This pops up often. For whatever reason people move to new cities, states, and countries, and then initiate their divorces. While there is nothing wrong with that, there can be issues with it depending on the state or country. (The country part can be very complicated, so that will have to be its own post. I’ll focus on the state part here.)

The good news is that Washington does not have residency requirements. Meaning you can move here and file your divorce without having lived here long. The bad news, yes there is bad news. If you and your spouse never lived in the state of Washington there can be issues with dividing debt or property. And if you have children and Washington is not their home state (what is that? I’ll do another post on that alone) then custody may not be decided either.

There is a lot that will need to be figured out but the short answer is, yes. You can get a divorce but you may not be able to divide property, debts, or decide custody. As always you should consult with an attorney for specific advice on your case.