A parenting plan defines the roles of each parent. This includes a residential schedule, decision-making provisions, and any needed restrictions on either parent.

In order to avoid disrupting the children during the school week, most typically the court will have the children reside with one parent during the week and then divide most of the weekends, holidays, and school breaks between the parents, with several weeks to each parent during the summer for vacation.

Unless a good reason not to exists, the parents will have joint decision-making authority on major issues, such as educational and medical decisions. The court may limit a parent’s visitation if the parent has committed domestic violence,  has committed child abuse, or suffers from significant alcohol or drug problems.

Mediation may be required to resolve issues that may arise in following the parenting plan.

The terminology can be somewhat confusing. Traditionally, spouses with children would negotiate who would get primary custody of the children (i.e., who the children would live with most of the time). The non-custodial parent would then negotiate visitation. Often however, parents try to establish an arrangement that is closer to 50/50. As a result, the terms “custody” and “visitation” are somewhat outdated and now we often just refer to “parenting time”. Parenting time for both parents will be addressed in detail in the plan.

Parenting time for a party may be limited, however, if the parent has a history of problems with domestic violence or substance abuse. In the most severe situations, the court may require that the parent’s time with the children be supervised. If the parents live in different parts of the country, visitation time may have to be limited to school breaks and the summer.

Modern divorce law focuses on the child’s best interests with a presumption that it is beneficial for them to have relationships with both parents. As a result, it is relatively rare for one parent to be granted sole custody of the child. However, it is possible in cases where the child’s health, safety, or welfare is in danger, although even then the non-custodial parent may be granted limited supervised visitation. If you think your children are at risk of harm, you should speak to a Seattle child custody attorney at Seattle Divorce Services before finalizing your parenting plan.

Parents often ask at what age the children can decide which parent they are going to live with. While the court may consider the wishes of the children as one factor in the court’s decision, children under 18 do not have the legal right to decide where they will reside or how much time they will spend with each parent.

Children are not generally allowed to testify or submit declarations about parenting issues, but may be heard indirectly through a guardian ad litem or parenting evaluator. Guardians ad litem and parenting evaluators are persons appointed by the court to investigate the circumstances and make recommendations to the court as to what parenting arrangements would be in the children’s best interests.

In Washington State the terms “custody” and “joint custody” really do not mean anything. Rather than awarding custody, the court makes parenting plans which define the roles of both parents.

In order to avoid disrupting the children during the school week, most typically the court will have the children reside with one parent during the week and then divide most of the weekends, holidays, and school breaks between the parents, with several weeks to each parent during the summer for vacation. 50/50 residential schedules are rare unless both parents agree that is what they want to do.

Unless parents have a good reason not to, they will have joint decision-making authority on major issues, such as educational and medical decisions. The court may limit a parent’s visitation if the parent has committed domestic violence, child abuse, or suffers from significant alcohol or drug problems.

Parenting goes much smoother when both parents are able to work cooperatively with each other. This starts with cooperating on working out the parenting plan. To get cooperation from the other parent, you have to start by offering it yourself. Starting the case out with a declaration about the other parent’s faults, accusing them of various things to get the advantage, is not a good way to begin if you can avoid it. When you attack, the other person naturally becomes defensive, and any potential for cooperation shrivels.

Instead, you might start out by letting the other parent know you hope to work out parenting arrangements cooperatively and that you value their parenting skills and want the children to be close to both of you. If you do have differences in parenting philosophies or styles, acknowledge those differences without characterizing them as right or wrong. Just make it clear that those differences are things the two of you are going to need to discuss to come up with a plan that will work best for your children. It can be helpful to recognize that the two households may be different, even have different rules, but that such differences can work best when you both support each other in your differences.

You have four options if the other parent regularly violates your parenting plan:

1. Take no action
2. Hire a custody attorney to issue a demand letter
3. File a motion for modification of the plan
4. File a motion for contempt

The best thing you can do is speak with a child custody law firm to understand your options, as each option has advantages and disadvantages depending on your specific situation.

If a parent violates a parenting plan, they may be held in contempt of court. This requires obtaining an order to show cause, which requires the parent to appear in court to explain why they should not be held in contempt. Repeated violations may justify a modification of the parenting plan to impose restrictions on the violating parent.

