After all of your divorce papers are prepared by Legal Alternatives, they must be signed and filed with the Superior Court.
Your spouse may sign these papers with you jointly, or you may have them served a copy of the petition, which eliminates the need for their signature. (Note: If your spouse is not signing the papers with you jointly, there will have to be a hearing in your county of residence.)
Approximately 90 days after the joint signing or 90 days after the spouse is served, the judge will review your divorce petition and sign the divorce judgment. When this is signed by the Judge, you are legally divorced.
Washington divorce is very fast and usually very simple.
Most counties require a court hearing after 90 days.
We prepare all co-petitions to be filed in a Washington county that will avoid court hearings where both spouses are signing willingly, and this county gladly accepts divorces from residents of other counties.
WASHINGTON DIVORCE FACTS AND INFORMATION: Washington is a no fault Divorce state: Nothing negative about your spouse has to be revealed. If your marriage isn’t working, you have the right to terminate the marriage.
NO COURT APPEARANCES FOR CO-PETITIONS: If your spouse is willing to join the divorce by signing the co-petition papers, we will prepare your documents for filing in a county where you will not have to go to court. The filing fee in this county – payable to the court, is $294.00.
If you do not expect your spouse to willingly sign the documents, you will have to have a hearing in your county of residence.
No office visits required. We respect your privacy and all communications will be very discreet.
CHILDREN: You must decide the custody of the children and visitation for the non-custodial parent. We will prepare an Order of Child support for the custodial parent.
This will be included in the divorce judgment.
Careful consideration should be given to this matter. This should concern the best interests of the children. Every divorce filed in Washington with children must file a parenting plan. The parenting plans objective is to provide for the child’s physical care and custody, maintain the child’s emotional stability, provide for the child’s changing needs in a way that will minimize the need for future modifications as the child grows up and matures, sets out the authority and responsibilities of both parents. It will help protect the child from harmful parent conflicts and it encourages parents to reach agreements rather than go to court.
This plan will provide provisions for: dispute resolution, a residential schedule for the children, allocation of decision making authority that relates to the children, a plan that clearly displays visitations and parenting time. This plan will be included in the Washington Divorce we prepare.
CHILD SUPPORT: The parent having custody of the children will be awarded child support from the non-custodial parent. A Divorce judge will consider the parents incomes, potential earning power, the ages and number of children and sign into judgment an order of child support. The parent will be required to pay this support. Should they fail to do so they may be held in contempt of court and fined or placed in prison.
Child support is a priority with Washington Divorce courts.
SPOUSAL SUPPORT: We can prepare an order for spousal support.You determine the amount to be paid and for how long the alimony should be paid.
NAME CHANGE: Your name may be changed back to any former name upon request. We petition the court in your divorce papers and upon finalization of your divorce, your name will be legally changed.
DIVISION OF PROPERTY: Washington is a “community property ” state. You should list all the property (real estate, cars, furniture etc.) that you wish to be awarded to you and then list that which should be awarded to your spouse. If the Divorce is uncontested the court will usually grant the property division as requested. For more information on division of property see:
Revised code of Washington, title 26, chapters26.09.015, 26.09.030 and 26.09.181.
DIVISION OF DEBTS: We will ask for a list of all the bills you will be paying and a list of those to be paid by your spouse. This will be included in the final divorce. Should the spouse fail to pay the debts assigned to them, you could fill actions with the court for contempt of court.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Either spouse filing for dissolution of marriage may be a resident of Washington or a member of the military residing in Washington. Active military residents of Washington living in other states or countries may file for divorce in Washington.
OUR TOTAL FEE FOR WASINGTON DIVORCE IS ONLY $130.00 without children and $175.00 WITH children. WE DO ALL THE PREPARATION. This is NOT a kit!
Please contact us for prices or specific questions. We’ll be glad to help.