Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

When you write "usable" I take that to mean "legally enforceable." In other words, if I understand you correctly, what you are really asking is whether the court would take that written agreement between you and the parents and legally enforce it, such that you would be able to maintain custody of your cousin's daughter until she was mentally, physically, and financially stable.

In general, I think the answer is no. However, I think you could bring a third-party custody case, which would require you to prove to the court that both of the biological parents are unfit. In this context, "unfit" is not as easy to show as you might think. First of all, their financial stability would not be something the court would consider. One cannot take away a child, from a parent just because the parent is poor, no matter how poor they are.

Second, if your cousin and the child's father are both mentally ill to the point that they cannot take care of the child, or if they are somehow so physically ill but no matter what accommodations are made for them, they still cannot take care of the child, then in those circumstances, I would advise you to petition the court for third-party custody. This will not be a simple endeavor, and it's not one that I would advise you to do on your own without an attorney.

This brings up my third point. Since this type of proceeding is not something that can easily be done on your own, and since you would need an attorney, which invariably means several thousands of dollars spent on legal fees, very few people proceed down this road. I know this is not the answer you were hoping to read, but these are complex legal issues that would need to be sorted out by a court, and it is already challenging enough for an attorney to present such a case, and nearly impossible for a non-attorney to do so.

If money is no object, then there should be no impediment to your proceeding. However, if you're not able to afford the legal fees, my best suggestion is for you to start looking around on the Internet and seeing if there are attorneys in your area who operate on a sliding scale fee basis, or perhaps a legal aid organization, that would take your case on at little or no charge.

I wish you well in this endeavor.