Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: eviction

There are a couple of ways to get her out. One is to seek an anti-harassment order. If she refuses to leave your property and she is an adult, then she has no right to be there without your permission.

Eviction is problematic since I am going to guess that you do not have a written rental contract that could form the basis for an eviction case. Without that, I think eviction is a long, expensive route to take.

A third alternative, and perhaps the one I like least because it is so messy, is to change the locks on your home when she leaves for the day. This scenario usually degenerates into a screaming match on the front porch or lawn and then all the neighbors know about all your dirty laundry (if they did not already). It is the cheapest alternative, but really no fun.

No matter what method you use to get her out, you are going to need to change the locks to make sure she stays out, so you may as well do that now and keep no spares hanging loose in the home.

Sometimes just doing that and not giving your daughter a key will drive her crazy enough that she'll get out since she can't come and go as she pleases. I am going to guess that you have already tried sitting down and talking about this and that the talk did not go over well.

I hope this helps for your practical solution, but if I may, I think your greater overall problem or set of problems or conflicts with your daughter need to be worked out. Most parents don't kick out their adult children just because they are adults. There is usually some other reason, such as unruly friends she brings home, or drug use, or some behavior or persons she associates with that you disapprove of.

This won't save you money, but it will save you heartache: get into counseling or get to talking with your daughter to save your relationship, if there is evening a glimmer of a hope of doing that. Just do it. Good luck.