Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: children in court

Usually not in an action to modify child support, although I have been involved in cases where the issues did require some input from the child. More often in cases involving custody issues, the court will consider input from the child. If there are issues that, if true, would pose a danger to the child, the court will often appoint a Guardian ad Litem to investigate and report back to the court. A regular part of a Guardian ad Litem investigation is an interview with the child, assuming that the child is of an age where his or her input will be meaningful. The parties may call a child as a witness, although I personally try to avoid this as much as possible. Another alternative is to request that the judge talk to the child in chambers. Whether or not to grant this request is up to the judge, and each will have his or own feelings about the appropriateness of this and the circumstances under which this request should be granted.