Tacoma Separation
Tacoma separation lawyers at The Law Office of Robert Helland in are prepared to provide information about legal separation in Washington State and to explain what you can do to expedite the process.
Legal separation is a means of notifying the state that a married couple is living separately. It does not dissolve a marriage, nor is it required prior to a divorce. You must reside in Washington State to be legally separated by the state’s courts, but there is no time period associated with residency.
The Law Office of Robert Helland is staffed by matrimonial law attorneys who are competent to give you advice about your rights and responsibilities as a married person negotiating a Tacoma legal separation agreement. As family lawyers, we will also assist you as you clarify matters such as spousal and child support, parental responsibilities, visitation rights, property division and all the other issues likely to arise between you and your estranged spouse.
As your matrimonial lawyers, we can assist you in collaborating with your spouse and filing a “Petition for Legal Separation” with the court. The court will then issue a formal “Decree of Legal Separation.”
You and your spouse will be bound by law to adhere to the terms your separation agreement, whether that agreement is memorialized in a formal Separation Contract (also often called a Separation Agreement or Property Settlement Agreement) or in the Decree of Legal Separation.
A written separation agreement does not have to be filed with the court, but it is a binding contract. A Decree of Legal Separation is a binding court order. Both documents can contain the terms of any agreement reached between the parties, and both documents can be enforced by a court.
Couples choose separation rather than divorce for many reasons, sometimes religious or economic, and at other times highly personal. Washington State has no requirement for a period of legal separation prior to divorce.
You both can help your legal separation attorneys by being mindful that Washington State’s primary concern is the welfare of any children when a couple decides to separate. The state does not grant child custody, but rather focuses on shared parental responsibility. In most cases, one parent is designated the “primary residential parent.” If you are willing to allow your spouse –and your spouse’s family-- an ongoing relationship with your children, the process of separation will be much easier.
If you have decided to choose legal separation rather than divorce, you are likely looking forward to some degree of ongoing cooperation with your spouse. Cooperation and honesty speed the process of determining the terms of separation. Be prepared to provide your lawyer with complete, truthful information about your financial condition, your needs, your abilities and your concerns.
If you and/or your spouse do decide that a divorce is inevitable, the divorce lawyers at The Law Office of Robert Helland are able under Washington law to convert your legal separation to a divorce six months after the “Decree of Legal Separation” was granted. The emotionally taxing process of a legal separation need not be drawn out, difficult or expensive. You do not have to complete the process without assistance and guidance. For a tireless, compassionate matrimonial law advocate fully committed to the best outcome for you in your legal separation, rely on The Law Office of Robert Helland.
