Divorce Without Court

If a person has a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against a child, or a crime involving violence they are permanently disqualified.

Similarly, a person will not pass the home study if they’ve been convicted of a physical assault, sex offense, or a felony not listed above in the past five years.

You’re still able to work with your spouse, you’d prefer to keep your personal lives private, you want to be able to predict the cost of your divorce, and you’d like control over the divorce terms.

We recommend three methods to divorce without going to court: uncontested divorce, collaborative divorce, and a mediated divorce. In each case, we work through the issues and then file the paperwork to remove the need to appear in court.

In an uncontested divorce our client provides the basics of an agreement they’ve discussed with their spouse. We analyze the terms and present feedback that will improve the agreement, making it last long term. The goal is to create an agreement that is consistent with the spouse’s initial plan, but strengthened by the input of an attorney.

In a collaborative divorce, each spouse will work directly with their own attorney and negotiations will take place in a group setting. Often outside experts, such as financial planners and child specialists are brought in to help the process. The goal is to reach an agreement, based on a deep understanding of the issues and what’s ideal for the family.

In a mediated divorce, spouses work a mediator to reach an agreement. They can either draft the forms on their own, hire the mediator to draft the forms, or hire an outside attorney. After everything is signed the spouses will submit the documents to the court for finalization.

Your lawyer is your representative in court and can represent you during a divorce without you being present. In a divorce without court, this is common when presenting final documents to the judge.

If a divorce was filed locally, not by mail, you need to request the court to review the final documents in order to make the divorce official. This is done in the ex-parte courtroom. In Washington, your attorney will ask you to sign a Formal Proof Declaration. This document gives your attorney permission to ask the judge to sign the divorce decree on your behalf.

Whether you’re busy with work, unable to find childcare, or live out of state, your attorney will be able to finalize the case with your permission.

You could represent yourself, also known as pro se. In a pro se divorce, you take responsibility for much of the divorce process. Often that means drafting certain documents and filing the paperwork on your own. You’ll reach an agreement in private and fill out the paperwork accordingly. If you do decide you want help from a lawyer, we’re available to draft and review specific forms. Also, we can provide easy to follow instructions, so you can file by mail.

Depending on the circumstances your divorce can be finalized without a court hearing. The most common way to finalize a divorce without a hearing in Washington is to file by mail.

Both Lincoln and Wahkiakum County process divorce by mail and finalize the case without a hearing. When you file by mail the clerk’s office will send you a letter with a case number and finalization date. That finalization date is the date that your forms will be reviewed by the court and signed. There is no formal hearing and you do not need to appear in person.

A divorce can also be finalized in ex-parte court. In family law cases, attorneys can bring agreed paperwork to ex-parte court for approval without setting a hearing date. Similarly, if you filed for divorce and your spouse refused to participate, you can request a default and an ex-parte judge can approve your divorce without a hearing.