Journey to Peace

Basic Information 

Washington State Courts

Court Rules: 
Court procedures are set by Washington State court rules and King County local rules. It is your responsibility to follow all court rules, which can be found at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/clerk/rules.aspx and
http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules.

These rules can be changed by emergency court orders issued by Washington State Supreme Court as well as King County Superior Court. You can find emergency orders at:
https://kingcounty.gov/courts/superior-court.aspx

 

Family Law Handbook:

https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/pdf/flhbmarriageedition.pdf

Divorce & Separation:
https://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.contribute&formID=13

 

Washington Law Help

Family Law Issues: htts://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/issues/family-law

Divorce & Separation: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/issues/family-law/dissolution-of-marriage-divorce

There are additional helpful resources available at: https://kingcounty.gov/courts/superiorcourt/

family/facilitator.aspx.

 

Types of Divorce

Washington is a no-fault divorce state, which means neither spouse needs a reason for divorce aside from irreconcilable differences.

• Uncontested Divorce: when spouses agree upon the following basic issues:
• Contested Divorce: when spouses disagree upon one or more of the basic issues
• Uncontested-Contested Divorce: when spouses agree to resolve contested issues through mediation and negotiation with the help of a mediator 

See https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/general-information-about-divorce?ref=EfMJh

 

Filing for Divorce

https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/filing-for-dissolution-of-marriage-divorce?ref=l6hNh

 

State Family Laws

Washington family laws governing divorce and separation are located in Chapter 26.09 of the Revised Code of Washington.

See https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=26.09

 

Procedural Rules

There are rules that govern the procedures of every Washington State court. 

• Washington State statutes: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/
• Washington State case law: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/washington.html
• Washington State Court Rules – Superior Courts: https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/?fa=court_rules.list&group=sup&set=CR

 

Washington Forms

There are certain required forms to use in family law matters.

See http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.static&staticID=14#FamLawForms

 

Washington State Largest Counties Information:

King County:

Family Law Instructions: https://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/superior-court/family/family-law-instructions.aspx

Family Law Court Rules: https://kingcounty.gov/courts/clerk/rules/Family.aspx

Snohomish County: 

Family Law Court Forms: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5523/Snohomish-County-Superior-Court-Forms

Family Law Court Rules: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5817/Local-Court-Rules 

Spokane County:

Family Law Court Rules: https://www.spokanecounty.org/1675/Local-Court-Notices-Resources-Rules

Family Law Court Forms: https://www.spokanecounty.org/1409/Family-Court-Forms

Pierce County: 

Family Law Court Rules: https://www.piercecountywa.gov/1195/Local-Rules 

Family Law Instructions: https://www.piercecountywa.gov/5789/Family-Law-Forms-Instructions 

References to Professional Legal Help

Lawyers

Washington State Bar Association’s Legal Directory: www.wsba.org

Washington Law Help: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/find-legal-help?subtopic=dissolution%2Dof%2Dmarriage%2Ddivorce&topic=family%2Dlaw

 

Collaborative Lawyers and Other Professionals 

https://www.collaborativeprofessionalsofwashington.org/find-a-professional/?role=S1_FLatt

 

Mediators/Alternative Dispute Resolution

Free services 

King County Volunteer Settlement Conference Program https://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/superior-court/gethelp/

settlement-conferences/volunteer-settle.aspx.

• Seattle: 206-477-1353
• Kent: 253-852-2345

Volunteers of America (Snohomish/Skagit Valley/Island County): www.voaww.org/drc

 

Lower Cost Services 

State Programs:

• Moderate Means Program: www.moderatemeanswa.org
• Northwest Justice Project: https://nwjustice.org/get-legal-help

Local Legal Clinics & Programs

• • King County Bar Association: 206-267-7070
  • International District: 206-624-5633 ext. 4111
  • Rainier Valley Legal Clinic: 206-695-7639

• Eastside Legal Assistance Program: https://www.elap.org/

Limited License Legal Technicians: www.wsba.org/LLLT 

 

Other Referral Service Providers 

Washington Mediation Association: https://washingtonmediation.org

Minority Bar Associations

• • Asian Bar Association of Washington: https://www.abaw.org/
  • Disability Rights Bar Association: http://disabilityrights-law.org/
  • Filipino Lawyers of Washington: http://www.filipinolawyers.org/
  • Hispanic National Bar Association: https://hnba.com/

• Korean American Bar Association of Washington: https://www.kaba-washington.org/

• • Latina/o Bar Association of Washington: https://www.lbaw.org/
  • Loren Miller Bar Association: https://www.lmba.net/
  • Mother Attorney Mentoring Association of Seattle: https://mamaseattle.org/

• Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington: https://www.melaw.org/

