Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Out of State Visitation

Generally, under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, Washington would be the proper jurisdiction is certain requirements have been met. Generally, if you have

lived in Washington for six months or more, then it is presumed that jurisdiction is properly in Washington, if not, then you have to demonstrate that Washington is the state with the most substantial contacts, witnesses, etc. and that

by virtue of you moving here with the agreement of your former husband that Washington should assume jurisdiction. One thing that could make the transfer of jurisdiction to Washington more difficult is if your former husband has an active case in Ohio. Then it MAY come down to the 2 judges speaking on the phone and

determining which one should have jurisdiction.

As to the amount of time your former husband should get in the summer, it depends on what facts the judge considers in making his decision, but as a general rule 10 weeks in the summer is more than the non-custodial parent normally gets, especially for children as young as your children.

For example, in Walla Walla County, the courts have adopted local rules that suggest the following amount of time as reasonable guidelines (depending on parental fitness, child's age, and geographical location): for a child 3 to 5 years of age the summer extended visitation consists of two non-consecutive one-week periods.

For children 5 and older they suggest: "Five weeks during the summer ... (during which times the residential parent shall have alternating weekend basis...)." But my experience is that other judges in the 17 counties and 4 jurisdictions in which I have appeared, is that this is recommendation is on the low end, and judges will

generally give more liberal visitation than what I just quoted; however, I have not seen an order that gives as much as your former husband is requesting. Generally, you could/should expect 5 to 8 weeks in the summer.

As for transportation costs associated with the summer visits: this also depends on many things, including why there is the geographic distance, finances of each party, and other factors that are taken on a case by case basis. But, splitting the cost of transportation is not uncommon ... splitting it on a pro-rata basis is one other

method I have seen work (if Husband makes $100 per month and Wife makes $50 per month, husband pays 66.6% of the cost and wife pays 33.3%)

I would not expect that your former husband would be able to force you to pay for child-care while the children are with him. However, Washington law allows for a 50% reduction in child support when the non-residential parent has the children for 14 consecutive days or longer.

If you have any further questions, or need some help in this matter, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Best of luck.

Todd Richardson