Wallace Law Office..........

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DIVORCE, LEGAL SEPARATION, OR ANNULMENT?

Divorce. In a divorce (dissolution of marriage) the court will terminate your marriage, divide your assets and debts, enter a parenting plan, provide for child support, and take care of other matters such as alimony and protective orders. There is only one ground for divorce in the State of Washington: The marriage is irretrievably broken. You do not have to explain why the marriage is broken, and the courts usually do not want to hear why it is broken. Consequently, it is not necessary to say anything bad about your spouse. This "no fault" procedure is designed to avoid unnecessary conflict. There is a mandatory 90 day waiting period between the time you commence your divorce and the time the court will grant your final decree.

Legal Separation. A legal separation allows you to separate your financial affairs and live separately without ending the marriage. The court does all the same things as in a divorce except that the marriage is not terminated. It is important to understand that the division of property and debts in a legal separation is final. You cannot get a legal separation and go back later and re-divide the property when you get a divorce. There is no waiting period for a legal separation, but you cannot get a divorce for at least six months after your legal separation is granted. The steps below refer to obtaining a divorce, but they also apply to legal separations.

Annulment. You can get your marriage annulled only if there was something defective (invalid) about it at the time you got married. You will be granted a decree of invalidity (annulment) only if you can prove one of the required grounds. The below refer to obtaining a divorce, but they also apply to annulments.

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