Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Vacation to Disneyland

A notice of unavailability is a document submitted by an attorney requesting that motions and actions not happen because he or she is going to be absent from his or her office.

It is unusual for a pro se to do this, but likely okay, so far as the court goes, because you are acting as your own attorney.

As for your vacation with the kids:

Is there a temporary plan in place? What does it say about vacation time with the kids? Is there a section requiring that vacations happen on each parent's residential time, so as not to interfere with the other parent's residential time? You can't be planning to be at Disneyland for the entire month, right?

My plans always have a notification section regarding summer plans, and require that permission to travel outside the state with the children "shall not be unreasonably withheld". It should talk about vacations during the parent's regular residential time.

What does your plan say?

Is there not a plan? If you have not got temporary orders entered yet, then you should not be taking the children out of the state. That's just the reality of travel with children right now.

The form you need is a parenting plan that spells out vacation time.

All family law pleadings can be entered by agreement. (Perhaps a bit of arm-twisting, but agreement nonetheless.)

Also, a good parenting plan is going to be significantly different from the "form", having a lot more information, and direction.

I tell my clients that I want to avoid the stupid arguments at all costs, and encourage them to learn the plan like you would learn a roadmap, and then throw the thing in a drawer and do what the kids need.

When you make agreements the Court will follow your orders (so long as it is in the children's best interests). When you cannot agree, you give your power away to the court, and the court might rule in a way you do not want to have happen.

Call if you want more help. Elizabeth Powell