I'm in the Seattle area. My wife and I have been separated since January 12, and our divorce hearing is scheduled for May 25. But we've been having second thoughts about just totally calling it quits. We're thinking maybe a legal separation would be a better move for us, but we can't seem to find any info about what it would take to convert our divorce proceeding to a legal separation procedure/decree. We aren't using lawyers, so that's why we haven't asked them. We're trying to keep this amicable. I've seen lots of material about converting a separation to a divorce, but I can't seem to find anything about the other way around. Can anybody help me figure this out? Or point me to some information on the topic relevant to my area?

Thanks!

You aren't going to like this BUT it is very foolish to separate and/or divorce without legal counsel. There are all sorts of pitfalls, some of which you don't realize for years.

You really do need to seek counsel. You cannot "convert" a divorce proceeding to a separation proceeding.

You both may withdraw the divorce proceedings and file a formal separation.

But if you are going to try and make it "work" why not just stop the divorce and work on it,

Or divorce and work on it, then if you make it work, you can always get remarried

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

You aren't going to like this BUT it is very foolish to separate and/or divorce without legal counsel. There are all sorts of pitfalls, some of which you don't realize for years.

You really do need to seek counsel. You cannot "convert" a divorce proceeding to a separation proceeding.

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I'd like to seek counsel, but I have absolutely no money. I haven't found anyone yet who will even talk to me for less than $3000, and I can't scrape one tenth of that together. The area seems to have legal aid for things like evictions and criminal matters, but I haven't been able to find anything relating to divorce.

I suspected we would have to basically chuck the divorce and start over. Thanks for the info.

What had been filed so far? If the current filing is for legal separation and you have then submited papers to perform the divorce then you should be able to withdraw from the divorce filing and still remain at the legal separation stage.

After any waiting period you can file for divorce at any time.

But to help you we first need to know what has been filed so far.

Washington State Courts - Court Forms

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Originally Posted by califdadof3

What had been filed so far? If the current filing is for legal seperation and you have then submited papers to perform the divorce then you should be able to withdraw from the divorce filing and still remain at the legal seperation stage.

After any waiting period you can file for divorce at any time.

But to help you we first need to know what has been filed so far.

Washington State Courts - Court Forms

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All documents filed have been divorce-related: petition, my response, summons, response, motion for hearing date. All that's left is our respective financial statements, the decree, the findings of fact*, and our settlement agreement. Nothing has been filed that had anything to do with separation. That subject has only recently come up.

Thanks for the link, but I've already been making extensive use of it :)

*Findings of fact. That one always makes me laugh. As opposed to what? Findings of fiction? Got to love legalese!

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Originally Posted by dwashbur

All documents filed have been divorce-related: petition, my response, summons, response, motion for hearing date. All that's left is our respective financial statements, the decree, the findings of fact*, and our settlement agreement. Nothing has been filed that had anything to do with separation. That subject has only recently come up.

Thanks for the link, but I've already been making extensive use of it :)

*Findings of fact. That one always makes me laugh. As opposed to what? Findings of fiction? Gotta love legalese!

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Oh yes, we also both filed statements about our history together and what led up to all this, especially as related to our respective work histories.

Then it looks like your only remedy at this time is to either cancel the court date which you can do by agreement. Or cancel the divorce proceedings and then refile as a separation.

There is nothing in stone that says you must have that day in court other then when you registered for the divorce it was given to you. You can change that and keep existing as you are.

How to Reverse a Legal Separation in Washington | eHow.com

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Originally Posted by dwashbur

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*Findings of fact. That one always makes me laugh. As opposed to what? Findings of fiction? Gotta love legalese!

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As opposed to "conclusions of law". If a court makes factual findings, that would be the details of the case, your name, age, Social Security number, date of marriage, that kind of thing. Legal conclusions would be "irreconciliable differences", or other mumbo-jumbo which the court must conclude from the "facts".

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Originally Posted by dwashbur

All documents filed have been divorce-related: petition, my response, summons, response, motion for hearing date. All that's left is our respective financial statements, the decree, the findings of fact*, and our settlement agreement. Nothing has been filed that had anything to do with separation. That subject has only recently come up.

Thanks for the link, but I've already been making extensive use of it :)

*Findings of fact. That one always makes me laugh. As opposed to what? Findings of fiction? Gotta love legalese!

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This is the very reason I suggested you get legal counsel, perhaps from a law school.

You don't understand the process or the terms.

In MY area it's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

The Court finds X and its Conclusion is Y.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

This is the very reason I suggested you get legal counsel, perhaps from a law school.

You don't understand the process or the terms.

In MY area it's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

The Court finds X and its Conclusion is Y.

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I understand both the process and the terms. That one just strikes me funny. In my current situation I can either laugh or scream. I choose to laugh.

In any case, I have the answer to my question. Thanks, all!

Fr_Chuck, I'll answer your question by PM if you don't mind.

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Originally Posted by dwashbur

I understand both the process and the terms. That one just strikes me funny. In my current situation I can either laugh or scream. I choose to laugh.

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Sorry - your question led me to believe that you don't understand the divorce/separation process in Washington.

At any rate, this is a Q&A board (not a chat board) and I felt the explanation of the terms was necessary.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Sorry - your question led me to believe that you don't understand the divorce/separation process in Washington.

At any rate, this is a Q&A board (not a chat board) and I felt the explanation of the terms was necessary.

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No problem. My sense of humor tends to be a little... weird, and pops up at some inappropriate moments. If I caused confusion or otherwise offended, I apologize. And again, thanks for the info.