Washington LawHelp

Parenting Plans/Custody

Legal Information

• Amending (Changing) Your Petition or Parenting Plan

  3212EN - Use this packet if you are the petitioner in a family law case AND you decide you want to change something in your Petition or Proposed Parenting Plan after you have filed and served them AND the respondent does not agree with everything in your petition OR you have not received any response from the respondent. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Changing a Parenting Plan/Child Custody Order

  3104EN - Read this publication if you want to change a final court order that sets out where your child lives and with whom s/he visits. This order might be a Custody Decree or Order, Residential Schedule, or Parenting Plan. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español

  Russian / Pусский

  Chinese / 中文

• Child Support Orders for Divorces, Parentage Cases and Petition to Change Parenting Plan Cases

  3213EN - Use this family law packet only if you are a.) Petitioner (starting the court case) or Respondent (responding to the petition) in a family law case where someone is asking for a child support order. Examples of such cases: Petition for Divorce, Petition to End Domestic Partnership, Petition to Establish Parentage or b.) Either parent in a Petition to Change Parenting Plan. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Filing a Motion for a Parenting Plan or Residential Schedule: Parentage Has Been Established in the Past Two Years

  3610EN - This packet will help you fill out and file the forms you need if a) the parentage (paternity) of your child has already been established by court order in the past two years AND b) you want a Washington court to enter a parenting plan or child support court order AND c) your proposed parenting plan does not change custody (who the child lives with most of the time). Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Filing an Agreed Petition for a Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule or Child Support: Parentage Cases

  3603EN - You may use this packet if you are not married to or in a domestic partnership with your child’s other parent AND your child’s parentage has already been established by paternity affidavit or acknowledgment AND you and the other parent want to ask the court to enter an agreed parenting plan and/or child support court order. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Filing a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

  3119EN - Use this packet if you have a court order giving you custody of your child and the other parent or person claiming the right to legal custody has taken your child away from you. Read our resource The Other Parent has Taken My Child before using this packet. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Filing a Petition to Change Your Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule, or Custody Order

  3260EN - This packet has forms and instructions for filing a petition to change a permanent (final) parenting plan, residential schedule, or custody order . Do not use this packet to change a temporary parenting plan or custody order. Use this packet only if you and the other parent already have a final parenting plan issued by a Washington State Court. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Filing a Petition to Enforce an Out-of-State Custody Order

  3942EN - Use this packet if you have a custody order from another state, you have not registered it in Washington, and you need to take some quick action on your custody order here in Washington state, including getting a hearing as soon as you can. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Finalizing Your Petition for a Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule and/or Child Support: Parentage Cases

  3606EN - This packet will help you fill out and file the forms and papers to finalize a petition for a parenting plan, residential schedule and/or child support case. Use this packet only if the petition in your case was on form number FL Parentage 331. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Finalizing Your Petition to Change Parenting Plan

  3262EN - This packet will help you fill out and file the forms and papers needed to finalize a Petition to Change Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule, or Custody Order case. It will help you prepare the final orders in your case and present them to the judge. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Following Washington's Relocation Law

  3132EN - Use this packet if you have legal custody of your child, and you wish to move (“relocate”) and take the child with you. Under state law, you may have to do certain things before you move. This packet has forms and instructions to help. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• Guardian ad Litems in Family Law Cases Cases

  3103EN - A judge may appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL) in a court case about custody or visitation rights. Any party to the case may ask for appointment of a GAL, or the judge can decide on his her/own to appoint one. A GAL may be a lawyer, mental health professional, or volunteer. This packet has the necessary forms and instructions. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• How Do I Register an Out-of-State Custody Order in Washington?

  3940EN - This self-help packet contains the necessary forms for individuals who have a custody order from another state and want it to have full effect in Washington. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

• How to Work with GALs and Parenting Evaluators

  3106EN - If you are involved in a divorce, paternity or nonparental custody case where the other parent does not agree with you, the court may appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) or Parenting Evaluator. This publication contains tips to help you work successfully with the GAL. Read More

  By:

  Northwest Justice Project

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español