Washington State Divorce: How to Settle Outside of Court

Collaborative Negotiations Between Spouses

Tips for a successful collaborative negotiation session:

• 1. Schedule a block of time to talk with your spouse. Make sure you schedule it out far enough that both of you can show up to the meeting prepared and ready to engage in a full conversation about all issues.
• 2. Speak with a lawyer if desired. It is always advisable to have at least an initial consultation with a lawyer before you sit down with your spouse and engage in settlement discussions. The lawyer can often give you some really good advice and talking points for negotiations during a consultation, and you can hire them to provide further advice if needed. Even a one-time meeting with an attorney can make you feel way more confident during settlement discussions with your spouse.
• 3. It is advisable to prepare an outline ahead of time to bring with you for the conversation which outlines your desires on all topics including division of assets and liabilities, parenting plan, child support, spousal support, and attorney’s fees.
• 4. Bring your relevant financial information with you to ensure you can reference exact numbers and accounts as needed.
• 5. Create a spreadsheet ahead of time that includes all of your major assets and debts. This will help to ensure you don’t forget to discuss all of them.
• 6. If you have children, make sure that you come prepared with your proposed shared schedule for the children.

Family Law Judicial Settlement Conference

A Family Law Judicial Settlement Conference is a conference meeting that can sometimes be requested (depending on your county’s local rules) between both parties and a judicial officer who is not the assigned judicial officer to your case. The judicial officer acts similarly to a mediator and helps to facilitate a conversation between the parties to see if they can agree on a resolution for their divorce.

How do I request a settlement conference?

How you are able to request a settlement conference with a Judge depends on the local rules of your county. I am an attorney practicing in Clark County, Washington. In general, the instructions below are for how you request a settlement conference in my county (your county may be similar but you would need to check with your local courthouse to verify).

If there is an agreement between the parties to request a settlement conference, then all parties must jointly complete, sign, and file with the Clark County Clerk a Notice to Set Judicial Settlement Conference using the form prescribed and approved by the court.

Here is the link for the required form.

At the same time, the party filing the Notice shall provide a copy of the Notice to the assigned Family Law Judge.

If there is no agreement between the parties to request a settlement conference, then the person requesting a judicial settlement conference shall complete, sign, and file a Notice of Hearing for a Judicial Settlement Conference using the form prescribed and approved by the court. Here is the link for the required form. The request may then be heard by the assigned family law Commissioner or Trial Judge, and they will make a decision regarding whether or not to allow the settlement conference to be scheduled.

Important notes: In Clark County, WA, a settlement conference cannot be held if your case is scheduled for trial in 45 days or sooner.

What are the benefits of attending a settlement conference?

Do I need to submit any materials to the Judge prior to my settlement conference?

Yes. At least ten (10) days before the judicial settlement conference each party shall supply a Settlement Conference Statement and Proposed Property and Debt Division Attachment to the other party and to the settlement conference judge. The parties shall use the form prescribed and approved by the court. Each party shall file a Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery with the Clerk after the statement has been submitted. The Settlement Conference Statements shall not be filed with the Clerk or shared with the assigned trial judge. The Statements are only to be shared with the settlement conference judge to help ensure the parties can speak freely during the settlement discussions without fear of them being used against them at a potential trial if no settlement can be reached.

The link for more information about settlement conferences and the required forms can be found here.

Private Family Law Mediation

To request a private mediation, both parties must be in agreement to pursue mediation. If the parties are in agreement to pursue mediation, then the parties shall agree on which mediator to work with. The mediators will always provide a list of what is needed in preparation for mediation. The mediator will charge a fee for their services. It is common for parties to share this cost to help ensure everyone has some skin in the game.

What are the benefits of private mediation?

Mediation-Arbitration

How do I request mediation-arbitration?

What are the benefits of Mediation-Arbitration?

A formal family law trial/court also comes with substantial legal procedures and requirements, whereas mediation-arbitration is often a much less formal environment which can be less stressful and easier to navigate than court.

Consult a Family Law Attorney in Vancouver Washington

Finalizing a divorce can be extremely stressful, time-consuming, expensive and most parties do not want to go to court. Often, utilizing alternative dispute resolution options, such as those described above, can alleviate a lot of those issues and resolve divorces in a more amicable fashion than going to court.

Trying to resolve your divorce is often very overwhelming and scary. It is always advisable, at a minimum, to do at least a one-time consultation meeting with an attorney to have them review your situation and provide preliminary advice. If you would like to speak to an attorney about the divorce process or any of these alternative dispute resolution processes, I would be happy to chat. Please reach out to Navigate Law Group and request to speak with our attorney, Amber Rushbanks.