This is the second article in our series about King County Superior Court Schedules.  Last week we briefly discussed what the Case Schedule is and  the role it plays in your case.  Today we’re discussing the first two events on your Case Schedule.

Event Number 1:  Case Filed and Schedule Issued

Funnily, your case schedule will tell you that you need to file your divorce paperwork and that the date for doing so is the day you or your ex filed the Petition for Dissolution.   This is automatically entered on every case schedule, even though, of course, you’ve already met this deadline.  It just lets the parties, and the Court, know the date that the case was started, and to assist the court and parties in determining when all of the other deadlines will be set.

Event Number 2:  Affidavit (Return) of Service or Confirmation of Service.

After you file divorce, you need to let your spouse know that the action has been filed.   You do this by delivering (or “serving”) your ex with copies of all the paperwork filed to start the divorce action.  You also have to provide him or her with a copy of the Case Schedule so that he or she is aware of the deadlines and dates the court has just imposed on them.  So (although this isn’t found on the Case Schedule) you have ten days to provide your spouse with a copy of the Case Schedule after you file.

On the other hand, if your spouse files for divorce, you will be on the receiving end of a Case Schedule within 10 days of the day they submitted their paperwork.

What’s all that got to do with your Case Schedule?  Well, the next event on your Case Schedule is the deadline for filing an Affidavit (Return) of Service or Confirmation of Service.

So what are you supposed to do?  First, realize this deadline only applies to the person who actually filed the case and has the obligation to serve the other side.  If this is you,  you need to serve your ex with the opening documents as discussed above.   Then you need to let the court know that you’ve completed service.  You can meet this requirement in a couple of ways:

1.  File a document that tells the court if, when and how you served divorce papers on your spouse.  An example of such a document (called a “Return of Service”) can be found on the Washington Courts pattern site.  You can also view a blank Return of Service by clicking here.

2.  Or, if your spouse is in agreement with the requests made in your Petition, your spouse can sign and submit a Joinder.  A Joinder is a document which tells the Court that your spouse has received the Petition for Dissolution and agrees with what it says.  Note, however, that a person who has joined in a Petition, can still file a Response to the Petition at a later time, and disagree with the requests made in the Petition.  You can download a blank Joinder on the Washington Courts site, and check one out here.

So, what if you miss the deadline for proof of service?  Well, the court will be unhappy with you later, but you can solve that problem simply by filing an Affidavit, Return of, or Confirmation of Service later.  However, if you fail to do this, the court may end up dismissing your entire case.  Accordingly, it’s a good idea to just get this relatively simple chore completed by the deadline.