In the past, Lincoln County was the preferred county in Washington to file for divorces prepared by paralegals. The reason was because paralegals could not appear in court, and Lincoln County was the only county in Washington that would allow the entry of a Decree without personal testimony. Therefore, paralegals would prepare the documents for clients and then would file in Lincoln County. The paralegal could then could finalize the divorce without appearing in court.

Recently, King County eliminated the necessity for personal testimony in entry of a Decree. Instead, a simple written Declaration by the client will suffice. This eliminates the need for paralegals to file in Lincoln County. In addition, many divorces are finalized digitally, without the necessity of anyone appearing in court.

This also eliminates many problems for clients, when years later, there is a legal issue and you need to return to court. If you reside in King County and the Decree is in Lincoln County, you have a problem. You either have to litigate the issue the other side of the mountains (just outside of Spokane), or transfer the case back over to King County.

There is no longer a need to file in Lincoln County (unless you live there). You should file for divorce in the county in which you reside and it is (and will be) convenient. If you have a Lincoln County divorce, and need assistance, please contact our firm.