Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
Iam newly divorced and in the papers I'm listed as the primary parent but we split the children 50/50. Now school registration is starting for the next year and we are battling about what school we want our boys to attend. Since the divorce is final how do I go about getting full custody of the children and what is the chances I would win as there mother?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Your parenting plan should have a section on dispute resolution. In it, it may have a section on what alternative dispute resolution methods you are required to use before you come to court to settle this matter. If there are no alternative dispute mechanisms in your parenting plan, then you need to file a motion for a minor modification of the parenting plan to assign where the children should attend school.
As for getting full custody, I assume you mean, the children live with you full time. If so, that's not likely to happen in your situation, particularly given that the kids are now accustomed to living with their father. That said, I would frankly need to sit down with you and review all your papers in this case and ask you a lot of questions to get to the bottom of my analysis and provide you a more definitive answer. After looking through it all and discussing the situation with you, it may turn out that I am of a totally different opinion and think you can at least switch from 50/50 to something that provides more time to you.