Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: legal recourse

Go online to the courts wa dot gov and look to see if your county has a website. See if you can find the DV office where you live. Make an appointment and go talk to the facilitator, say what you said here.

The phenomenon of the abuser getting a DVPO is common enough that there's a form that addresses this issue and realigns the parties so the abuser is not the protected party.

If you are back together right now, be sure the facilitator knows this.

What you are doing is filing for a modification based on a substantial change of circumstances and you are filing for a DVPO for yourself and the children.

It's not really useful to blame your attorney for the predicament you are in. If you believe that your attorney did a horrible job, you can report what happened to the Bar. They are online at www wsba dot org.

You need more help than I can offer you on line. DVPOs are designed so that pro ses can get them themselves, but the rest of the process is going to be a trick.

Ask the DV office if your county Bar has a low income clinic or if they are affiliated with any programs that can assist low income persons.

Have your pleadings and your custody decree with you and be ready to explain what happened and why you went back to this guy.

Hope this helps - Powell