Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Pre-2000 Parenting Plan and 2004 relocation of custodial parent

My husband and I moved to Idaho last year after both being laid off in the computer industry and receiving a job offer in Boise. We had been looking for jobs in our industry for several months without success. Our parenting plans, filed in 1996 and 1998, do not restrict relocation, and we notified our ex-spouses of the move and scheduled visitation without changing the parenting plans. I recently read that a law went into affect in 2000 requiring written, court-paper notification, which we did not do. We have been in Idaho for a year, the children communicate with our ex's on a daily basis and visit them at every school vacation. I have two questions:(1) are we bound to the 2000 rules? (2) if so, how do we file since we've already relocated and had the arrangements in place for a year?

Thank you very much for you assistance!


Asked on 5/13/05, 9:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Christopher Steuart IT Forensics, Inc.

Re: Pre-2000 Parenting Plan and 2004 relocation of custodial parent

The law is not as rough as you make it sound. It is simply a notification and opportunity to object requirement. Its application to parenting plans issued prior to June 8, 2000, is limited to enforcing the notice requirement as written in the parenting plan.

(See RCW 26.09.430-480 for the full child text of the relocation statute at url: http://www.leg.wa.gov/RCW/index.cfm?fuseaction=chapterdigest&chapter=26.09).

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Answered on 5/13/05, 2:46 pm


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