Washington Divorce Legal Questions

I assume you are saying that one party quit claimed a half interest in the home to the other. Depending on the pre-nup, assets and liabilities will be divided as per the pre-nup. However, if property was purchased or transferred outside the parameters set by the pre-nup the court has to consider that. Without knowing the details of the prenup, what will be done with the house is unclear. Get a lawyer.... Read More

She may not move the children until she has done what is required under the relocation act (give written notice per the act) and the father has had a chance to respond. If he objects, the court has to give her permission to move the children before she can move them. Maintenance and support have nothing to do with it. Filing is only step one of the case. She needs to get a temporary parenting plan and temporary child support order in place. She can make a motion to get these and ask to be permitted to move in the same motion.... Read More

You can make a motion to the court to rescind the default and give you a chance to argue the case. However, if you were served the petition and failed to respond and if the court did not give more than what was in the petition, then you have no case since you failed to respond to the petition. 90 days have to pass between service of the petition and the motion for default.... Read More

Once you separate, anything acquired after that separation is separate. Your children have only a right to child support nothing else. You have a right to a share of the marital assets aquired prior to separation. The sooner you file after a physical separation, the more you protect those assets. File, there's nothing to wait for.... Read More

No there is no time period for residency, you just have to be a resident. 2) No 3) No. There is no such thing as a no-contest divorce in WA. state. The issues may be uncontested which means you can be divorced in 90 days. However, the slightest disagreement will mean that you have to have a full trial and in King County that takes 11 months. If there is a protection order in place, it is unlikely that the divorce will be uncontested because the other party would have to agree to the protection order, a trial issue.... Read More

Is the divorce final? If a decree has not been entered, he can ask for a share in the contents of the house bought during the marriage. It doesn't matter who bought it, unless there was a prenuptial agreement that kept all income separate. Verbal agreements are irrelevant and do not form a contract, especially not when agreements are made verbally during a divorce process. So the crucial factor is whether the decree was entered prior to his request and whether the decree addressed the contents of the home.... Read More

If you file for a dissolution of marriage in Oregon, you would have to file in the county where you have lived for six or more months so that court can grant a dissolution of marriage. The problem is that while the Oregon court can grant you a dissolution of marriage, it has no jurisdiction over your husband because he has no contacts with Oregon. This means that the Oregon court cannot divide real or personal property or joint debts between you unless the out-of-state party consents to jurisdiction in the other state. You are probably better off contacting an attorney who has a practice in the county where your husband lives and asking about Washington jurisdictional rules which I cannot advise you about as I am not licensed in Washington. While I cannot say for sure, I believe that you could consent to jurisdiction over the divorce case in that Washington county so that you can get a final judgment in a state and county where the court issuing the judgment has jurisdiction over both parties and thus the joint property.... Read More

No he cannot force you out of the marital home, and, if you are in Florida, you are entitled to half of anything that was obtained during the marriage, including any retirement that he has accrued. Additionally, there is a good likelihood that you are entitled to permanent alimony. You need to consult with and retain an attorney to assist you in protecting your rights.... Read More

Personal or physical process service is always "good" service. So proceed with personal service. My thinking is that once you have a physical location for the party, continuing to proceed with publication service may open the door for the party to challenge the publication service. If personal service can not be had because the party is avoiding service and you have a residence address, I would go back to court and ask for an order allowing service by mail, which is more likely to lead to actual notice than publication.... Read More

You are in one of the most difficult situations for Family Law Court to deal with. What can the court do if you say you never got certain things, and she says she gave them to you, or you took them, or she can't find them? I believe that the most likely way to get your things back is to either get written proof that she still has the stuff (if she will admit it in a friendly email in response to you sending her some questions about what she is putting away for you), or to work with her father and "play nice" until you actually have those things in hand. If all that fails, an attorney may help to make her realize she has to turn the stuff over, but if she doesn't do it voluntarily, my experience would say that there is little chance you'll ever get it.... Read More

It could be helpful to speak with her attorney. You should make it clear that you will resort to Court action if she does not cooperate. In addition to requesting that a Court order that you are to have possession of those items and that she should turn over the items, you can serve a Demand for Inspection, that you will inspect her home on a certain date and time and photograph all personal property at the property. You must follow the discovery statutes to make such a request. If she fails to allow the inspection, then you can request that the Court compel the inspection.... Read More