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Frequently Asked Questions

The legal information on this page is designed to help you learn about the laws that apply when you want to end your marriage in Washington (known as a "marital dissolution" or "dissolution of marriage"). It will give you an overview of the law and help you decide what type of case you need to file in court. This page is intended for persons who want to file a dissolution of marriage (petitioner) or persons who have been served with dissolution of marriage papers (respondent) and have questions concerning procedure.

If at all possible, you should meet with an attorney who specializes in family law before you file anything in court. If either you or your spouse has a lot of money or property, or you have been married a long time, or your spouse is going to disagree with any part of what you are requesting, you should talk with an attorney. Even if you cannot afford to hire an attorney to file your case, you should talk at least once with an attorney to get advice about your situation. 

Section 1.  Divorce or Separation?
     1. What is a Marital Dissolution?
     2. What relief may I get in a Marital Dissolution?
     3. How is a Marital Dissolution different from a Legal Separation?
     4. May I get an Annulment instead of a Divorce?

Section 2.  Where to file for my Divorce
     1. May I file a Marital Dissolution in Washington?
     2. What if one spouse has never lived in Washington?
     3. What if I cannot find my spouse?
     4. What if my spouse is a Native American who lives on an Indian reservation?
     5. What should I do if I have been served with a Dissolution and I don't think my case should be in Washington?
     6. In which county should my Dissolution be filed?
     7. What if the children have not always lived in Washington?

Section 3.  Length of a Divorce proceding
     1. How long will a Divorce take?

Section 4.  I was served with Divorce papers. The next steps.
     1. What should I do if I'm served with Divorce papers?

Section 5:  Court Orders
     1. What if I need a court order sooner than 90 days?
     2. What is a Temporary Order?
     3. Do I need a Temporary Order?
     4. Do I need an Emergency Order?
     5. What if I want to change my Temporary Order?
     6. What if your Spouse has hurt you or the children?
     7. What is a Guardian Ad Litem and a Parenting Evaluator?

Section 6:  Court decisions on property and debts
     1. How does the court decide who gets what?
     2. When we divorce, will the court divide all of our property and debts 50/50?
     3. How does the court decide what is a just and equitable division of property and debts?
     4. What if I have a Prenuptial Contract or Community Property Agreement?
     5. I bought our car and most other property with my income, so shouldn't the court award it to me?
     6. My spouse owned our house before our marriage, but we both paid the mortgage. Don't I get part of it?
     7. I think we need to sell our house, but my spouse disagrees. Can the court order us to sell the house?
     8. Is it true that I have no right to my husband's pension because he earned it?
     9. My spouse had an affair — the Divorce is my spouse's fault. Shouldn't I get more of the property?
   10. Since I'm not working right now, will the court order my spouse to pay me alimony?
   11. Important information about Marital Debts

Section 7:  Child Custody
     1. Who will get custody of our children?
     2. Who needs a Parenting Plan?
     3. How does the Parenting Plan affect my rights to see my children?
     4. How will the court decide who the children should live with?
     5. How will the court limit a parent's residential time if the court finds a Limiting Factor under the RCW?
     6. If none of the RCW Limiting Factors applies, how will the court decide who the children will live with?
     7. I want to have equal time with the children. Will the court order this?
     8. How will the court decide who should make important decisions about the children?
     9. What is Alternative Dispute Resolution and what does it have to do with the Parenting Plan?
   10. What if I want to move to a different state with the children?
   11. What if the wife is pregnant? May we still get a divorce?

Section 8:  Spousal Child Support
     1. What is Child Support?
     2. How is the Child Support amount established?

How long will a Divorce take?

You must wait at least 90 days after you filed the petition for marital dissolution and you have served it on your spouse before you may enter final orders. However, marital dissolutions often take longer than 90 days. If your spouse responds and does not agree with everything in your petition, the amount of time that will pass until your case is finished will depend on your county and how complicated your case is. In some counties, such as King County, the court will give you the date for your trial at the beginning of the case. In most other counties, you will need to file a request that the court set a trial date after the other parent has filed a response. If you have children, and there are claims of domestic violence, child abuse, alcoholism or drug addiction or other things that could be dangerous to the children, or you have complicated property issues, your case could take much longer. You should expect that a marital dissolution will take four to eighteen months to complete.

