Washington Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

From what you've said, I have to assume you and the father were never married. Therefore, you have full custody of the child since there is no question about who the mother of a child is. Do not put the father's name on the birth certificate. Do not give him your new location/address. Just drop all contact including social media contact. That way, even if he were able to find you, he would have to make a parentage claim and do a DNA test to prove he is the father. He would then be required, first and foremost, to pay child support. If you never ask for support and never rely on public benefits (welfare, Medicaid, etc) he will likely lose interest and not come looking for you. If you do need public benefits, you will be asked to disclose his identity and the State will look for him to pay child support.... Read More

If you have some actual proof of illegal drug use, you can file a petition for a protection order. You can also ask in the petition that the children be kept away from this woman. However, if the only reason you have for this is that she is seeing the father, it's unlikely the court will grant this. You can file for a legal separation if you don't want to file for a divorce. This would provide you with the opportunity to ask for child support and to establish a parenting plan for each parent to have contact with the children.... Read More

Until you have a court order, everything belongs to both of you and each of you is free to use it. A court can require a person who removes an asset to return it. If the two of you are separating, the right thing to do is to file with the court and get temporary orders, including a temporary parenting plan, in place. You can't stop an impending separation/divorce, so sitting down and having a rational conversation would be a good first step. Keep in mind that controlling behavior on your part will only hurt you in the long run. Everything belongs to both of you and each of you has the same rights before the law.... Read More

It's unclear from your question what she filed. If she filed a divorce and asked for a parenting plan, did she allege that you abandoned the children? If not did she allege you abandoned her? In neither case you would not lose a right to the children, but if the former, your contact with them might be limited.... Read More

This makes no sense A child support order does not determine custody. If he reopned the case to get a residential schedule, the final order on that petition would assign residential time/custody as well as child support. Please read the final order carefully to see what it actually is and if it's not clear, go to the court house and see if there are also other orders such as a residential schedule/parenting plan.... Read More

First- what if anything has CPS done. If they've investigated and made no finding, it's simply harassment and does not endanger the child or you. You can potentially file an anti-harassment petition if you can show he is actually stalking you (within the legal definition of stalking) and sending you an untoward number of messages. Simply saying rude or mean things is not harassment. Sending a great number of messages per day, can be. Talk to a lawyer as it's better not to file an inadequate petition than to repeatedly file and lose each time.... Read More

I believe that Washington state law includes adopted individuals in its definition of heirs.  Most states do.   If your father died without a Will, his assets are distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy in the state where he lived.  I recommend doing an internet search for "intestacy" in that state, as well as a search in that state for "probate definition of heirs".  Good luck.  ... Read More

No.  If he gave you the stuff it is yours; he has no right to revoke the gift.  Even if he gave you the stuff on condition that you would sleep with him, such a contract would be unenforceable as prostitution is illegal in Washington.  Theoretically, if he gave you the stuff on condition that you sleep with him on some trip to somewhere where prostitution is legal, he might have a claim, but I doubt it. Of course, all of this assumes that the facts you've relayed will be believed.  If the guy claims that he loaned you the jewelry, or that you were supposed to pay for it over time and didn't, it is possible that a judge or jury could believe him.... Read More

Each parent has an equal right to have time with a child. Who gets more or less time is determined by a long list of criteria including who did most of the care taking. If your husband is found to have been abusive (you should not hesitate to get a domestic violence protection order if there has been violence as defined by the law to you or the child, this will at least initially, limit his contact. Neither parent loses custody. The question is how much time does each parent get and who gets to make decisions about the child in major areas such as education. You will have to get a job, but will likely get alimony for some period of time until you can get on your feet. You should seek the advice of counsel since there are many issues at stake in your case.... Read More