If you’re going through a divorce in the State of Washington, you have plenty of concerns, and one of them is about the stages involved. Divorce is a difficult transition, and the goal is generally to make it through to the other side as quickly and efficiently as possible – while protecting your financial and parental rights throughout the process. While your divorce will follow its own unique course, there are basic stages of divorce legally and emotionally that tend to occur.
Filing the Divorce Forms
Your divorce will begin with the completion of divorce forms, which is the petition for divorce. One of you will complete the form and serve it to the other. If you have already been served, it is time to begin working closely with a dedicated Yakima divorce attorney. Although a divorce can take a considerable amount of time to be finalized, things can move quickly within the divorce process, and you don’t want to be left at a disadvantage. If you have not yet been served, it may be in your favor to file, and you are well-advised to discuss the matter with your attorney sooner rather than later.
The Mandatory Divorce Waiting Period
There is a mandatory waiting period for obtaining a divorce in Washington. Once one of you has filed and the other has been served, you must wait 3 months (90 days) before your divorce can be finalized by the court. This is regardless of whether you and your divorcing spouse are in complete agreement on all of the terms, are fighting bitterly over them, or are somewhere in the middle. Ultimately, the following terms must be resolved before your divorce can be finalized:
- The division of your community property (the assets and debts you acquired over the course of your marriage)
- Your child custody arrangements
- Child support
- Alimony (or spousal support)
If you and your spouse can come to a meeting of the minds on each of these terms within the mandatory waiting period, your divorce can conceivably be finalized within this time frame. If you cannot, your divorce can take considerably longer.
How Long Does a Divorce Take?
If you are facing a divorce, it is perfectly natural for you to have questions about how long it is going to take. After all, divorce is something of a holding pattern, and the goal is to land (with your parental and financial rights intact). If you are beginning the divorce process, now is a good time to consult with an experienced Yakima divorce attorney.
What Are the Legal Stages of Divorce?
While every divorce follows its own course and sets its own timeline, the legal stages of divorce remain the same for everyone.
File the Divorce Petition
One of you will file the petition for divorce and will have your spouse served with the divorce papers.
60-Day Waiting Period
Once you’ve filed, there is a mandatory 60-day waiting period, within which you can attend to the additional stages of divorce. If you and your divorcing spouse are in agreement on the terms of your divorce, you should be able to finalize the matter at the 60-day mark – or soon after.
Further Steps
If you and your divorcing spouse are not in agreement regarding your divorce terms (which is often the case), you’ll have some work to do, and the steps forward can include any and all of the following that applies to your situation:
- Submitting a counter petition or response to the petition (if your divorce terms aren’t contested, you can move directly to the settlement phase from here – with no response necessary)
- A motion for temporary hearings (to address the matters of finances and child custody arrangements during the pendency of your divorce – if these are issues)
- Mandatory parenting education (if you and your divorcing spouse are at odds regarding your child custody arrangements moving forward).
- Discovery (the phase when you and your divorcing spouse trade information and documentation relevant to the divorce)
- Mediation (a form of alternative dispute resolution that allows you and your divorcing spouse to attempt to resolve the divorce issues that remain in dispute)
- Settlement (the point at which you and your divorcing spouse find common ground on every divorce term, which can happen at any time in the process).
- Trial (any divorce terms that you and your soon-to-be ex are unable to ultimately agree upon will need to be decided by the court at trial)
What Are My Rights when I Divorce?
When you divorce, it can feel as if things are happening to you, but it can help to know that you have important rights that include parental and financial rights, and a resourceful divorce attorney can help you protect these rights.
Your Financial Rights
The State of Washington is one of several states that remains a community property state. Community property refers to those assets and debts that you and your spouse acquired over the course of your marriage, and in the event of divorce, these assets and debts are intended to be divided equally between the two of you. This equal division can become exceptionally complicated exceptionally quickly – especially if you have a home, business, and/or other properties that are difficult to value (and even more difficult to divide evenly). Further, the dividing line between what is community property and what is separate property (that property that you or your spouse brings into the marriage with you and keeps separate throughout) is not always as defined as it might be.