• National Asian Pacific American Bar Assoc: https://www.napaba.org/

• National Association of Women Lawyers: https://www.nawl.org/

• National Bar Association: https://www.nationalbar.org/

• National Black Law Students Association: https://nationalblsa.wildapricot.org/

• • National Conference of Women’s Bar Association: https://ncwba.org/
  • National Lesbian and Gay Law Association: https://lgbtbar.org/
  • QLAW Association:  http://www.q-law.org/
  • South Asian Bar Association of Washington: https://www.sabaw.org/
  • Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington: https://www.vabaw.com/
  • Washington Attorney’s with Disabilities Association: https://wadaweb.org/

• Washington Women Lawyers: https://wwl.org/

• Northwest Indian Bar Association: https://www.nwiba.org/

Washington State Bar Association Referral Service: https://www.wsba.org/for-the-public/find-legal-help

King County Bar Association Referral Service: http://www.kcba.org/For-the-Public/Hire-a-Lawyer

 

Domestic Abuse Resources & Information 

 

National Resources

CALL: 211 (help by zip code)

TEXT: “HOME” to 741741

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 (hard of hearing: 800-787-3224)

Peace in the Home Helpline: 888-847-7205 

 

WA Legal Help

WA State Domestic Violence Information & Referral: https://www.domesticviolenceinforeferral.org/

WA State Protection Order Resources: www.protectionorder.org

King County Sexual Assault Resource Center: 888-998-6423

DV Family Law Clinic (Vashon Island): 206-940-6430

Eastside Legal Assistance Program

https://www.elap.org/

Mental Health Resources 

 

Substance Use/Gambling Resources

Washington Court Certified

• Washington State Directory of Certified Resources: https://www.hca.wa.gov/assets/free-or-low-cost/directory-certified-behavioral-health-agencies.pdf

General

• Washington Recovery Helpline (24-hour): https://www.warecoveryhelpline.org/

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline  

 

General Mental Health Resources

National Alliance on Mental Illness (WA): http://namiwa.org

American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/

American Psychological Association Psychologist Locator: https://locator.apa.org/?_ga=2.86597592.1335761285.1497298925-

 

Washington State Resources 

Washington Mental Health Counselors Association: https://wmhca.org/

Washington Association of Family Therapists: https://networks.aamft.org/washington/about-us/who-we-are

Multicultural Therapists: https://www.multiculturalcounselors.org/

Military Families

https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/issues/veterans-military/veteran-and-military-families

https://www.militaryfamily.org/info-resources/marriagedivorce/

https://www.military.com/spouse/relationships/military-divorce

https://veteranslegalservices.org 

 

Support Groups

Parent Trust: https://www.parenttrust.org/about/programs/circle-of-parents/?gclid=CjwKCAjw19z6BRAYEiwAmo64LY6kPhptFU_QJXWCnqrI65O7U-F-wAmxCjU1W0EMLaiBNzb81E-oZRoClCQQAvD_BwE

Divorce Lifeline: https://samaritanps.org/training-and-groups/divorce-lifeline-group-counseling/

 

Parenting & Children Resources

Washington Court Certified Parent Education Classes

https://www.divorce-education.com/wa/ 

 

Parenting Professionals

Organization of Parent Education Programs: https://www.opepwa.org/

 

Child Abuse

WA State Child Protective Service: https://www.atg.wa.gov/child-abuse-neglect

 

Child Support

Child Support Guidelines: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/division-child-support

 

Alimony/Spousal Support/Maintenance

https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.09.090

 

Financial Resources 

Free Credit Reports

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

 

Pensions and retirement plans

General information: http://www.qdrodesk.com/qdro/The-QDRO-and-the-Divorce-Decree- Settlement-164.shtml 

 

Social Security

https://www.ssa.gov/

 

You can get a Social Security statement that will tell you if you have sufficient credits to receive Social Security and gives you an estimated benefit.

See https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

 

For information about eligibility based on your ex-spouse’s benefits, see https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/applying7.html

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/applying7.html#h4

 

Internal Revenue Service – Pension, IRA and retirement information

Types of Retirement Plans: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-sponsor/types-of-retirement-plans

Retirement Plan FAQ: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-frequently-asked-questions-faqs

IRA accounts: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/individual-retirement-arrangements-iras

Distributions from IRA: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b

 

Internal Revenue Service – Tax issues

IRS Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p504.pdf

 

Free Tax Preparation Services 

AARP Tax Aide Sites: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/aarp-tax-aide-sites?ref=GrYaT

Free Tax Filing Assistance: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/free-tax-filing-assistance?ref=GrYaT

Military OneSource Tax Service: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/military-onesource-tax-services?ref=GrYaT

 

Interpreters 

Interpreters are provided for court events at no cost. You must request one 3-5 business days before the hearing at http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/SuperiorCourt/InterpSrv.aspx. For more information, call (206) 477-1415.