A court in Washington State will usually a) award each party his or her own separate property and b) divide the net value of the parties' community property 50/50. This means the husband keeps what he brought to the marriage, the wife keeps what she brought, and the rest gets split between them equally.
A divorce may go to trial if the parties are unable to reach an agreement through mediation or other means. In this situation, the court will make a decision on the issues in dispute, such as property division, spousal support, and child custody.
There's no Federal constitutional right to a jury trial in family law cases. The jury trial guarantees in the Bill of Rights apply only to civil ``actions at law''; at the time of the Bill of Rights, divorces were ``actions in equity'', and do not fall within the right to jury trial.
A divorce may go to trial if the parties are unable to reach an agreement through mediation or other means. In this situation, the court will make a decision on the issues in dispute, such as property division, spousal support, and child custody.
Despite what people may think, around 95% of divorces actually settle without the need to go to trial and have extensive litigation.
The first step in the divorce process is to file a divorce petition. Even if both spouses agree to a divorce, one must file a divorce petition with the court to begin the process of terminating the marriage. This person is known as the petitioner, and the other spouse is referred to as the respondent.
Courts usually award each spouse his or her separate property and divide community property 50/50. Consequently, if the house is entirely one spouses' separate property, he or she almost always receives it unless the parties agree otherwise.
The divorce begins when you file the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, the Summons, the Confidential Information Form and the Vital Statistics form in the Superior Court of Washington in the county where you or your spouse resides.
The divorce begins when you file the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, the Summons, the Confidential Information Form and the Vital Statistics form in the Superior Court of Washington in the county where you or your spouse resides.
Can I serve divorce papers myself? No. Only a non-party to the case who is over the age of 18 can serve divorce papers under Washington law.