When it comes to your financial rights, there is also alimony or spousal support to consider. Alimony is reserved for those divorce situations in which one spouse experiences a financial decline and the other has the financial means to help mitigate it. Generally, alimony is a temporary fix that is designed to help the spouse with the financial deficit obtain the experience, education, and/or skills he or she needs to become more financially independent.
Your Parental Rights
The State of Washington addresses both legal and physical custody. Legal custody refers to who will be making those important decisions that profoundly affect your children’s lives moving forward, including decisions about the following:
- Your children’s education
- Your children’s medical care and treatment
- Your children’s religious upbringing
- Your children’s extracurricular activities
This responsibility can be either sole or joint.
Physical custody, on the other hand, has to do with whom your children spend their time with and according to what schedule. The court’s decisions related to children are always guided by the best interests of those children, and because the prevailing philosophy is that children are better off when they are able to spend time with both of their parents, it is rare for a parent to be denied time with his or her children completely (unless there is a significant reason for doing so). Physical custody usually plays out in one of two ways that include one parent becoming the primary residential parent (with whom the children spend the majority of their time) and the other having a visitation schedule (that can range from quite generous to very limited) or both parents sharing their time with the children more or less equally.
Because both parents are responsible for supporting their children financially, the state implements a child support system to help keep the support balanced relatively equally between both parents (based on their financial resources). Typically, the primary residential parent receives child support from the parent who has a visitation schedule. Even, however, if you split your time with the children evenly, the parent who is the higher earner will generally pay child support to the other (based on the state’s calculation guidelines).
How Will My Divorce Affect Me Emotionally?
If you’re facing a divorce and wondering how it’s going to affect you emotionally, you are likely ahead of the game. Far too many people fail to give the question much thought and end up wishing they had. The fact of the matter is that you should expect to experience a range of emotions as you move forward through the divorce process and into your post-divorce life. Further, your emotional experience is likely to be utterly unique to you. There are some divorce basics when it comes to emotional side effects, however, that tend to apply across the board, and better understanding them can help. An important part of protecting your emotions in divorce is protecting your financial and parental rights throughout the legal process, and an experienced Yakima divorce attorney can help.
FAQ
The answers to the following frequently asked questions may help you get a better handle on what to expect regarding your emotions during the divorce process and beyond.
How long does it take to heal after divorce?
While it would be nice if there was a simple, clean answer to this question – and you could just walk forward, completely healed, after the designated amount of time passed – this is, of course, not how it works. You’ll have to face the emotional fallout of your divorce in your own way and in your own time, but the following factors tend to play a role in how long the process is likely to take:
- The length of your marriage
- Whether you have complicated marital assets, such as a shared business
- How happy you were, generally, in your marriage
- Whether something happened that caused your divorce, such as infidelity
If you were quite committed to your marriage of many years and your spouse filed for divorce seemingly out of nowhere, you likely face a lengthier emotional journey than you would if it had been a decision you made together over a considerable amount of time.
Is lack of intimacy grounds for divorce?
While lack of intimacy certainly may amount to one’s personal grounds for divorce, Washington is exclusively a no-fault divorce state, which means that lack of intimacy has no bearing on the divorce process.
How do I navigate my relationship after divorce?
You might be surprised by your reaction to divorce. After all, your marriage ended for a reason, and as your life evolves and post-divorce opportunities open up, you may find that you and your ex get along better than you ever would have expected.
Seek the Professional Legal Counsel of an Experienced Yakima Divorce Attorney Today
The compassionate divorce attorneys at Dobbs & Young in Yakima understand exactly how emotionally devastating a divorce can be and are committed to helping you move forward with increased confidence toward the opportunities that await you. We are on your side, so please don’t wait to contact or call us at 509-577-9177 today.