How do I file for custody of my child in Washington State?
File a Petition to Decide Parentage. File a Petition for a Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule and/or Child Support: Parentage Cases. Make a Parenting Plan Printable Packet or Make a Parenting Plan, a Washington Forms Online interview that will help you draft this form.
How much does it cost to file for custody in Washington state?
When filing a parenting plan, you must pay a filing fee and a photocopying fee. You may also need to pay a fee to have the other spouse served with the paperwork. While the filing fee can cost anywhere from $200 to $350, you can file a special form to avoid the fee if you cannot afford to pay it.
Is Washington state a mother State?
In Washington State, when two parents have a child without getting married, custody defaults to the mother of the child automatically. If both parents’ names are on the child’s birth certificate, the father already has established paternity.
How do I start a parenting plan in Washington state?
To start the case, file with the clerk of the superior court, the completed original Petition for Modification/Adjustment of Custody/Parenting Plan/Residential Schedule, Summons, Confidential Information Form, and Child Support Schedule Worksheets and the Sealed Financial Source Documents cover sheet, with financial …
What makes a parent unfit in Washington State?
What exactly is an unfit parent? The legal definition of an unfit parent is when the parent through their conduct fails to provide proper guidance, care, or support. Also, if there is abuse, neglect, or substance abuse issues, that parent will be deemed unfit.
Can a child choose which parent to live with in Washington state?
In both Washington and Oregon, a child can only choose which parent they’d like to live with when they turn 18 or are otherwise emancipated. Minor children are not considered capable of making such decisions for themselves and are not permitted to “choose” living with one parent over another.