The information provided below is intended for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. It is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Each legal matter is unique, and the outcome of any case depends on various factors and circumstances. Therefore, individuals should seek the advice of qualified legal professionals regarding their specific situation. Reliance on any information provided here is at the reader’s own risk. The following is a fictitious scenario to illustrate the potential outcomes of a parenting plan. It is crucial to understand that the law is the same throughout Washington, and family law matters are decided in county Superior Courts in Washington. Below is only a fictitious scenario for what might be a familiar city to you.
Illustrative Fact Pattern & Analysis
Carlos and Ashley, a couple living in Tacoma, Washington, are navigating the challenges of parenting their two children, Lily (8) and Noah (5). The relationship between Carlos and Ashley has become strained, and they frequently find themselves in disagreements about parenting styles and responsibilities.
Both parents work full-time jobs with demanding schedules. Carlos, a software engineer, often works late hours to meet project deadlines. Ashley, a marketing manager, travels frequently for business meetings. The couple has decided to live separately due to ongoing conflicts, and the parenting plan has become a source of contention.
Lily is more attached to Carlos, while Noah tends to gravitate towards Ashley. This dynamic adds another layer of complexity to the parenting plan negotiations. Carlos insists on having the children during weekdays to maintain stability, while Ashley argues for him to have weekends to ensure quality bonding time.
Communication between Carlos and Ashley is strained, leading to disputes about decision-making authority, school involvement, and even extracurricular activities. Both parents want a say in major decisions, but they struggle to find common ground. Lily and Noah are both involved in various activities, including soccer, music lessons, and art classes. Ashley and Carlos disagree over who should be responsible for the costs associated with these extracurriculars.
Carlos insists that Ashley should contribute a fair share of the expenses since both parents have equal decision-making authority regarding the children’s activities. Ashley, on the other hand, argues that given Carlos’s higher income as a software engineer, they should split the costs based on their respective financial capabilities. This financial dispute further strains the co-parenting relationship, with accusations of one parent being unwilling to invest in the children’s well-rounded development. The disagreement extends to the choice of extracurriculars, with each parent pushing for activities they believe are more beneficial for the children.
Extended family members on both sides are also involved, with grandparents expressing strong opinions about visitation schedules and holiday arrangements. The heightened emotions and disagreements spill over into family gatherings, making co-parenting discussions even more challenging.
Below are parenting plan options for family law cases in general and underneath that are requests Ashley and Carlos could make for their specific issues:
General
- 50-50/Equal Time-Sharing Plan: Under this plan, Ashley and Carlos would have equal time with the children, splitting parenting time on a 50/50 basis. This could involve alternating weeks or dividing the week into equal blocks of time. This plan provides both parents with substantial and consistent time with the children, fostering strong relationships and shared responsibilities.
- Majority-Minority Custody Plan: In this arrangement, the children would primarily reside with one parent (often the custodial parent) while the other parent has scheduled visitation time. For example, the children may live with Carlos during the week and spend weekends with Ashley, along with additional visitation time during weekdays or holidays. This plan provides stability for the children while ensuring ongoing involvement from both parents.
- Customized Parenting Schedule: Ashley and Carlos can create a custom parenting schedule tailored to their specific needs, preferences, and the children’s best interests. This may involve a combination of weekdays, weekends, overnights, and holidays, designed to accommodate their work schedules, the children’s extracurricular activities, and other commitments. Flexibility and open communication are crucial for the success of a customized parenting plan. This can be key if one parent has to work nights or weekends—for example, Carlos works six days a week instead of five.
- Bird’s Nest Custody Plan: This is a very uncommon arrangement that involves the children remaining in the family home while Ashley and Carlos take turns living with them. For example, Ashley may reside in the family home with the children for one week, while Carlos stays in a separate residence, and then they switch. This plan minimizes disruption to the children’s living arrangements and allows them to maintain a consistent environment.