Obtaining the return of children who are being wrongfully kept by a parent may involve obtaining a writ from a local court, which authorizes police intervention.

If a dispute about the meaning of a provision in the parenting plan occurs, the parties can mediate the dispute, or may want to bring a motion to have the court clarify the provision.

On an initial note, you should not hesitate to contact the authorities if you believe your child is in imminent danger of physical harm. Thankfully, most custody issues are not emergency situations. Some of the common violations include failing the following:

• Failure to follow the visitation schedule such as routinely showing up late for pick up or drop off, canceling visitations without adequate notice, or unreasonably interfering with your time with the child.
• Failure to communicate on important matters such as educational issues or health concerns.
• Failure to provide adequate care such as food, clothing, or living arrangements.

It is important to emphasize that your custody agreement will determine whether or not a violation has occurred. As a result, we recommend that you consult with a family lawyer to discuss whether you are facing an actionable violation.

If your co-parent has violated the custody agreement, you may have to return to court to have a judge or court commissioner enforce the existing custody order. This may entail finding your co-parent in contempt of court, which may involve the imposition of fines, mandatory parenting classes, or ongoing supervision by the court. Your lawyer can advocate for you to help ensure that future violations do not occur.

You can file for a child custody modification with the King County Family Court, requesting that they allow you to modify your existing custody order. The process will depend upon whether your modification is considered major or minor under the law. Generally speaking, the process will be much easier and less time-consuming if both parents agree to the modification before filing the petition.

Modification of a parenting plan generally requires a substantial change of circumstances justifying the modification.

A major modification that substantially changes the amount of time the child spends with each parent also requires showing either that the parents have agreed to the change, that the child has been integrated into the other parent’s family with the consent of the first parent, or that the current environment is detrimental to the child.

After filing a petition for modification, the court must hold a threshold hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to allow the matter to proceed to trial. If the court finds that the standards have not been met, it will dismiss the case. Attorneys’ fees may be awarded if the court finds that the modification was filed in bad faith.

When parents have having trouble agreeing on child custody parenting arrangements, the court will often appoint a parenting evaluator or Guardian ad Litem for the children (the two roles are very similar). The person appointed will perform an investigation and submit a report. The investigator may:

• review the court records
• talking to both parents
• talking to people who know the parents
• interviewing the child
• checking with school personnel
• have psychological testing done when appropriate.

They do not have final decision-making power, but their recommendations are taken very seriously by the court. If there is a court appointed investigator appointed in your case, it is very important that you cooperate with them fully.

Generally, an adoption disestablishes one or both parents as legal parents and establishes a new set of adoptive parents as the legal parents in their stead. A full adoption is where a couple adopts a child that is without parents or whose parents are not able to continue to care for the child. A stepparent adoption is a form of adoption where one parent remains as a parent, but that parent’s spouse adopts the child and steps into the place of the biological parent.

In an adoption, both the rights and responsibilities of legal parent shift to the new parents and are removed from the former parents. However, sometimes there may be an open adoption contract that still give the former parents rights to maintain some relationship with the child.

A 50/50 custody arrangement will most likely be impossible. Most custody arrangements involving an out-of-state parent usually entail one parent having custody during the school year and the other parent having custody during summer break. The parents then negotiate who will have custody during holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving or spring and winter breaks. If your relocation isn’t yet definite, you should alert the other parent to this possibility but negotiate the parenting plan that works best for the foreseeable future. An attorney can help you navigate the complexities of this situation.

This can be a complicated situation because one parent will end up with less time weekly than the other parent. In these situations, getting a resolution will likely require a court hearing. The court will hear evidence regarding your child’s schooling, social environment, sports and other activities, and other relationships your child may have in the area. In general, the court will evaluate what would be in the best interests of your child. We strongly recommend consulting with a Seattle child custody attorney at our office to ensure that both your parental rights and your child’s interests are protected.

Third-party custody refers to the situation where someone other than the two parents is asking the court to place the child in their care. This is typically another relative, such as a grandparent, uncle, or aunt of the child, who is agreeing to care for the child because neither parent is able to do so.

Filing a third-party custody action requires filing a petition with the court, alleging either that the child is not currently in the care of the parents or that the parents are unfit to continue to care for the child.