Child Custody vs. Parental Rights under Seattle Family Law

Under Seattle family law—Washington State family law—there is a distinction between custody rights to children and a parent’s fundamental right to parent her children. To illustrate, in some cases a parent has no custody or visitation rights to a child, although his parental rights have not been terminated. Under these circumstances, custodial or visitation rights can be obtained, depending upon the circumstances. To use another illustration from Seattle family law, a child’s biological father may not be known or held out as such, but he may be able to block someone else from adopting that child because his parental rights have not been terminated.

Seattle family law in this area is quite complex and much depends on the facts of each case. However, consider these policies that courts try to accomplish. First, courts generally make custody determinations based on what is in the best interests of the child. Second, it is generally in a child’s best interest to maintain a stable and consistent home environment. Third, a fit parent presumably has his or her child’s best interest in mind. While these generalizations are nowhere near a summary of Seattle family law custody factors, they can give a sense of what the law tries to accomplish.

If you are or think you are the father of a child for whom you do not have custody rights, contact a Seattle family law attorney at McKinley Irvin for some advice on your parental rights. Our lawyers also help in terminating the parental rights of an absent parent in order to allow adoption, and are highly experienced in all areas of Seattle family law litigation.

The author is a Seattle family law student. Please visit McKinley Irvin for more information.