Parenting Plans
RCW 26.09.187 — the child's relationship with each parent weighs most
- The relative strength, nature and stability of the child's relationship with each parent.
- Agreements the parents entered into knowingly and voluntarily.
- Each parent's past and future performance of parenting functions, including who has taken on more of the child's daily needs.
- The child's emotional needs and developmental level, and relationships with siblings, other significant adults, school and activities.
- The wishes of the parents, and of a child mature enough to express reasoned and independent preferences.
- Each parent's employment schedule.
The child's relationship with each parent gets the greatest weight. In Washington, the court sets the residential provisions of a permanent parenting plan by those factors, and the first, the strength, nature and stability of the child's relationship with each parent, is given the greatest weight.
The court may, and in some situations has to, limit a parent's residential time or decision making where the parent has engaged in conduct the limitations section lists, or lives with someone who has.
Sources for this section (2)
- RCW 26.09.187 — Criteria for establishing permanent parenting plan
- RCW 26.09.191 — Limitations in parenting plans
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.