Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
legal requirements surrounding minor children
If a divorced couple who live in different states (ie Washington State and Minnisota) have two sons (minors...agea 12 and 14)...and they have joint custody...
and for many years both boys lived in Minnisota...and received full child support.... now for the past year have lived full tmie in Washington with the other parent...and received some support.....
but at this time one son wishes to live in Minnisota...the other wishes to remain in Washington where he hs lived this past year....and the two parents agree...and they agree that no support needs to be compensated...they each will take full charge of the individual child in their care....
first of all...is it mandatory to file anything in the court system as long as everyone is agreeable ?
and since they have joint custody of the boys...can the boys remain in a flexible situation...to where they can come and go?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: legal requirements surrounding minor children
It is not mandatory to have anything filed with the state so long as both parents are in agreement about what is happening.
The danger is that you cannot control what the other parent does, and the other parent can change their mind.
It would be safer to file an agreed parenting plan that provides what you want it to provide, and two orders of child support (one for each child) that effectively cancel each other out. This way, the other parent cannot claim that they never agreed to what you are saying they agreed to. It is in writing and signed off on by a judge, and thus enforceable.
What you are proposing is the best thing in the world for your children, and I commend you for taking this approach. I tell my clients that they want really detailed plans, and then recommend they put the plan in a drawer and do what the kids need.
Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell
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