- Long-Distance Parenting Plan: Let’s say Carlos wants to move to Spokane, WA, a long-distance parenting plan would likely be appropriate. This plan typically involves extended periods of visitation during school breaks, holidays, and summers, supplemented by regular communication through phone calls, video chats, and other electronic means. It’s essential to create a schedule that maximizes quality time between the children and the non-residential parent while accommodating logistical challenges.
- Staged Parenting Plan: A staged parenting plan gradually increases the non-residential parent’s time with the children over time, allowing for a transition period to adjust to the new living arrangements. For example, the children may initially spend weekends with the non-residential parent and gradually transition to weekday overnights as they become more accustomed to the new routine. This plan can help ease the children’s adjustment to the new residential schedule and promote a smooth transition.
Sometimes parents can write in provisions in the “Other” section of a parenting plan to create a “Parallel Parenting Plan.” Parallel parenting involves each parent having separate and distinct responsibilities for the children during their respective parenting time, with limited communication between the parents. Under this plan, Ashley and Carlos would maintain separate routines, rules, and disciplinary approaches during their time with the children. This plan can be beneficial in high-conflict situations where frequent interaction between parents may be detrimental.
We receive many questions about whether a Court will allow a child to live with the parent they want to. There is a provision in RCW 26.09.187 where children, who are “sufficiently mature,” can choose whom they want to live with. We have seen that this is rarely enforced; however, because the Courts do not like it when children testify for one parent over the other. That is our experience and there are certain situations where a Court would allow a child to live with the parent they want to. Therefore, Lily’s and Noah’s wishes to spend more time with one parent, will likely not be taken into consideration unless there is an agreement by the parties.
Specific
Ashley’s business trips could be an issue if she is gone overnight and for several days at a time. It could cause her to have minority custody—a couple of days a week or every other week. To determine whether it will, a Court would look at the factors in RCW 26.09.187. There are many different ones and below are some of them broken into easier language to understand:
- Stability and Routine: The court will likely consider which residential schedule provides the children with the most stability and a consistent routine. If one parent can offer a more predictable and secure environment, it may influence the court’s decision.
- Parental Availability: The court will assess each parent’s availability and ability to meet the children’s daily needs. If Ashley’s frequent business trips significantly impact availability, the court may adjust the residential schedule accordingly.
- Distance between Residences: If Carlos and Ashley live in close proximity, the court may have more flexibility in creating a residential schedule that allows for frequent exchanges between parents. However, if there’s a considerable distance, the court might consider longer blocks of time with each parent.
- Child’s Age and Developmental Needs: The court will consider the age and developmental stage of the children. Younger children may benefit from more frequent, shorter visits, while older children may thrive with longer blocks of time with each parent.
- Flexibility in Scheduling: Given Ashley’s business travel, the court may encourage flexibility in the residential schedule. This could involve accommodating changes in parenting time due to work commitments while ensuring that both parents have meaningful time with the children.
- Communication and Cooperation: The court may emphasize the importance of effective communication and cooperation between Carlos and Ashley in implementing the residential schedule. This might include advanced notice of changes, regular updates during business trips, and a commitment to shared decision-making.
- Third-Party Involvement: If necessary, the court may consider the involvement of third parties, such as grandparents or trusted family members, in facilitating the residential schedule during Ashley’s business trips.
In contentious situations, the court may order a more detailed parenting plan, outlining phone call schedules, and specific provisions for communication issues, the court might appoint a mediator or family counselor to assist the parents in reaching an agreement that prioritizes the well-being of the children, and many other provisions. The ultimate decision will depend on the unique circumstances of the case and the evidence presented to the court, and it is important to seek legal advice to know potential outcomes in Court.
Child Support
A court would calculate child support (both temporary and final) by following Washington State guidelines. Here’s how the court might proceed:
- Determining Income:
- The court would first assess the gross income of both Ashley and Carlos.
