Step 4: DIY or get a lawyer?
DIY divorce Papers (Slower & Least Costly)
If your divorce is not complicated and is an uncontested one, then you have the option of a DIY divorce if you don’t want to employ the services of a divorce lawyer. By completing the process on your own, you can save both time and money. You can get all the forms needed to file for divorce from the local court or you can get the “do-it-yourself” packets from the Washington Court website that provides the forms required at the stage you require them.
You will require more than one packets of forms to file and finalize your divorce. The number of packets you require depends on your specific case. You must read the Filing packet very carefully and determine what are the packets you will need to file your divorce.
If you and your spouse agree on all the issues and do not have minor children from the marriage, then you can use these guided interviews that will ask you questions regarding your marriage and once you answer them, your divorce forms will be assembled.
Or, if you are filling out the forms on your own, take time and fill the forms carefully and legibly without any mistakes. Once you have completed the forms, you can sign them and file them at the county court where you or your spouse resides along with the appropriate filing fee.
Online Divorce Services (Fastest & Inexpensive)
You can make use of an online divorce service to complete your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage for a divorce in Washington. The online service will prepare all your documents required to file for divorce as per your circumstances, in a format that will be accepted by the Washington court.
You need to answer questions about your marriage and the online service will prepare the divorce documents for you. You can then print the forms and file your divorce petition with the court clerk along with the filing fee. Using an online divorce service can help to save you time and money.
We recommend 3stepdivorce.com as the top online divorce service provider and you can get started for as little as $84.
Attorney Divorce Trial (Longer & Expensive)
Usually, most of the divorce cases get settled before they go to trial and often, both spouses attend mediation and resolve their issues.
However, despite this, if your spouse and you don’t reach an agreement on all the issues, then the divorce case will go to trial, where it will be heard by the judge.
The judge will hear both sides of the case and take decisions regarding the various disputed issues. Usually, when the divorce case goes to trial, it is recommended that both spouses employ divorce attorneys who can present and argue the case on their behalf. Divorce trials are usually very expensive and also take a very long time.