Custody & Parenting

If a child in Washington doesn't have a stable home life, they might be able to live with someone else without going through the foster care system. A judge could award third-party custody to their grandparents, godparents, adult siblings or neighbor. However, this...

If you live in Washington, there are a few factors that limit child visitation rights if you aren't granted full custody of your child. The limitations of visitation rights include long-term willful abandonment, abuse of the child, a history of domestic violence, or...

When the judge gives you and your former spouse shared physical custody, the next step is figuring out a visitation schedule. You'll want a fair one that gives you and your former spouse an equal amount of time with your child, while still working around your job...

The holiday season is fast approaching. If your kids are like most others, at least one of them wants an iPad, a smartphone or a game system. Does your parenting plan address electronics? If it doesn’t, it should. What electronic issues can your parenting plan help...

During your divorce, you quickly realize that preserving your relationships with your children are the most important part of the process to you. You start looking into your custody rights, and you assume that legal custody is a term that just means who has custody of...

There’s just no way to sugarcoat this: Being given only supervised visitation with your children is demoralizing and frustrating. That’s particularly true if you think (or know) that the requirement is unfair. Railing against the judge in your case won’t help you....

You love your child so much that you can’t imagine having times when you don’t see them. On top of that, you don’t trust your spouse. The last three times you left your child alone with them, your child threw tantrums when you got home. Whenever you’re gone, they’re...

Leaving an abusive ex can be a difficult and stressful process. You may need to ask the court to help protect you through a Domestic Violence Order of Protection. You may also have to provide documentation of abuse in order to protect your children. Abuse by a parent...

You love your children and want them to have the best experience growing up. You know that going through a divorce might make that harder than expected, but you think that this situation can also help them learn and grow. You and your spouse are working on a parenting...

Couples grow apart over time, go through difficult financial situations or experience infidelity, and those difficult times may lead to divorce. In many families, both spouses play a direct role in the damage to the relationship over time. However, there are also...