We've all heard the story before. Families going through a complicated, time-consuming, and acrimonious divorce that costs thousands of dollars only for the result to be less than satisfactory for everybody, to put it kindly. This story has become so common that many people end up viewing their divorce as a scary, stressful process before it even begins. In the traditional course of divorce, an expensive litigation is unfortunately quite common and can leave a bad taste in our mouths. However, we are functional humans and there's no royal decree saying that it has to be this way! An uncontested, amicable divorce will bring a peace of mind and positive outcome that is so often lacking at the end of a long and expensive litigation. The great thing about an uncontested, amicable divorce is that YOU are in control of the process, not a group of lawyers and judges. Allow us to shed light on the benefits by taking you through the several steps in our personalized uncontested, amicable divorce process. We hope that you will feel renewed confidence in yourself and your future after reading!

1. Meet to set goals. The first step to a successful, uncontested, amicable divorce is to come together and outline a few basic expectations regarding outcomes. This is a dialogue between the parties, supervised by a mediator, so that everybody is on the same page. The purpose of this is to establish that we are working together to build a positive resolution that everybody can support and be proud of. 

2. Optimize solutions and brainstorm comfortable options. After everybody has agreed on preferred goals and outcomes, the next step is to dig in and determine practical methods to achieve those results. This can involve tweaking each individual's goals so that we can reach common ground, as well as being flexible and open-minded to help resolve any differences or disagreements in a respectful and positive manner. This typically ends up being the most intensive and time consuming step of the process, so have patience and keep focused on the goals you're working towards.

3. Sign paperwork. At this point, the hard work has been completed! Once both parties have reached a settlement agreement through open dialogue and are comfortable with the outcomes they have reached, the rest of the work is largely technical and completed by the mediator. The only things left to do are to keep in regular contact and follow the instructions that the mediator gives, such as providing notarized signatures and ironing out small details in the paperwork to be filed. Additionally, the settlement agreement will be effective immediately under civil rule 2A, so you don't need to worry about waiting for the court schedule. 

4. File paperwork in court. This final step only occurs after making sure everybody's finances are in order. This means doing taxes, refinancing your home, or other crucial financial milestones. Once this final small hurdle has been cleared, your paperwork will be filed in the courts and your divorce will be finalized in short order. You don't even have to worry about going to court, the mediator will take care of all that busywork for you, so you can relax with the knowledge that your divorce is in the final stages. 

This is meant to give you a short overview on our process here at Divorce Without Court. By following these steps we have provided amicable and comfortable divorces for dozens of families in the Puget Sound area. We're confident that this process is fair, is far more productive, and results in happier separations. If we have made this process appealing to you then please don't hesitate to book a free 30 minute consultation on our website so you can learn more!