Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Custody v.s Guardianship

I have been raising my exboyfriends daughter for 3 1/2 yrs. She is now 5yrs old. Mom is in prison, Dad is a chroinic alcoholic. I want to seek custody/gaurdianship of her. I moved out of Dads house 3 months ago. He has not paid any support to her care. He has actually spent 9 hours with her in the past 14 days. I do keep a calendar of when i have her and when he has her. Majority of her time is with me. I'm not sure which is more important custody or gaurdianship? I'm not really sure the difference between the two either. Is it best to get a lawyer for this or would it be adequate to file myself if dad is in agreement?


Asked on 6/27/09, 5:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gary Preble Preble Law Firm, P.S.

Re: Custody v.s Guardianship

What you want is a non-parent custody. The forms can be found at http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.contribute&formID=29. Whether you do it yourself or hire an attorney depends on your comfort level.

The father may balk at the child support even if he agrees to custody. Having an attorney may also give you a psychological advantage to avoid time and cost

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Answered on 6/29/09, 10:43 am


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