Summary of Washington Separation Law

A legal separation does not end a marriage or domestic partnership in Washington. A legally separated person cannot enter into a marriage or a domestic partnership with another person unless the marriage is legally terminated by a divorce.

Often parties prefer to be legally separated instead of seeking a divorce for religious, economic or other reasons. A couple may decide to live apart while attempting to save a failing relationship or the separation may be an interim step towards terminating their marriage. There is no legal requirement for actual separation before dissolving a marriage.

Legal Separation can be entered into by entering into a legal contract for separation or through obtaining a "Decree of Legal Separation," from the court or both. Its not mandatory for the parties to approach the court to get their separation sanctioned, entering into the contract for legal separation is sufficient, however they need to put the contract on record and need to publish a notice notifying their separation in any of the legal newspaper of the county where the parties had resided prior to their separation. The legal separation contract could include provisions for maintenance of the spouses, disposition of property, parenting plan, child support.

The second method to seek legal separation is through filing of petition in the court. Both the parties need to agree on the issue of separation for the Court to pass the decree of legal separation. If any party expresses that the separation is being sought by fraud or force, the court will investigate into this issue and will dismiss the petition if the allegations are proven.