District of Columbia Divorce Details
Washington DC allows you to complete your divorce without an attorney if you and your spouse can come to an agreement on what to do with your property and how you will care for any children that you have.
DC Residency Requirements
To file for divorce in the District of Columbia (DC), at least one spouse must have lived in DC continuously for at least six months at the time the divorce is filed.
*Same-Sex Residency Exception: A same sex couple can divorce in DC even if neither spouse has lived in DC for the last six months, as long as the spouses married in DC and both live in jurisdictions where they cannot obtain a same-sex divorce.
Grounds For Divorce
To file for no-fault divorce in DC, you must have been separated for at least six (6) months. Spouses are considered to be separated in DC even if they live under the same roof as long as they have separate bedrooms, sleep in separate beds, do not engage in a sexual relationship, and do not engage in activities commonly associated with being a married couple.
Below are the no-fault grounds in detail. Only one of the grounds need to be met:
- Six Month Separation: Both spouses have agreed mutually and voluntarily to separate and have been living apart, without a sexual relationship, for at least six months before the date the divorce is filed; OR
- One Year Separation: The spouses have been living separate and apart, regardless of whether both spouses agreed, without a sexual relationship, for at least one year before the date the divorce is filed.
Filing Your Washington DC Divorce
After completing the online interview, DivorceWriter will send you the divorce forms you prepared online along with detailed DC filing procedures. The basic steps for filing your divorce are as follows:
- File a Complaint for Absolute Divorce. If your spouse's Answer to Complaint is filed at the same time as your Complaint, there is no need to formally serve your spouse with divorce papers. If no Answer is filed, your spouse must be served with divorce papers, and then you must wait for the 20-day answer period to pass.
- If your spouse's Answer to the Complaint was filed in Step 1, the spouses will sign a Separation Agreement and related documents. If no Answer was filed, you will file documents asking the Court to grant a divorce by default.
- You attend a brief divorce hearing. The Judge will sign and mail a Judgment of Divorce to both spouses. The divorce is not final until 30 days after the Judgment of Divorce is signed unless your spouse's Answer was filed with the Complaint, in which case the parties will also file a Joint Waiver of Appeal waiving the 30-day waiting period and allowing the divorce to be final immediately.
Division of property & debt, child parenting plan (including child support, visitation and custody), spousal support, and more are covered.
DivorceWriter provides forms specific to Washington DC and offers a money back guarantee if your documents are not accepted by the Court.
What is included in the DivorceWriter Package?
- Includes all documents needed to complete your divorce.
- Property division, debt, and spousal support are covered.
- Child support, parenting plan, name restoration, and more.
- Receive your package instantly online, or receive by mail.
- Make unlimited changes for two years.
- Note: The DivorceWriter fee does not include the filing fee charged by the Court Clerk in your county.
Included D.C. Forms
- Cross Reference Intake Form
- Complaint for Absolute Divorce
- Consent Answer to Complaint for Absolute Divorce
- Attachment A-Required Information for Marital Property and Debt (if applicable)
- Attachment B-Required Information for Custody*
- Attachment C-Required Information for Child Support*
- Separation Agreement
- Praecipe for Uncontested Divorce
- Joint Waiver of Appeal of Divorce Order/Judgment
- Parenting Plan*
- Child Support Worksheet*
- Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment of Absolute Divorce
*Divorce with minor children only
What Our Customers are Saying
"Divorce is the toughest thing that I have had to ever face. DivorceWriter helped make the paperwork and process smooth, efficient, and as painless as possible. Everything was delivered as promised, I was allowed to make changes after my paperwork was delivered, and the judge had absolutely no questions whatsoever regarding the paperwork. It truly was a very easy process." -Jeff P.