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I recently discovered something interesting while I was doing a document search (for genealogy). In Washington state, there are 2 counties (AFAIK the only counties in the US) that permit pro se (do it yourself) mail in divorces.
For Washington State residents, apparently all that is required to get divorced is that one partner doesn't want to be married anymore. If the 2 partners can come to agreement about how their assets are divided (if there are any) and how the child custody arrangement will work (if there are any under age children), and support (if any) then paperwork can be filed with one of these 2 counties (pay their fees--which as far as I can tell are about $350.00) and 90 days later viola!--the divorce is finalized....
From an old article from the Seattle Times (from 2003)
"In the morning, assistant County Clerk Mary Gamble brings bins and mailbags from the post office full of new filings for dissolution of marriage.
In his office one floor up, Superior Court Judge Philip Borst gets writer's cramp signing final decrees in marathons that can last six hours or more.
Welcome to the divorce capital of Washington, the only county in the state where marriages can be dissolved by mail without a court appearance.
In the early 1980s, a Spokane divorce lawyer convinced a judge that allowing people to divorce by mail would save the county time and the divorcing couple money, according to Joyce Dennison, former court clerk in Lincoln County. The judge agreed.
Paralegals and attorneys from across the state swamp County Clerk Peggy Semprimoznik's office each week with filings for clients anxious to be shed of spouses more quickly and inexpensively than in the counties where they live.
This wheat-farming county of just over 10,000 residents last year handled 4,035 domestic filings, most of them divorces.
That's more than any other county except King, home to more than 1.75 million residents, which had 5,487 filings, according to state Department of Health statistics..."
https://www.doityourselfdocuments.co.../LincolnCounty
Apparently they do quite a bit of business.
.
For Washington State residents, apparently all that is required to get divorced is that one partner doesn't want to be married anymore. If the 2 partners can come to agreement about how their assets are divided (if there are any) and how the child custody arrangement will work (if there are any under age children), and support (if any) then paperwork can be filed with one of these 2 counties (pay their fees--which as far as I can tell are about $350.00) and 90 days later viola!--the divorce is finalized....
From an old article from the Seattle Times (from 2003)
"In the morning, assistant County Clerk Mary Gamble brings bins and mailbags from the post office full of new filings for dissolution of marriage.
In his office one floor up, Superior Court Judge Philip Borst gets writer's cramp signing final decrees in marathons that can last six hours or more.
Welcome to the divorce capital of Washington, the only county in the state where marriages can be dissolved by mail without a court appearance.
In the early 1980s, a Spokane divorce lawyer convinced a judge that allowing people to divorce by mail would save the county time and the divorcing couple money, according to Joyce Dennison, former court clerk in Lincoln County. The judge agreed.
Paralegals and attorneys from across the state swamp County Clerk Peggy Semprimoznik's office each week with filings for clients anxious to be shed of spouses more quickly and inexpensively than in the counties where they live.
This wheat-farming county of just over 10,000 residents last year handled 4,035 domestic filings, most of them divorces.
That's more than any other county except King, home to more than 1.75 million residents, which had 5,487 filings, according to state Department of Health statistics..."
https://www.doityourselfdocuments.co.../LincolnCounty
Apparently they do quite a bit of business.
.
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