial interest to make compromise (agreements) when possible. If your case goes to trial, you no longer get to have a say. You will provide the Court with your proposed orders but the judge makes the final call.
Step 7 – Final Orders
After entering into an agreement or a trial, the final step to officially become divorced is to enter Final Orders. You are not officially divorced until the Final Orders are entered with the Court.
Resources:
Washington Courts: https://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.contribute&formID=13
Washington Law Help: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/
WomensLaw: https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/manuals/domviol/chapter12.pdf
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