Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
dissolution of marriage
Do I need to appear for the court date after being served this summons?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: dissolution of marriage
If you are referring to a summons for dissolution of marriage, the answer is that you do not physically appear anywhere yet. You need to prepare and file with the court, a written response, using the court approved template, which you can obtain from the Washington Courts web page.
You need to file it with the Clerk's Office, and then mail a copy to your spouse's attorney, or if they do not have one, then to the address provided for in the summons on the second page. If you were served in Washington, as opposed to out of state, then you have 20 days to file your response.
If you do not know how to do this, I advise you to seek local counsel, or at least surf the web to try and find a low cost or free legal clinic that can help you.