Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Single Parent Legal Custody

I am not sure I understand your question. If you are asking whether the State of Washington will step in and take custody of your child because you are single, the answer is no. If you are asking about how the law handles the question of custody between two parents who are not married, the answer is that the law treats the question much the same as in any other custody dispute. The court will award custody and visitation depending upon what it determines is in the child's best interests. This is accomplished in cases where the parents are not married in an action to establish paternity. This is true even if there is no question in the parents' minds regarding who the father of the child is. If there is no issue raised which would require a parent's ability to be with child to be restricted, the court will look to a number of other factors in trying to determine what is in a child's best interest. The primary factor is the degree to which the parents have assumed the responsibility for parenting the child and the nature of the relationship between the child and each parent.