Your Questions, Answered

It can be nearly impossible to know whether the court will do this or not. The

court will look at many factors regarding the pre-marital live-together period and

decide whether it’s fair to divide property as though it were community property.

No. The court is required to look at a preset table based on the incomes of

each and presume that that amount shall be ordered. The court may at times

grant a deviation acceptable to the parties but is not required to do so.

No. The guarantee really works the opposite way and guarantees that no

divorce will be granted in less than 90 days. A divorce is available after 90 days

only after all details of the divorce have been completed either by agreement of

the parties or order of the court. All paperwork confirming these details must be

submitted to the court prior to a divorce approval.

Yes, but in general only if the parties lived together in Washington at some

time during their marriage. There are exceptions, but the exceptions generally

result in “partial” divorce decrees not resolving all issues between the parties.

The Legislature enacted that child support arrangement, including amounts

and payment options, usually be as mandated by state law. The Legislature has

also set limits and prohibitions on parenting time with certain parents with various

criminal conviction records or documented behaviors. If the court perceives one

parent to have been “under the thumb” of the other in reaching the agreement,

the court may decline to approve the agreement.

Absolutely. Many pages would be required to provide even a beginning list of

the circumstances in which the court may decide to vacate its prior orders, even

those entered by agreement.  Deceit, misrepresentation, or perjury may be a

basis. One party’s not having a satisfactory opportunity to oppose agreements

pressed by the other side may also be a basis. A court which was not the proper

court to approve the agreements in the first place may — usually will — set aside

its own orders agreed to by the parties. Courts sit to correct prior decrees, even

agreed ones, which were the result of unfair dealing between the parties, the

result of unjustifiable one-sidedness in bargaining power between parties, or any

form of “stinky” misbehavior or oppression perpetrated on one spouse by the

other. A court which has been deceived by a party may be open-minded to giving

the other party a “do over.”