| Passed by the House February 28, 2005 Yeas 89 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 6, 2005 Yeas 43 ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1171 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/11/05.
AN ACT Relating to dissolution; and amending RCW 26.09.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 26.09.030 and 1996 c 23 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
When a party who (1) is a resident of this state, or (2) is a
member of the armed forces and is stationed in this state, or (3) is
married to a party who is a resident of this state or who is a member
of the armed forces and is stationed in this state, petitions for a
dissolution of marriage, and alleges that the marriage is irretrievably
broken and when ninety days have elapsed since the petition was filed
and from the date when service of summons was made upon the respondent
or the first publication of summons was made, the court shall proceed
as follows:
(((1))) (a) If the other party joins in the petition or does not
deny that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court shall enter
a decree of dissolution.
(((2))) (b) If the other party alleges that the petitioner was
induced to file the petition by fraud, or coercion, the court shall
make a finding as to that allegation and, if it so finds shall dismiss
the petition.
(((3))) (c) If the other party denies that the marriage is
irretrievably broken the court shall consider all relevant factors,
including the circumstances that gave rise to the filing of the
petition and the prospects for reconciliation and shall:
(((a))) (i) Make a finding that the marriage is irretrievably
broken and enter a decree of dissolution of the marriage; or
(((b))) (ii) At the request of either party or on its own motion,
transfer the cause to the family court, refer them to another
counseling service of their choice, and request a report back from the
counseling service within sixty days, or continue the matter for not
more than sixty days for hearing. If the cause is returned from the
family court or at the adjourned hearing, the court shall:
(((i))) (A) Find that the parties have agreed to reconciliation and
dismiss the petition; or
(((ii))) (B) Find that the parties have not been reconciled, and
that either party continues to allege that the marriage is
irretrievably broken. When such facts are found, the court shall enter
a decree of dissolution of the marriage.
(((4))) (d) If the petitioner requests the court to decree legal
separation in lieu of dissolution, the court shall enter the decree in
that form unless the other party objects and petitions for a decree of
dissolution or declaration of invalidity.
(e) In considering a petition for dissolution of marriage, a court
shall not use a party's pregnancy as the sole basis for denying or
delaying the entry of a decree of dissolution of marriage. Granting a
decree of dissolution of marriage when a party is pregnant does not
affect further proceedings under the uniform parentage act, chapter
26.26 RCW.