Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: When can my child make the decision to live with one parent or the other?

To answer your two immediate questions, as I understand them, which are at what age can your daughter have a say in whom she lives with, and do you need an attorney to do this, here are my responses:

There is no set age. In custody modification proceedings, if you want your daughter's point of view to be taken into account, we would ask the court to appoint a guardian ad litem ("GAL") to represent your daughter. This person will interview her, and supply the court with an opinion as to what the child wants, and what the GAL feels is in your daughter's best interest to do.

GAL's can often be a double-edged sword, because they can cut against you or in your favor, and while you have some influence over their decision, sometimes it comes out badly.

Keep in mind that the more mature your daughter and well reasoned her explanation as to why she wants to move in with you, the better the odds of it happening.

As to whether you need an attorney, this is a question I get a lot. I can only put it to you two ways: (1) All you get when you hire an attorney is an insurance policy or what you might consider peace of mind. A competent attorney will never be able to guarantee you results, but they ought to be able to guarantee that you take all appropriate steps and where you will be lost and spinning your wheels, the attorney does not. That saves days off work chasing around to figure out how to draft or file a particular document to meet a particular deadline. So bottom line, you get peace of mind.

(2) The second metaphor I can offer is this: If your daughter needed to remove her appendix, you could probably save money on the operation by reading a book on exactly what to do. You might even buy the "Appendix Removal Kit" for $99.99 at your local drug store. You could do this, but would you?

I offer a free telephone consultation if you would like to further discuss your case. You can call me or e-mail me and let me know good days and times to call you, and I will try to accommodate your schedule as best I can.

After the consultation, you will have enough information to make an informed decision about how to proceed with your case, and whether to proceed at all.