Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Single Parent Never Married

I am the mother of two children. I have never been married. There has never been any legal papers drawn up. I do have birth certificates for both kids with my name and their father's name on it. Do I have legal rights to the kids or does the father? I was told that neither of us had legal rights and that all I had was Physical rights as the children live with me. Does this make sense? How can I not have legal rights when the kids live with me?


Asked on 11/16/04, 10:06 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Christopher Steuart IT Forensics, Inc.

Re: Single Parent Never Married

Legal rights (I assume you mean something like a custody order) are generated by legal action. In the absence of a court order to the contrary, the presumption in the state of Washington as to parental authority is that both parents have joint and equal authority. Even with a court order the preference of Washington courts is to favor joint custody and joint decision making. Where children live at any moment is just where they reside at the moment.

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Answered on 11/18/04, 1:43 pm


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