Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Paternity and grandparent visitation

You cannot. There is no such thing as "grandparental visitation" in Washington, it has been abolished by the Supreme Court.

Whether or not the father is on the birth certificate is not relevant.

This is one of those issues that the court cannot assist you with. Perhaps if you can develop a working relationship with the mother she will let you spend time with the child.

But she doesn't have to. And a court will not make her.

Sorry. Elizabeth Powell

Re: Paternity and grandparent visitation

Ms Powell has clearly stated the law on this point. Nobody other than a parent has a "right" to residential time or visits. Without having established paternity, even your son has not established a right to time with his son. Approaching the problem from another direction, the child has a right to maintain relationships with the significant people in his life, these people are recognized as de facto parents. The following is my opinion: You may be able to establish de facto parent status, but it will not be easy. Even if your son established paternity, had a residential schedule, with significant time, executed it, and you were there for all those times, it is possible you could establish a de facto parent status but it would probably take several years, and even then you could have to litigate that determination, because the details of what it takes to establish de facto parent status are not settled.