Grandparents often wonder whether they have any legal rights to see and visit with their grandchildren under Washington law. This is most often an issue when there is a strained relationship between grandparents and their own children, or some sort of family estrangement. Currently, however, Washington law does not provide for grandparents to have court-ordered…
The parenting plan and residential schedule that you and your ex develop or the court orders in your divorce or parentage case can be a difficult adjustment, especially for a parent who normally sees his or her children on a daily basis. However, it is even worse when one parent intentionally keeps the children from…
Grandchildren are often the light of their grandparents’ lives. When a couple with children face an exceptionally nasty divorce, or when one of the parents is no longer involved in the children’s lives, the relationship between one parent and the children’s grandparents can become bitter. If a parent prevents a grandparent or grandparents from seeing…
When divorced parents live far away from each other, it can be difficult to come up with a parenting plan that fairly divides a child’s time with each parent. Parents will need to work together to create a plan that takes distance into account and gives each parent as much time as possible with the…
Life is full of unexpected changes. When a financial situation changes or a family emergency occurs, many parents find that they need additional child support from their former partner. Under certain conditions, you can ask the court “modify” an existing child support obligation. Substantial Change in Circumstances Regardless of the reason, a modification of a…
Divorce is an emotional process even for the most stable adults. For those parents who have children with disabilities, illnesses, or other special needs, getting a divorce can feel like an insurmountable obstacle. Though it is true that obtaining a divorce as a parent of a child with special needs can be difficult, careful planning…
For many years, the family law courts and judges believed that children should be raised by their mothers in the event that their parents divorced. Today, this attitude is less prevalent, but many fathers still wonder if they are at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving parenting time or visitation. Many fathers still assume…
Ideally, a divorce or separation between parents and children would run smoothly for the benefit of the kids. In reality, there are often instances when one parent has abandoned his or her responsibilities and left their former partner with the sole burden of caring for the children. When a spouse or partner willfully abandons their…