Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

I would like to know what I need to do to protect my 5 yr old from having to be alone with his unpredictable paranoid schizophrenic father. He and I have a past of domestic violence. He also has a past and present substance abuse of Meth, also know to overly use prescription drugs prescribed for him and not


Asked on 4/21/13, 12:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

You should seek a restraining order and if there is a current custody order (Parenting Plan), then seek a modification of that order to put in place the proper restrictions to ensure your son's safety (if there are any that will accomplish this).

Do yourself a huge favor and try to get an attorney to help you with this. Often, many people come to attorneys after they have tried to do this on their own and it did not work. That only makes the attorney's work harder and more expensive and time consuming (meaning expensive). It is much harder to make a follow up statement or declaration in court when you have submitted one before, then realize it is insufficient and get an attorney to revise it later. The judge or commissioner hearing the case will be suspicious as to why you later included all kinds of details and information that should have been brought up in your original statement or declaration.

When you submit your petition for a restraining order, or a modification of the parenting plan in conjunction with a restraining order, then make sure you have as much documentation of your son's father's drug use and abuse as possible. Documentation is best, but declarations from those how have seen first hand his drug use and abuse is also good.

Beyond what I have just written, I cannot say more specifically what to do, as each case differs based on the facts of each case.

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Answered on 4/23/13, 2:35 pm


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