Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Normally, yes. Unless there is good reason not to allow the surviving parent to have sole custody of any children between them and the deceased parent, that's exactly what will happen. There are cases where this does not happen.

For example, if the surviving parent is incarcerated, then the state will try to place the children with relatives before using foster care and perhaps adopting children in that situation out. Additionally, if the surviving parent has a documented history of violence toward the children or the deceased parent, third parties may step up in an effort to gain custody.

It's getting to be a little bit of ancient history now, but if you recall the O.J. Simpson case, the maternal grandparents tried to take custody of the children on the basis that their father killed their mother (as determined by civil jury). They lost and Mr. Simpson kept custody of his minor children. Both sides had great attorneys, so one cannot say that he used a dream team of lawyers to steamroll the maternal grandparents. The point is, this is a very fact sensitive analysis and one in which the surviving parent starts from a favored position compared to all other parties. To the extent the surviving parent does not demonstrate a history of violence, neglect, or abuse toward the children, and even if there was one, so long as the surviving parent does not pose a continued threat, the odds of them obtaining custody as opposed to third parties increases.

I hope this helps somewhat answer your question.