Modifying Parenting Plans in Seattle

Divorced parents must often work together to provide their children with the best living arrangements possible. How a child is reared is an important part of their development, and both parents are urged to share in this necessary and rewarding responsibility.

When divorcing parents agree to a child's living arrangements, a document is created outlining the details, and this is called a parenting plan. Sometimes situations arise where modifications must be made to this agreement after a divorce is finalized. This process is often complicated, but our experienced Seattle parenting plan modification lawyers can help you deal with these serious child custody issues.

If you want to make modifications to a custody arrangement, our Seattle parenting plan attorneys will help you work with your ex-spouse to create a new agreement, if possible. Avoiding unnecessary conflict with your ex-spouse will often help this process move along more rapidly, and our Seattle child custody lawyers work hard to keep negotiations running smoothly, even if conflicts arise.

When modifying a parenting plan, our Seattle attorneys will likely address some of these important questions:

• How will the child's placement will be structured, and who will be the primary residential parent?
• How can we help both parents agree on details that directly affect the child's life, like which parent will make decisions on their behalf?
• What kind of reasonable method for settling future disputes can we arrange?
• Who will help determine the focus child's religious and educational preferences?

Our King County parenting plan attorneys urge parents to work together when deciding what's best for their kids. Most parents would also rather stay out of court, so our Seattle child custody lawyers always encourage constructive negotiations and an amicable atmosphere. Throughout this process, our Washington State parenting plan modification attorneys will provide you with reliable counsel based upon their extensive knowledge of Washington family law.

Once a parenting plan is finalized by the court, there has to be a very good reason to make a change. The goal of maintaining a parenting plan is to provide the child with long-term stability. The court won't even hear a case involving a major parenting plan change without first holding something called an adequate cause hearing. It's during this hearing that the parent seeking the change will need to convince a judge that there is a good reason for the modification.

Written affidavits are sent to the judge from both parents. If the judge is satisfied that the modification is justified, they will set a date for the hearing. If not, the request is summarily denied.

Reasons a judge may accept a modification hearing vary, but if both parents agree they will likely approve it. Otherwise, it may be necessary to prove that the child's current environment is potentially harmful to their well being. Other situations may also qualify, so contact one of our Seattle lawyers for more information.

Studies indicate that when parents work cooperatively on their child's custody agreement, it is far more likely to be followed than if the court mandates they follow a plan. While reaching an agreement may at times seem impossible, our Seattle parenting plan modification lawyers will gently urge you to seek arbitration, mediation, or even counseling, if we believe it will aid productive communication.

Another effective way to reach a parenting plan agreement is to have each party design their own plan before working with a neutral mediator to hash out the finer points. Once both parents can see through their differences and agree on a plan, our Seattle child custody lawyers will seek approval from the court.

If you've been served with a notice that an ex-spouse is pursuing modifications to a current child custody arrangement, or you’re hopeful that an existing plan can be modified, our Seattle parenting plan attorneys will provide you with the legal knowledge you need to understand your options. We offer a free modification consultation, which will help you understand how the law applies to your situation.

We understand that you want what's best for your kids, so contact the Washington Family Law Group today and let us help you deal with serious parenting plan modification issues.