Children grow, and a schedule that once worked well sometimes stops fitting your family. Washington law allows you to seek a change to your parenting plan, but the requirements depend on what you want to adjust.
Standards for a plan change
For a major modification, the court considers facts that arose after it entered the plan or that it did not know at the time. That means a parent cannot reopen the same dispute based only on facts the judge already considered.
Those facts must show a substantial change in your child’s or the other parent’s circumstances; a change in your own situation alone does not meet this standard. The court must also find that the modification is necessary for your child’s best interests. It generally keeps the existing residential schedule unless a condition set out in state law supports changing it.
Minor modifications to residential time
Washington has a separate standard for limited changes to the time your child spends with each parent. You must show a substantial change in your child’s or either parent’s circumstances, and your request must fit one of these situations:
- A shift of no more than 24 full days in a calendar year
- A move by the parent with whom your child spends less time that makes the current schedule impractical
- An increase to no more than 90 overnights a year with the parent who has less time, if the existing plan does not give that parent reasonable time and the increase serves your child’s best interests
The court looks at what the new schedule would do, regardless of how you describe the request. If it changes which parent your child lives with most of the time, it does not qualify as a minor modification.
Steps toward a final order
To begin, you file a Petition to Change a Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule or Custody Order, a summons and any other required forms. You then have someone formally serve the other parent, unless that parent accepts service or joins the petition.
The final order states whether the court changed the plan and sets out any new terms. While the case is pending, you can request a temporary order to address the schedule. If your child faces an immediate safety risk, you can also seek an immediate restraining order.