A divorce in Snohomish County follows rules specific to this courthouse, and most of what’s online describes some other county or no county at all. This post is part of a series answering the questions our clients ask about how the process actually works here.
The court’s fees are small and knowable: $364 to file, $30 to present agreed orders, $62 to $85 for the parenting class. Attorney fees are the real cost, and nobody can quote them accurately in advance. They depend on how much you and your spouse disagree. An agreed divorce can cost a few thousand dollars. A contested case that goes through temporary orders typically requires a retainer of $10,000 to $15,000 to start, and the court can order one spouse to help pay the other’s fees.
What the court charges
The Snohomish County Clerk’s fee schedule sets the numbers. Filing a petition for divorce, legal separation, or invalidity costs $364. Presenting orders ex parte, which is how a commissioner usually signs agreed final orders, costs $30 for up to five orders in one submission. Certified copies of the final decree are also $5 for the first page and $1 for each additional page. If you can’t afford the filing fee, a commissioner can waive it on the ex parte calendar.
Modifying a Snohomish County decree later costs $56. If the decree came from another county, though, the modification fee is $310.
The other required costs
Parenting seminar. If you have children, both parents must complete an approved class within 60 days of service. One approved provider charges $85, with a reduced rate for low-income parents. The other is a self-paced online course for $61.95.
Service of process. You can’t serve your spouse yourself. A process server or the sheriff charges a fee for it. If your spouse is cooperative, though, they can sign a joinder instead, which costs nothing.
Mediation. Snohomish County requires mediation of every contested issue before trial, and the local rule splits the mediator’s fee equally between the parties unless the court orders otherwise or the parties agree. SCLSPR 94.04(c)(3)(E). Private family law mediators charge by the hour or the day. The Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish County is the lower-cost option the court lists on its resource sheet.
Courthouse facilitator. Self-represented parties can have their forms reviewed for $25 per visit. The facilitator can’t help anyone who has an attorney.
The costs that depend on your case
Experts. A house in dispute means an appraisal. If there’s a business, it needs a valuation, which is the single largest expert cost in most divorces that have one. A pension also needs a valuation and later a QDRO. Parties often agree to share one neutral expert to control this cost. Our business valuation series explains what that work involves.
Guardian ad litem. If the court appoints a GAL to investigate parenting issues, the appointment order says who pays the GAL. Where the cost is at public expense, the order must state an hourly rate and a maximum. SCLSPR 94.04(d)(2). Otherwise the parties pay as the order directs.
Attorney fees. This is where the range is widest. An agreed divorce with no children and no real property can cost a few thousand dollars in fees. A divorce with a contested temporary orders hearing, discovery, a business valuation, mediation, and a two-day trial can cost many times that. The single biggest driver is how many contested hearings the case needs, because each one means a full round of declarations within the 25-page limit, a financial package, and a court appearance.
Why the retainer is what it is
Most family law firms, including ours, ask for a retainer at the start that covers the work through temporary orders. For a contested case that’s typically $10,000 to $15,000. The reason is that temporary orders are the hearing that sets your parenting schedule, your support, and who lives where for the next year or more. It’s also the hearing where a spouse without income can ask the court to order the other spouse to pay fees. Getting to that hearing well prepared is the most important investment in the case, and nobody can do it cheaply. A retainer is a deposit against hourly work, not a flat fee, so you get back whatever is left.
Can the court make my spouse pay my fees?
Yes, and in Snohomish County the request goes in the temporary orders motion. RCW 26.09.140 lets the court, after considering both parties’ financial resources, order one party to pay the other’s costs and reasonable attorney fees, including fees for work done before the case was filed. The court balances one spouse’s need against the other’s ability to pay. In re Marriage of Crosetto, 82 Wn. App. 545 (1996). A spouse who runs up the other side’s fees through intransigence may have to pay them regardless of the finances. In re Marriage of Mattson, 95 Wn. App. 592 (1999).
The mechanics matter. A request for fees is a request for financial relief, so you make it by motion with a Financial Declaration and the sealed tax returns and pay stubs the local rule requires. SCLSPR 94.04(e). In a temporary orders motion, it’s one of the items of relief on pattern form FL Divorce 223. The court can also award fees at the end of the case. A fee award is never guaranteed, and it’s rarely the full amount. Plan to fund the case yourself and treat a fee award as help, not a budget.
How people actually pay for a divorce
Savings, credit, and help from family, mostly. Some clients borrow against a retirement account. Others agree with their spouse at the outset that fees for both sides will come out of a joint account, which the automatic temporary order allows if the agreement is in writing. A few negotiate a fee advance from the other spouse rather than litigating one. If none of those is available, the case is going to be difficult to fund, and it’s better to know that before filing than after.
Two ways to lower the cost
Agree on what you can. Every issue you and your spouse resolve yourselves is an issue nobody bills for. Parties who arrive at mediation with the house, the cars, and the accounts already sorted spend the mediator’s time on the issues that are still open.
Organize your records before you call a lawyer. Two years of tax returns, six months of pay stubs, and current statements for every account and debt. Attorney time spent chasing documents is also the most avoidable expense in a divorce.
Common questions
Is the retainer a flat fee? No. A retainer is a deposit against hourly work. You get any unused funds back at the end of the representation.
Can I get my filing fee waived? Yes, if you can’t afford it. A commissioner hears fee waiver requests on the ex parte calendar.
When can I ask the court to order my spouse to pay my fees? At the temporary orders stage, as part of the FL Divorce 223 motion with a Financial Declaration, and again at the end of the case. The court weighs your need against your spouse’s ability to pay under RCW 26.09.140.
This post is part of our series on how a divorce works in Snohomish County. Start with the main guide, How a Divorce Actually Works in Snohomish County, or read about filing for divorce in Everett and what happens at a temporary orders hearing.
This post describes Snohomish County court fees and procedure as of September 2026. Fees and local rules change on their own schedule; check the clerk’s current fee schedule before filing.
Last updated September 2026.
Law Offices of Daniel Ehrlich, Everett. Family law in Snohomish, Island, King, and Skagit Counties. (425) 954-5578.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. If you’re facing a divorce in Snohomish County, talk to an attorney.
