FAQs

Spousal maintenance is financial support provided by one spouse to the other during or after a divorce, separation, or invalidity proceeding. The court must determine a number of factors, including the need of one party and the ability of the other party to pay, the length of the marriage.

Bad behavior does not usually affect how property and debts are divided.  An exception to this general rule is when the misbehavior was intended to and resulted in the destruction of property or waste of community assets, by wasting money gambling excessively without the permission of the other spouse, for example, or lavishing gifts upon an extramarital lover without the spouse’s permission.  Behaviors such as domestic violence, intoxication, emotional abuse can seriously affect a parenting plan, however.

The court needs to determine the following:

1. Should the parties be divorced? Washington is a “no fault” state and the court must determine that a marriage is irretrievably broken, and that more than 90 days have passed since the later of the filing of the Summons and Petition and the service on the opposing party.
2. Characterize and divide the assets and debts of the parties. The court must first determine what is separate and what is community, then make an equitable division of the assets and debts of the parties.
3. Parenting Plan. If there are minor children the court must establish a Parenting Plan which allocates when the children will be with each parent, makes decisions for the children and rules how minor disputes about the Plan are to be resolved.
4. Child Support. The court must establish support for the children pursuant to the child support guidelines.
5. Spousal Maintenance. The court must consider whether a party requires spousal maintenance.
6. Name Change. The court should consider whether either or both parties should be granted a name change.

The waiting period to finalize a divorce in Washington is 90 days after the Summons and Petition are filed and served on the other party. This is a minimum period and is intended to allow time for reconciliation between the parties.  The process could take much longer if the parties have difficulty reaching an agreement.

Yes. Typically, if either party requests a name change, the request should be included in the petition.

Separate property means possessions or real estate that was owned before the marriage, or that was received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance, or that was purchased with separate property, and not commingled with community property

Community property is all assets and debts, including wages and retirement that are acquired from the date of the marriage through the date of legal separation.

In Washington, in a divorce action the court has authority over both separate and community property. The court is required to determine what is separate property, what is community property, and then divide the property and debts justly and equitably. The division is not necessarily an equal division. The court uses a series of factors under Washington law, such as how long the couple were married, the nature and extent of community and separate property. If there are minor children, the economic circumstances of each party at the time the division is made, and other factors.

This is called a default. If the other spouse never answers the Petition for Dissolution by filing response papers, default allows you to finish your case.

In general, all child custody decisions are to be based on “the best interests of the children.” The court looks at a number of factors including: limitations of a parent due to prior conduct or an impairment; agreements of the parties; the relative strength, nature and stability of child and relationship with each child; each parents past and future performance of parenting functions; the needs and developmental level of the children; and relationship with siblings and other folks.

Washington has adopted child support guidelines that must be applied in divorce and custody cases in which minor children are involved. Every child has the right to the support of both parents. Washington has adopted a schedule that takes into account the income of each parent from all sources including overtime pay and determines what support each parent is responsible for based on a table.

As with so many issues involved in divorce cases, domestic violence may or may not play a significant role in the legal process depending upon the exact circumstances. This is especially true in cases involving child custody and visitation determinations.

Collaborative law is an alternative dispute resolution process. In the collaborative law process parties to a divorce, and their attorneys, commit to an honest, open, cooperative resolution of all issues without going to court. In fact, the defining feature of collaborative law is that both parties and both attorneys agree in writing that they will not go to court except to enter the final decree of dissolution. Instead, they will provide open, informal, expedited discovery of all relevant facts and documents; they will participate in meetings and commit to bona fide negotiations. If either party or their attorney decides that the case should go to court, the attorneys are both required to withdraw from the case and any disclosures to that point cannot be used in the court case without permission from both parties. Collaborative law works best when both parties are on a relatively equal footing.