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Washington Child Custody Law
One of the most important decisions you'll ever make.
Washington state child custody attorney Laurie G. Robertson is an experienced divorce and family law lawyer who serves clients in Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia.
Washington State's custody laws are complicated.
In any divorce where children are involved, a Washington Parenting Plan must be entered by the Court. This Parenting Plan will dictate what where the child or children will live and what provisions are made for visitation. There will be a Residential Parent (Custodial Parent) and a Non-Residential Parent.
The typical Parenting Plan will place the child or children with one parent and allow the other parent to have visitation every other weekend along with a mid-week visit. The Residential provisions are determined based on the best interests of the child or children.
In making residential provisions the Court’s ultimate goal is to maintain a loving, stable, and nurturing relationship with each parent and the child. This schedule should be age and developmentally appropriate for the child.
RCW 26.09.187 governs the criteria for establishing a permanent Parenting Plan. Factors that are considered are:
“The relative strength, nature, and stability of the child's relationship with each parent; The agreements of the parties, provided they were entered into knowingly and voluntarily; Each parent's past and potential for future performance of parenting functions, including whether a parent has taken greater responsibility for performing parenting functions relating to the daily needs of the child; The emotional needs and developmental level of the child; The child's relationship with siblings and with other significant adults, as well as the child's involvement with his or her physical surroundings, school, or other significant activities; The wishes of the parents and the wishes of a child who is sufficiently mature to express reasoned and independent preferences as to his or her residential schedule; and Each parent's employment schedule, and shall make accommodations consistent with those schedules.”
The factors above are not the only factors that are considered. A parent’s residential time may be limited or restricted when the Court determines it is in the best interests of the children. These restrictions are often referred to as “191 restrictions.” RCW 26.09.191 governs the Court’s ability to restrict or limit a parent’s contact with their child through a temporary or permanent Parenting Plan.
Some factors that determine if restrictions should be put in place include, but are not limited to, willful abandonment or substantial refusal to perform parenting functions, child abuse by the parent or their current partner, domestic violence or assault, alcohol or drug abuse by the parent, sex offenses committed by the parent or their current partner, abusive use of conflict by a parent, and emotional or physical impairment with substantially interferers with a parent’s ability to parent their child.
Restrictions and limitations can include no contact with the child, supervised only visitation or limited unsupervised visitation. Restrictions in a Parenting Plan can also result in limitations on a parent’s ability to make major decisions for their child, including educational, religious, and major medical decisions.
Upon entry of a Parenting Plan the Court will run a Washington state criminal history check on each parent and possibly other adults living in each parent’s household. Although the Court may require restrictions based on this criminal history check, it is important that if you have concerns regarding the safety of the child in the other parent’s care that these issues be brought to the Court attention and addressed before the entry of a permanent Parenting Plan.
If either parent has concerns regarding the other parent they may ask the Court to appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) or other Parenting Evaluator. The GAL or Parenting Evaluator is appointed by the Court and does not work for either parent. They are the “eyes and ears” of the Court outside the court room.
The GAL or other Parenting Evaluator will do an independent investigation in a consistent manner as ordered by the Court and will give a recommendation to the Court based on the best interests of the Child. GAL’s and Parenting Evaluators have extensive training and their recommendations are often adopted by the Court.
As with any issue involved in divorce the parties may agree to a permanent Parenting Plan prior to trial. There are a wide variety of provisions that can be entered based on the needs of a family. Agreed Parenting Plans are often favored to Parenting Plans established at trial as they tend to take into consideration the unique circumstances of each family.
Our Washington state custody attorneys can help parties enter into realistic agreed plans that are in the best interests of your children. These Washington State custody plan are often established either through mediation or negotiation.
Ultimately, if possible, the best goal is to create a parenting plan that allows each parent to maintain a healthy relationship with their children and effectively co-parent.