Unmarried parents (parentage)

General information

Parentage involves unmarried parents. This includes legal parents asking for parenting plans or child support for the first time (Petition for a Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule and/or Child Support). It also includes cases to determine a child's legal parents when they are unmarried (Petition to Decide Parentage).

Information about Washington Parenting Law for Unmarried Couples is available from Washington LawHelp.

Clark County's Family Court Facilitator program provides assistance to individuals who choose to represent themselves in matters dealing with many family law issues. The facilitator is available for in-person assistance by appointment for a fee.

Forms and instructions

The Washington State Court has official mandatory pattern forms without instructions for a:

Washington LawHelp has guides with instructions and forms for legal parents:

Washington LawHelp has guides with instructions and forms for people who need to establish a legal parent:

Washington LawHelp has guides with instructions for the parenting plan form:

Checklists of forms for parentage cases where an Acknowledgment of Paternity was filed at the Washington State Department of Health can be found on the Family Court Facilitator's family law instructions page.

For more information about petitioning for child support, see the child support page.

For information about changing a final parenting plan or child support order, see the modification page.

Additional resources

Clark County Superior Court Local Court Rule LCR 0.6 includes a suggested parenting time schedule for school-age children whose parents live in the same geographic location.

Information about how to become a legal parent in Washington State is available from Legal Voice.

Information about establishing parentage and parenting rights is available from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.

Navigate Law Group has a blog post about how to file and prepare for your contested child custody/parenting plan hearing

Free eBooks about parenting agreements and other family law topics

 
Building a Parenting Agreement book cover

How to find parenting and other family law books

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