What Happens If We Reconcile During Divorce Proceedings in Washington?

By Chad Foster, Family Law Attorney · Updated September 28, 2026

Filing for divorce does not lock you into finishing it. If you and your spouse decide to work things out before the case is over, Washington law gives you a clear path to stop the process, because a marriage is not legally ended until the court enters a decree. For a focused explanation, read what Happens to Life Insurance Policies in Divorce.

Your Divorce Is Not Final Until the Decree

A common misconception is that filing a petition for dissolution ends the marriage. It does not. Under RCW 26.09.030, a court proceeds toward ending a marriage only after a party petitions, alleges that the marriage is irretrievably broken, and at least 90 days have elapsed since the petition was filed and since the summons was served or first published. Until the court actually enters a decree of dissolution, you remain married.

That 90-day period is often called a waiting period, and it exists in part to give couples time to be sure. The clock is a minimum, not a maximum. Many cases take longer than 90 days to resolve, but the point for reconciling couples is simple: as long as no decree has been entered, the door to stopping the divorce remains open.

Reconciliation and the Court's Findings

RCW 26.09.030 does more than set a waiting period. It also frames what the court does when the spouses do not both agree the marriage is over. If one party denies that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court considers all relevant factors, including the circumstances that gave rise to the filing and the prospects for reconciliation. The court can transfer the matter to family court, refer the couple to counseling, or continue the hearing for a period of time to allow for that possibility.

The statute expressly contemplates reconciliation as an outcome. If the matter comes back and the court finds that the parties have agreed to reconciliation, the court dismisses the petition. In other words, the law does not force a divorce forward when the couple has genuinely reconciled. It builds in a mechanism to end the case instead of the marriage.

Stopping a Divorce You Filed

The marriage is not over until the decree is entered (RCW 26.09.030).

1

You remain married through at least the 90-day waiting period and until the court enters a decree.

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The statute expressly lets the court dismiss the petition when the parties have reconciled.

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Formally move to dismiss, do not just walk away, so temporary orders and deadlines are cleanly lifted.

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The marriage continues as if the petition never went forward.

How Reconciling Couples Actually Stop the Case

When both spouses decide to stay married, the usual path is to ask the court to dismiss the petition. Because the decree has not been entered, there is no final divorce to undo. The couple simply moves to dismiss, and the pending case is closed. The marriage continues as if the petition had not gone forward.

It is worth being deliberate about this step rather than just walking away from the case. A pending divorce petition can carry temporary orders governing finances, property, or the children, and simply ignoring the case does not necessarily clear those away. Formally dismissing the petition brings the proceeding to an orderly close and lifts the framework that was put in place while the divorce was pending. If either spouse later has second thoughts, they can always file a new petition, but that would start a fresh case with a fresh 90-day clock.

What About Property and Agreements Made During the Case?

Reconciling couples sometimes worry about commitments they made while the divorce was pending, such as temporary financial arrangements or partial agreements. Because the marriage was never dissolved, dismissing the petition generally returns the couple to their status as a married couple. Still, decisions made during the case, especially anything reduced to a signed agreement or a court order, deserve a careful look before dismissal so that nothing important is left dangling. This is a good moment for a short conversation with a lawyer to make sure the dismissal is clean and complete.

There is also a practical timing point. If you reconcile early, dismissing is straightforward. If you reconcile after significant work has been done, dividing accounts, entering temporary parenting arrangements, and so on, unwinding those steps may take a little more care. Neither situation prevents you from stopping the divorce; they just call for different amounts of cleanup.

A Note on Trying Again Without Divorcing

Some couples want to attempt reconciliation without fully dismissing the case, in case things do not work out. That is understandable, but it is worth weighing carefully. Leaving a petition pending keeps temporary orders and deadlines alive, and it can create ambiguity about where things stand. Others prefer legal separation as an alternative, which RCW 26.09.030 also allows a court to decree in lieu of dissolution when a petitioner requests it. Which approach fits depends on your goals, and it is a decision best made with clear information about the consequences of each.

What This Means for Snohomish County Couples

For couples with a case pending in Snohomish County Superior Court, reconciliation is a recognized and orderly outcome. The waiting period and the court's authority to dismiss on reconciliation apply here just as they do across Washington. If you and your spouse have found your way back to each other before a decree is entered, you have a real and lawful path to stop the divorce and stay married.

If you have filed for divorce but are reconsidering, or you have already reconciled and want to close the case the right way, the Law Office of Chad Foster helps Snohomish County couples handle dismissals and next steps cleanly. Contact the office to talk through what makes sense for your family.