Getting a divorce is way more complex than it probably should be. In fact, depending on your case, you could end up filling out 25 or 30 forms en route to your freedom. Think of it as Washington’s way of supporting the logging industry, one unhappy marriage at a time.
Don’t fret, though. We’re here to help. Because divorce can be such an overwhelming experience, we take a bite-sized approach, giving a brief explanation of just one form per article.
To get the ball rolling in order to file for divorce in King County, you just need to fill out 5 forms:
- A Summons
- A Petition For Dissolution (Divorce)
- A Case Assignment Designation and Case Info Cover Sheet (CICS)
- A Confidential Information Form (CIF)
- A Vital Statistics Form for the Department of Health.
You also need to hand over some cold hard cash ($250) along with the documents to the nice court clerk at either the downtown Seattle courthouse or the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Here are some links to other sites that have lots of self-help documents. Unfortunately, these how-to guides are long and complex, and you might just think that it’s easier to stay married.
Still, these sites have lots of great, and sometimes unexpected, information – like a divorce guide in Bulgarian!
For much, much more information, go to:
- The King County divorce self-help page,
- The Washington Law Help family law self-help page, or
- The Northwest Women’s Law Center’s family law resources page.
For those who’d rather not read a 76-page pdf, stay tuned here. Decoupling’s ongoing resource series will include literally dozens of other forms – one form at a time – that are either always or sometimes necessary for getting unhitched in King County.
Divorce is, obviously, a difficult process. But with a little help, you’ll at least be able to get through this morass of forms, to get the process going. It’s the first step to getting on with the rest of your life….
