Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Willful Abandonment Question

I would say that it does constitute wilful abandonment under the statute but to be sure, I'd want to hear the father's side of it. Still, assuming all is as you say, I am not sure how you got to the point of having a child support order without a parenting plan in the first place?

That said, it is possible to have a parenting plan that provides for no contact with a child, if circumstances warrant such restrictions. At the same time, you should know that the legislative policy behind the Parenting Act is to encourage, facilitate, and cajole reunification between willing parents and their children, even if there was abandonment in the past, so long as that parent demonstrates that they have changed.

This does not mean the father shows up, says he loves his daughter, and the judge says all is forgiven and now you have frequent visits. Quite the contrary. It is a long process by which he would be eased into visits, supervised at first, and along the way, a guardian ad litem who represents your child's best interests and speaks for the child in court, would report on the progress of the relationship. If this is too much for your daughter to bear or she flat out rejects her father, then until that changes, most likely, visitation would not progress beyond that point.

The court does not want to make her uncomfortable if it can avoid it. Her voice would be heard through the guardian ad litem, who in turn may also hire or ask for authority to hire a child psychologist or psychiatrist to evaluate everyone (kids and both parents) psychologically to determine fitness for reunification as well as to monitor the reunification for problems and to adjust visits accordingly.

Bottom line, if the father jumps through all the right hoops for a long enough period of time, he will likely get some visitation. I know your 5 year old wants nothing to do with him for now, but she is not old and wise enough to have considered the ramifications of her decision, which is why she gets a guardian ad litem to speak on her behalf, who considers your daughter's opinion, but also applies adult reasoning to formulate a proper recommendation of how to proceed.

I highly suggest that if you can, you get counsel to help you with this matter. I am happy to consult at no charge and at least help you know what you're looking at after speaking with you.