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State guide · WA

Washington Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language Washington information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

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This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.

State laws, court rules, and forms can change. Automated link checks will run every week once the monitoring job is deployed. Please check each cited source before relying on it. Report a broken link or changed law.

Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the Washington Superior Courts. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

  • The Washington Courts directory lists Superior Courts by county and provides contact information for court organizations.Sources:Court Directory

How Washington courts decide custody

Washington's parenting-plan statute directs the court to make residential provisions for each child and to allocate decision-making authority.Sources:RCW 26.09.187 Determination of Parenting Plan

  • The statute says the residential schedule must encourage each parent to maintain a relationship with the child consistent with the child's developmental level and the family's social and economic circumstances.Sources:RCW 26.09.187 Determination of Parenting Plan

Key legal sources

Parenting time

Washington's official dissolution inventory says that, when a case has a child, its completion section adds a Child Support Order, the Washington State Child Support Schedule and Worksheets, a Financial Declaration, sealed financial-source documents, a Parenting Plan, and a Residential Time Summary Report.Sources:Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)

Key legal sources

How to file

This draft is limited to beginning an initial Washington Superior Court dissolution of marriage with dependent children using the statewide divorce form inventory. It does not describe county-specific requirements or completion of the case. It excludes domestic-partnership dissolution, legal separation, annulment, contested, temporary, default, modification, enforcement, emergency, protection-order, parentage, relocation, adoption, guardianship, juvenile, tribal, and interstate matters.Sources:Filing for Divorce in Washington State, Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)

  1. Confirm the initial dissolution route fits

    Washington Courts says to begin a divorce by filing a Summons and Petition for Dissolution with the clerk of a Washington Superior Court. Use the court directory to identify the court and confirm local requirements before relying on this statewide inventory.Sources:Filing for Divorce in Washington State, Court Directory

  2. Read the official start-case form group as a group

    The official dissolution inventory's Start the Case section lists FL Divorce 200 Summons, FL Divorce 201 Petition for Divorce, FL All Family 001 Confidential Information, FL All Family 002 Attachment to Confidential Information (Additional Parties or Children), DOH 422-027 Certificate of Dissolution, FL All Family 101 Proof of Personal Service, All Civil 006 Email Service Agreement, FL All Family 119 Agreement to Join Petition, FL All Family 117 Service Accepted, and FL Divorce 211 Response. The inventory says that service of the Petition and Summons is not necessary if the spouse completes a listed joinder or acceptance option, or signs the agreement on the Petition's last page.Sources:Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)

  3. Keep county rules in scope

    Washington Courts says a copy of the filed divorce papers must be given to the other spouse. Its official inventory also states that local county superior-court rules may require additional documents. This statewide draft does not establish a county filing fee, e-filing workflow, or local packet.Sources:Filing for Divorce in Washington State, Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

  • Washington Courts' official dissolution inventory identifies the statewide form groups and revision dates, including distinct start, temporary, and completion groups. It also states that local county superior-court rules may require additional documents.Sources:Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • Office of Civil Legal Aid legal-help finder

    Area served: Washington

    The state Office of Civil Legal Aid identifies Northwest Justice Project as a statewide civil legal-aid provider and lists family issues such as divorce or parenting plans among the problems its legal-help information addresses.Sources:Find Legal Help

    Eligibility: The Office directs people to current legal-help information; a provider decides individual eligibility and available services.

  • Washington LawHelp

    Area served: Washington

    Its site identifies itself as a public legal-information library for Washington and includes Family and Divorce topics.Sources:Washington LawHelp

    Eligibility: Washington LawHelp provides information; use its current topic and referral information to identify an organization that may serve the matter.

Fee waivers

Washington GR 34 allows an individual to seek a waiver of court fees and surcharges based on indigency, using the mandatory Administrative Office of the Courts form.Sources:GR 34 Waiver of Court and Clerk Fees and Surcharges, WPF GR 34.0100 Motion and Declaration for Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges

Who may qualify

What to do

  1. Use the statewide fee-waiver motion if it applies

    The official form index identifies WPF GR 34.0100 Motion and Declaration for Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges. The forms page warns that the local court may require additional documents, so confirm filing directions with the selected Superior Court.Sources:Fee Waiver Forms, WPF GR 34.0100 Motion and Declaration for Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges

Official fee-waiver forms

Key statute or rule

Attorney cost benchmark

Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.

State and local details to confirm

  • The official dissolution inventory lists FL Divorce 200 as a notice about a marriage or domestic partnership but FL Divorce 201 as a petition for divorce; this narrow draft does not extend that marriage route to domestic-partnership dissolution.Sources:Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)

Part of Family Law in Your State.