Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Your query can only be answered with a big "it depends." I write that because I don't know enough information about what basis the father would use in seeking to restrain your relocation of your son. It is a very fact intensive analysis.

Having written that, under Washington law, if you are the primary residential parent, the law presumes you will be allowed to relocate. That presumption is a rebuttable one though, and the father bears the burden of demonstrating that whatever benefit your child would gain through relocation is outweighed by the detriment of not seeing the him. If he does not see the child, nor financially support the child, it becomes almost a foregone conclusion that you will have no trouble moving, although, if he contests it, you may have to go to court to ultimately get your way.

It's often an uphill battle for the non-custodial parent (the father in your case) to overcome, but it is possible. How? Well, it depends on the facts of a given case. If you are a drug addict, or now live with a convicted felon, etc., then facts like those can really turn the situation around for the party contesting a relocation. Short of a major circumstance like that, it's hard to see how he could stop you.

In your situation, what you do tell us is that there are no current custody orders in place. If I were you, since you and the father were never married, I would immediately bring a paternity action to establish custody and support orders, if possible. You do not say whether the father is on the birth certificate as an acknowledged parent.

Under Washington law, if a child has an acknowledged father, (meaning someone signed the birth certificate or a later affidavit of paternity) then the paternity action is merely a means to establish the custody and support orders. Otherwise, if there is no acknowledged father, there is no statute of limitations on when you can commence a paternity case, so long as the child is alive, even if an adult. There are however statutes of limitation on how long an established father has to try to rescind paternity or how long a third party claiming to be the real father has to bring an action to establish himself, but I won't get into that here.

When you file a paternity action to establish support, the Court can award back support for up to five years prior to the date you file. That can also include costs incurred during pregnancy, so long as you can produce documentation of such costs, so I suggest you look into getting your receipts organized. You should also know that child support orders are hard to get around. Once in place, they are good for a period of up to ten years after the child turns 18, and if he falls behind, you can have the state seek to garnish wages and hunt down tax returns, etc. until he pays up. The US State Department will also deny him a new passport if he gets over $5,000 behind. He can eventually be held in contempt, lose all professional licenses, as well as his driver's license, and finally, if a judge thinks he will just never work and support his child, the judge may let him think on those thoughts in a jail cell.

Best of luck to you and if you need any help, feel free to get in touch.

See the question and answer at https://www.lawguru.com/answers/answer/show/722375754.

The key is whether the father is "entitled to residential time or visitation with the child under a court order". RCW 26.09.430. If not you have no obligation to give notice. The relocation statutes begin at RCW 26.09.405. The index is at chapter 26.09 RCW. I would recommend you read and become familiar with the relocation statutes.