What should I do if I'm served with Divorce papers?

Read ALL of the documents you receive very carefully.

1. Find out what county your case is in.
Look at the papers you received. The papers should say "Superior Court of the State of Washington, County of _______" at the top. Make sure your case was filed in the right county. 

2. Find out whether you have been served with a Motion for Temporary Orders or Ex Parte Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause
Look carefully at the title of your papers (in the upper right section of the first page, under the case number). 

• If the papers you got include forms called a Summons, and a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, then you have a marital dissolution case. 
• If the papers you got include a Notice for Hearing or Note for Calendar Motion (or any other paper indicating that a court date has been scheduled) and a Motion and Declaration for Temporary Orders, then you have a Motion for Temporary Orders. You may receive both a Petition for Dissolution and a Motion for Temporary Orders. 
• If the papers you got include an Ex Parte Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause, then you have a Motion for an Ex Parte Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause. You may receive both a Petition for Dissolution and a Motion for an Ex Parte Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause. 

3. Remember that it is important to respond on time!
When you are served with legal papers, it is very important to take steps right away to figure out how to respond. In many cases, if you do not respond on time, the other party will automatically win what they are requesting. For a motion, you may have as few as four business days after you receive the papers to file your response. It may take time to locate legal resources. Please keep in mind that you should do this as soon as possible after you receive the papers. If you cannot respond in time, you will need to file a Notice of Appearance and ask for a continuance.

4. Talk with an attorney
Even if you cannot afford to hire an attorney to file your case, you should talk at least once with an attorney to get advice about your situation.

What if I need a court order sooner than 90 days?

In many cases, you may want the court to enter orders before you get your final dissolution decree and other orders. You may want to request temporary orders — court orders that are entered very quickly and last until trial or the end of your dissolution case.

For example, you might want to ask for temporary orders if you want the court to enter a parenting plan before trial that says which parent the children will live with and how much time they will spend with the other parent. For another example, you might also want to get a court order before trial that will make it clear that you are not responsible for debts that your spouse creates, or that would prevent your spouse from cleaning out the bank accounts or selling things. You may do this through a Motion for Temporary Orders or, in emergency situations, through a Motion for an Ex Parte Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause.

What is a Temporary Order?

A temporary order is a court order that gives you certain rights and/or protections before your dissolution is finished. You may request a temporary order at any time between when you file your Summons and Petition for Dissolution and the day your divorce is final. To get a temporary order, you must file a Motion for Temporary Orders and give your spouse notice and a chance to respond to your motion. You will have a hearing within about a week to three weeks at which the judge will decide whether to grant what you asked for in your motion. The amount of notice you must give your spouse before a hearing varies from county to county. You should consult with the court clerk or Family Law Facilitator for information about your county's notice requirements.

Do I need a Temporary Order?

To decide if you need a temporary order, think about the following things:

• Are you happy with the way things are going right now without the temporary order? 
• Do you need to ask the court for help to order your spouse to do something (or to stop doing something)?

You may ask the court to order many types of things in a temporary order, including:

• A parenting plan that says how much time the children will spend with each parent until the divorce is finished; [Until you have a court order, each parent has an equal right to custody of the children. A parenting plan can also give you scheduled visitation with the children if you are being denied visitation. In determining a temporary parenting plan, the court should consider the relative strength, nature, and stability of the child's relationship with each parent and which parenting arrangements will cause the least disruption to the child's emotional stability while the action is pending in addition to the factor used to determine the provisions of a permanent parenting plan.]
• Restraining orders that order one spouse not to harass or come near the other one;
• Restraining orders that order a parent not to take the children out of state;
• Restraining orders that order your spouse not to give away or sell property, or take out loans in both your names, or take your name off insurance policies;
• Orders for temporary child support, maintenance (spousal support), attorney's fees, or use of your property, such as the house or car;
• Order that one spouse can live in the house and the other cannot;
• Appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL) or parenting evaluator to do an investigation and make recommendations to the court about which parent the children should live with and whether a parent poses a risk to the children.

