Courts are available to settle temporary matters such as who remains in the home, temporary child support, use of vehicles and property, maintenance, attorneys fees, and parenting.
Per King County Local Rule, hearings occur 14 days after filing the motion. The other side must provide their response by noon four days before the motion and you must provide your reply by noon two days before the motion.
Commissioners often have two or three feet of pleadings to read before each day of hearings. Thus, timely and concise pleadings are important because pleadings that are late (or beyond the page limit) will not be read.
If you seek any form of financial relief ( e.g., child support, maintenance, marital debt payment, or attorneys fees) a detailed Financial Declaration must be filed with extensive backup documents required by King County Local Family Law Rule 10 (LFLR 10).
The Financial Declaration is the backbone of your financial credibility to the Court so it should be done carefully and truthfully. When submitting tax returns, bank statement and other information with personal financial information care should be taken to redact account numbers, social security numbers and related information. As a general rule personal financial records should be filed under seal. If you are submitting financial records to rebut the other side take care to remove all but the last four digits of account and social security numbers.
Washington abolished the concept of legal “custody” in 1987 in favor of “residential time” for each “parent”. To determine who does what regarding the children a Temporary Parenting plan must be either be agreed to by the parties (if they are mediating or collaborating) or submitted to the Court along with a Declaration in Support of the Parenting plan and other information and decided by a Commissioner or Judge.
The Declaration in Support of Parenting Plan seeks a detailed history of each parents performance of parenting activities during the prior six months and other information.
Temporary orders are not final orders. Normally they remain in effect until trial. However, if there is a change of circumstances or new information then new temporary orders can be sought.
At trial, the Court is not bound by temporary orders but most Courts pay close attention to prior court orders and do not change them unless there is significant reason to do so.
LINKS TO INFORMATION ON WASHINGTON DIVORCE
- The Divorce Timeline
- Divorce Petition / Separation Petition
- The Temporary Hearing Process
- Divorce & Domestic Violence
- Divorce Discovery Process
- Property and Debt in WA Divorce
- Child Support and Post Majority Support
- Parenting Plan Creation
- Support Adjustment and Modification
- Modification of Parenting
- Appeal of Trial
If you have any questions about your own particular situation relating to WA divorce laws or getting a divorce in Washington, please don’t hesitate to reach out for your own free consultation.
Kydd Family Law – “Family Focus”
Our firm focuses upon the life cycle of family needs such as:
* Divorce / * Mediation / * Collaboration /
* Litigation & Arbitration / * Psychological & Financial Planning
For a Free Consultation
Call: 206-624-2329
