The judge generally considers parental ability, the child’s needs, age, and environmental stability. To determine this, expect every area of your life and relationships to be probed. You may need to provide evidence or witness testimony to demonstrate parenting ability.

To relocate a child, the law requires the residential parent to file a Notice of Intended Relocation, and the other parent has 30 days to object. For international vacations, both parents must give consent to obtain a passport for children under 16.

A parenting plan lays out everything related to your child’s life moving forward. This includes custody arrangements, residential schedules, and who has decision making authority in what situations.

Having a Joint Residential Schedule, or joint custody, is when the court awards both parents parental rights and responsibilities. They may not live together, but both participate and share duties in the child’s life in a substantial way.

In divorce and custody suits, a guardian ad litem may come in to look after the best interest of any children involved. Here’s what you need to be aware of.

Divorce throws a child’s world into upheaval, but what about cases of split custody? Will the court really separate siblings?

In child custody cases, the right of first refusal is a provision in a parenting plan that affects the time noncustodial parents spend with their children. It allows a parent to capitalize on opportunities to look after their kids.

Sports are important to a lot of kids, but can your ex step in and stop your child from playing sports or participating in other activities?

If you have kids, custody exchanges after divorce are going to be a fact of life. They’re not always easy, but here are some ways to keep things civil.

Many states have provisions to secure visitation rights for grandparents, Washington, however, does not.

Ultimately, your parenting plan has a significant impact on whether you or your ex can relocate with your children. If there isn’t a parenting plan or custody order in play, the custodial parent may be free to move at will. At least as long as there are no violations of Washington’s laws against custodial interference or the Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

You may never want to see your ex again after the divorce, but when there are kids, co-parenting is a way of life. Here’s how to survive.

Criminal charges often have a major impact on custody cases. The legal mire of new Seattle Seahawk Quinton Dunbar may show us how.