Divorce

There is no legal requirement that parties to a dissolution of marriage proceeding be represented by attorneys.

Most of the mandatory forms are available for free from the court's website: http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/ . There are some instructions and self-help guides at that site.

Do both spouses know what their legal rights and obligations are? If you do not know what your rights are, how can you be sure that you should be giving them up?

Only licensed attorneys may practice law. (Some professionals, such as escrow officers, have limited license to help in some legal matters.) The preparation of legal instruments and contracts by which legal rights are secured is part of the practice of law. Thus, you likely should avoid using "paralegals" who advertise they can help you prepare your documents. (The Washington State Bar Association discussed allowing qualified nonattorney persons help the general public fill out family law documents. However, no permission has been granted yet.)

If both of you are certain that you both agree on everything, there are attorneys who can help draft your court documents.