Do I need an Emergency Order?

If there is an emergency, you may need protection from the courts right away. An Ex Parte Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause takes effect right away, and is often entered without any prior notice to your spouse. (Your spouse will later have a chance to have a hearing at which the judge will decide whether the order will continue). You may need an emergency order if you cannot wait a week to three weeks for a hearing to get help from the court. This happens, for example, when your spouse is harassing or harming you, has harmed the children or is a danger to them, has threatened to take the children, or is taking large amounts of money out of your accounts or is selling or hiding property. If you file a Motion for an Ex Parte Restraining Order, you do not need to file a Motion for Temporary Orders since the same types of orders are available.

What if I want to change my Temporary Order?

Unlike a final Decree of Dissolution, a Temporary Order may be changed at any time before your divorce is final. To change a temporary order, you will need to file another Motion for Temporary Orders.

What if your spouse has hurt you or the children?

If you are afraid that your spouse may injure or threaten you or your children, the court can issue special orders to help protect you and your children from harm. If you have been a victim of domestic violence, or have been threatened with injury, you should consider asking the court to award you a Domestic Violence Protection Order. Often it is a good idea to do this before you file for divorce, but you may request a Protection Order after you file a marital dissolution. You may also ask that a permanent protection order be entered as part of the final orders in the divorce. 

A Domestic Violence Protection Order can:

• Give care of children to one parent;
• Set up a schedule of time children will have with your spouse (or stop your spouse from seeing the children);
• Keep a person out of the family home and away from your home, work or school;
• Order a person not to threaten, assault, harass or stalk another; and
• Order a person to attend treatment for domestic violence and/or alcohol/drug treatment.

For more information about getting a Protection Order, contact your court's protection order advocates, your local domestic violence program, or call the 24–hour statewide domestic violence hotline at 1–800–562–6025.

What is a Guardian Ad Litem and a Parenting Evaluator?

One of the many things you may ask the court for in a Motion for Temporary Orders is to appoint someone to make a recommendation to the court about parenting arrangements.  Generally, a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) or parenting evaluator is appointed to make recommendations about what parenting plan would be in the best interests of your child. A GAL is not appointed to just tell the court what your child wants but, rather, to investigate the parenting history and abilities of all the parties, the situation of the child, and then to make a recommendation to the court about what type of custody and visitation would be in the children's best interests. The main difference between a parenting evaluator and a GAL is that a GAL is a party to the case (who must get notice of all court hearings) and a parenting evaluator is not. 

In some counties, the GAL or parenting evaluator will be a privately employed person who charges by the hour for his or her time. The parties usually share the fees for a GAL. If you cannot afford to pay for a private GAL, you may be able to ask the court if your county has a volunteer family law GAL program called Court Appointed Special Advocates (or a CASA) who can be appointed for free. Or, your county may have a Family Court Services office which employs social workers to act as parenting evaluators in family law cases on a sliding scale or low fee.

You may want to ask the court to appoint a GAL or parenting evaluator if there has been any physical or sexual abuse of you or the children, if one of the parents is seriously mentally ill, or if one of the parents has an alcohol or drug addiction. The court may also decide to appoint a GAL or parenting evaluator in your case even if you do not ask for one.

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This Is Information, Not Legal Advice 
We are providing this information as a public service. We try to make it accurate as of the current date. Sometimes the laws change. We cannot promise that this information is always up–to–date and correct. Most of the information provided on this web site is specific to Washington State law.

We do not intend this information to be legal advice. By providing this information, we are not acting as your lawyer. If you need legal advice, you should contact a lawyer through your local legal aid organization. Always talk to a competent lawyer, if you can, before taking legal action.

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