- Both parties would provide documentation of their income, including pay stubs, tax returns, and other financial records. Because Ashley is a stay-at-home mom, she would likely have her income imputed to the average salary of a woman her age.
- Calculating Basic Support Obligation:
- Using the Washington State Child Support Schedule, the court would determine the basic support obligation based on the combined income of Ashley and Carlos and the number of children they have.
- The court would reference the standard calculation table in the Child Support Schedule to determine the appropriate amount of child support based on the combined monthly net income of both parents.
- Adjusting for Parenting Time:
- The court would consider the parenting time arrangement agreed upon or ordered for Ashley and Carlos. Since they have two children aged 10 and 12, the court would take into account the number of overnights each parent has with the children.
- If Ashley and Carlos have a shared custody arrangement where the children spend significant time with both parents, the court may make adjustments to the child support calculation to reflect the shared expenses incurred by each parent during their respective parenting time. This is called a Residential Schedule deviation.
- Additional Expenses:
- The court would also address additional expenses such as childcare, health insurance premiums, and other necessary costs associated with raising the children.
- Ashley and Carlos would provide information about any additional expenses they incur for the children, and the court would allocate responsibility for these expenses based on the parents’ incomes and other relevant factors.
- Deviation Factors:
- If there are special circumstances warranting deviation from the standard child support calculation, such as the children’s specific needs or the parent’s financial resources, the court may consider these factors in determining the final child support amount. A common deviation is when one parent is paying child support for other children outside this marital relationship. Such deviation is called a whole family formula.
- However, absent such circumstances, the court would typically adhere to the standard calculation provided by the Washington State Child Support Schedule.
- Extracurricular Activities
- If the Court orders that both parents need to pay for extracurricular activities, the children’s extracurricular activities would most likely be based on a proportional share arrangement. Proportional share involves distributing the costs of shared expenses such as extracurricular activities proportionally to each parent’s income. In this case, since Carlos, a software engineer, has a higher income compared to Ashley, a marketing manager, the court ruled that they should contribute to the costs in proportion to their respective financial capabilities. This means that while both parents share the financial responsibility, the higher-earning parent contributes a larger portion of the overall expense.
- Calculating Proportional Share:
- Suppose Carlos’s net monthly income is $5,000, and Ashley’s net monthly income is $3,000. The total combined net monthly income is still $8,000. Each party would divide their net monthly income by the total combined income to calculate their proportional share.
- Carlos’s Proportion = Carlos’s Net Monthly Income / Total Net Monthly Income
- Carlos’s Proportion = $5,000 / $8,000 = 0.625 (or 62.5%)
- Ashley’s Proportion = Ashley’s Net Monthly Income / Total Net Monthly Income
- Ashley’s Proportion = $3,000 / $8,000 = 0.375 (or 37.5%)
- Determine the Contribution
- If the extracurricular activity costs, for example, $500, Carlos’s Contribution = Carlos’s Proportion * Total Cost and Ashely’s Contribution = Ashley’s Proportion * Total Cost
- Carlos’s Contribution = 0.625 * $500 = $312.50
- Ashley’s Contribution = 0.375 * $500 = $187.50
- Now, with Carlos having a higher net monthly income, he would contribute approximately $312.50, and Ashley would contribute approximately $187.50 towards the total cost of the extracurricular activity. This calculation is based on their respective net monthly incomes under the proportional share arrangement.
- Finalizing the Child Support Order:
- Based on the calculations and considerations outlined above, the court would issue a child support order specifying the amount of child support to be paid by one parent to the other.
- The child support order would include details such as the frequency and method of payment, any allocation of additional expenses, and any other relevant terms and conditions.
- The court’s child support order would be legally binding, and both Ashley and Carlos would be required to comply with its terms.
Overall, the court’s objective in calculating child support would be to ensure that the financial needs of Ashley and Carlos’s children are met in a fair and equitable manner, taking into account the parent’s respective incomes, parenting time arrangements, and additional expenses related to raising the children.
