Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Divorce Question

If you have filed the summons and petition and got her served, she either answers the petition (and thereby identifies the issues to be tried) or you make a motion for default. This is just like any other civil litigation. If she answers the petition then you may want to do discovery on the outstanding issues, and and follow your county's rules to request a trial date. You will also need to follow your county's rules to set up a settlement conference, some counties provide them for "free", but you may still have to do some coordination. If you do not arrive at an agreement in the settlement conference you may have to try the case.

Re: Divorce Question

Then a judge will sign it instead, first.

I disagree that this is "just like any other litigation" because it is family law.

The rules are contained in the statutes and the numberless appellate decisions that lay out nearly infinite decisions on each and every debatable issue. That makes family law different from other civil matters.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell