Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: divorce and custody

You should get counsel as soon as possible and file for dissolution of marriage and simultaneously file a motion for temporary orders, including a Parenting Plan that prevents either parent from taking the children out of state without permission from the other parent.

That will deal with the short term. Regarding the longer term issues your case presents, here are some thoughts. Normally, whomever is the primary residential parent is presumed to have valid reasons for moving that outweigh any harm the move will pose to the children- such as loss of time with you. You can rebut this presumption in court, but it's not easy.

However, in your case, neither parent is yet designated the primary residential parent, with visitation awarded to the other parent. I am not sure about your children's ages and what you circumstances are, but if you could become the primary residential parent, then I think you've got a good shot at keeping them in state.

Also, your case will likely call for either a parenting evaluator or a guardian ad litem ("GAL") to prepare a report after interviewing both parents and sometimes the children, again, depending on their ages. The GAL or evaluator will then file a report of their findings along with their recommendations for a Parenting Plan.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that you need to seek legal counsel NOW, so that you are at least appraised of all the minute details before you do anything more, or allow anything more to happen to you.

Re: divorce and custody

You should consider moving quickly. You may simply want to file the basic documents for a dissolution of marriage (divorce): Summons & Petition and get her served, so that Washington courts clearly have jurisdiction. These can be prepared and filed in a matter of few hours. You could still file after she moves, but it will probably be more difficult to get her served, she will have more time to respond, and although the Washington Courts would still have jurisdiction over the children for six months, it all gets more complicated. A better approach would be to file with a proposed parenting plan, a proposed order of support with child support worksheet and a motion for temporary orders (for temporary parenting plan and order of support). You have options on how to handle this, but sitting on your hands waiting to see what happens is not one of the good options.

Re: divorce and custody

Before your spouse moves, you likely should consider quickly filing a petition for dissolution of marriage. When filing the petition, you may ask for temporary orders that prevent either parent from removing the children from the state.

You may want to review your facts and options with an attorney.