HOW TO COMPLETE THE FORMS

Forms are also available for a minimal charge at some office supply stores and in all county clerks' offices. Only use the forms you need as explained in the instructions in this chapter. Remember, some counties require specific forms, so contact your county court clerk or the Office of the Administrator for the Courts at 1206 S. Quince St., P.O. Box 41170, Olympia WA 98504-1170, or one of the local proprietary forms bureaus.

In King County, for example, a proprietary business located on the sixth floor of the county courthouse sells sets of forms. Contact them at:

Attorneys Information Bureau,

C-603 King County Courthouse

Third & James

Seattle Washington 98104

phone: (206) 622-0734

These forms services provide both the mandatory forms and a single checklist of instructions, all for a nominal charge.

In the chapters which follow you will find instructions on how to complete each form, together with an explanation and detailed illustrations. Use only those forms required for your case. Always keep your documents clean, neat, unfolded and together in one place.

First, here are some general instructions that apply to all of the forms:

A.Use a typewriter. You should make every effort to type the final draft of your court papers. There are numerous "typing services" in the telephone yellow pages, or ask a friend to do it for you if you cannot type the papers yourself. If you must hand write the forms, use a black ball-point pen and print neatly.

If you need to file papers that are not found among the forms in this book, use these guidelines:

B. The paper must have line numbers on its left margin.

C. The paper must measure 8 1/2 by 11 inches.

D. Leave about four inches at the top of the first page of each document for the clerk's stamp. All other pages should have a one inch margin at the top.

E. All of the pages should have a two inch margin at the bottom.

F. The bottom left side of all papers should have the name of the paper; for example "Motion for Restraining Order", and the page number of the document.

G. Your name should be typed under your signature on each document you sign.

If you should ever need more room in completing an item on any form, you can use the Additional Pages form. Make copies of it to use as needed. At the top, on the first line, identify the form you are continuing by typing "Continuation of (name of form). Be sure to number the pages added to each form.

A. Captions. At the top of each court paper is a heading, called a caption, which is filled out like this:

Type in your own name (in capital letters - you are the Petitioner); type in your spouse's name (in capital letters - as the Respondent); type in the name of the county in which you live. When you file your first papers, you get a case number from the clerk. From that time on, always type your case number in the caption.

B. Petitioner/Respondent. The petitioner is the spouse who goes to court and files the papers. The respondent is the other spouse.

C. Number of Copies. You will need to make at least two copies of every court paper you prepare. The court always gets the original; the respondent gets a copy, and you keep a copy for your files. For special kinds of proceedings, such as a motion for temporary arrangements, you will need an extra judge's copy of each form when you file those papers. Take a third copy to court if your children are receiving Public Assistance because the Office of Support Enforcementwill need a copy of your divorce decree.

You can find "copying and duplicating services" in the telephone yellow pages or ask at the county clerk's office or at a public library. After you have made the desired number of copies, staple each set of forms together at the top left hand corner. Do not leave the pages loose. If you do not have a stapler, the clerk will lend you one.

D. Oath/Declarations. Many of the forms require that you sign the form "under penalty of perjury". It looks like this:

"I (type or print your name) declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of Washington, that the foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration is signed on (date) at (city) Washington.

______________________________ ."

(sign and type your name)

This has the same effect as a sworn statement or oath. To fill it in, type in your name, the date, the city or location in Washington where you sign it, and add your signature. If you are not inside the State of Washington when you sign the oath, you should change the word "Washington" to the correct town and state where you signed the form.

E. Other Signatures. If someone else must sign the form, such as the respondent or the person serving papers on your spouse be sure that they fill out all information correctly and sign it in the proper space provided. Some forms have a space to be filled in by the court commissioner or judge who signs your order. DO NOT write anything in that space.

F. Checking boxes or squares on Court Papers. There are various places in the court papers where you will have to choose one of several options. Do not forget to mark the box or square. Forgetting to do so may seriously impair your legal rights. Always double-check your papers for this possibility. For example (from the petition), "There are [ ] Are not [ ] child(ren) of this marriage who are entitled to support." (Mark the correct box and cross out the (ren) from the word child(ren) if you only have one child).

G. Do your homework. Be certain that you have prepared your forms completely and have them ready for the judge or court commissioner's signature when you go to court. Clerks will not be willing to give you legal advice because they are not attorneys, nor will they assemble your forms or tell you which ones you need. Therefore, it is important that you read these instructions completely. In counties which have adopted the Courthouse Facilitator Project, you will be able to receive free information about the procedures and how to fill out and file the forms, but the facilitator cannot give you legal advice. So, DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

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