Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Child custody

An important piece of information that is not provided is, whether there is an existing parenting plan/residential schedule, if there is, the court is not going to change it without good cause. If there is an attempt to establish or modify a parenting plan/residential schedule, the court will consider what the child wants at all ages, and give more weight as the child gets older, but the court is not going to ask the child to testify, and will not give much weight to what the parents say about what the child wants. The court will appoint a guardian ad litem to interview the child, and the child's expressed desires may be considered along with other developed information and opinions of the GAL. The court is not bound to follow anybody's opinion.