Child custody disputes can be some of the most stressful and emotional moments a parent will ever experience. When your relationship with your child feels uncertain, every hearing, document, and deadline can seem overwhelming. You may be worried about where your child will live, how major decisions will be made, and whether you will be able to maintain a strong, consistent presence in their life.
At Harbor Family Law, our goal is to guide you through this process with clarity and compassion, protecting both your parental rights and your child’s stability at every stage. When you are ready to understand your options and move forward with confidence, our child custody lawyers near me law firm are here to help.
If you’re ready to discuss your options, contact our child custody attorneys in Gig Harbor for a confidential consultation.
Understanding a Child’s Best Interests
In Washington, every custody decision is grounded in the “best interests of the child” standard. Rather than focusing on which parent “wins,” courts look closely at what arrangement will best support the child’s emotional, physical, and developmental needs.
Judges consider the strength of each parent-child relationship, each parent’s history of caregiving, the child’s ties to school and community, and any health or safety concerns that might affect day-to-day life. They also evaluate how well each parent supports the child’s relationship with the other parent.
Our child custody lawyers help parents present organized, persuasive evidence so the court can clearly see what arrangement truly serves a child’s long-term well-being.
Types of Child Custody
Washington law recognizes both legal custody and physical custody, and these can be shared or allocated in different ways depending on your family’s circumstances. A well-drafted parenting plan will address both types, making expectations clear for everyone involved and reducing conflict in the future.
Legal Custody and Physical Custody
Legal custody refers to the authority to make important decisions about a child’s upbringing. This includes choices about education, medical care, counseling, religious participation, and other major issues that shape a child’s future. In many cases, parents share legal custody so they both remain involved in these decisions, even if the child spends more time living with one parent.
Physical custody, by contrast, focuses on where the child lives on a regular basis and how their time is divided between households. Physical custody arrangements range from equal time schedules to primary residence with one parent and scheduled visits with the other.
Joint Custody and Sole Custody
Joint custody (whether legal, physical, or both) works best when parents can communicate effectively and prioritize their child over conflict. It allows children to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents and to feel supported in both homes.
Sole custody may be appropriate when one parent is unable or unwilling to provide a safe, stable environment. Even when one parent has primary residential time, the other parent may still have significant visitation rights and opportunities to remain involved.
Our local child custody attorneys help you evaluate whether joint or sole custody is realistic in your situation and build a proposal that aligns with your child’s needs.
Reasons a Parent May Be Awarded Full/Sole Custody
Courts do not award sole custody simply because parents disagree or have different parenting styles. Instead, judges look for serious concerns that directly affect a child’s safety or stability.
A parent may be awarded full or sole custody when there is a history of domestic violence, untreated substance abuse, severe mental health issues, or chronic neglect. Repeated violations of existing parenting plans, interference with the child’s relationship with the other parent, or abandonment can also weigh heavily.
When these issues exist, the court may limit the other parent’s time or require supervised or restricted visitation while still expecting financial support. Our lawyers carefully document patterns of behavior and gather supporting records so the court has a clear picture of the risks involved.
Child Visitation and Parenting Plans
Even when parents do not share equal physical custody, it is usually best for children to maintain strong relationships with both parents. A thoughtful plan can reduce conflict and provide clarity for school, activities, and holidays.
Determining Who Gets the Child When
Determining the residential schedule is often the most emotionally charged part of a custody case. Courts consider how each proposed schedule will affect the child’s schooling, extracurriculars, friendships, and sense of security. They may also look at how much time each parent has historically spent on daily tasks like homework, meals, bedtime, and appointments.
Scheduled Visitation
Scheduled visitation typically includes regular weekday or weekend time for the parent who does not have primary residential custody and may also address holidays, school breaks, and summer vacations.
The goal is to provide clear expectations and minimize last-minute disputes. We help parents think through the details—from exchange locations to pick-up times—so the final plan is thorough rather than vague.
Virtual Visitation
Meaningful contact between a parent and child does not always require being in the same room. Virtual visitation through phone calls, video chats, and messaging can supplement in-person time and help maintain relationships when distance or scheduling conflicts make frequent visits difficult. Parenting plans can include provisions for virtual contact, such as regular nightly calls or video chats before important events.
Supervised Visitation
Supervised visitation may be ordered when the court believes a child could be at risk without oversight, but it is still beneficial for the child to have contact with a parent. Visits may take place at a professional visitation center or in the presence of a neutral third-party supervisor. The supervising adult ensures that interactions remain safe and appropriate and can intervene if problems arise.
Restricted Visitation
Restricted visitation is more limiting than supervised time and may involve shorter visits, fewer overnights, or specific conditions such as sobriety, counseling, or completion of parenting classes. Restrictions are designed to protect the child while still recognizing the importance of a parent-child relationship when appropriate. In extreme situations, visitation may be temporarily suspended until serious risks are addressed.
Modification of an Existing Child Custody Order
Custody and parenting arrangements are based on a specific snapshot in time, but life never stays the same. Washington allows parents to seek modification of existing orders when there has been a substantial change in circumstances. Modifications can be full, affecting primary residence and decision-making, or more limited, addressing details such as holidays, exchanges, or transportation.
Changes Due to Relocation
Relocation is one of the most common reasons parents seek to modify custody or parenting plans. A move might be prompted by a new job, remarriage, or the need for additional family support. When one parent wishes to relocate, the court considers how the move will affect the child’s relationships, schooling, and community ties. Judges weigh the reasons for the move against the impact on the child’s time with each parent.
Our attorneys guide parents through Washington’s relocation rules and advocate for schedules that remain focused on the child’s best interests.
Changes Due to Remarriage
Remarriage can change the dynamics in each household. New stepparents and step-siblings may alter daily routines, financial responsibilities, and emotional environments. When these changes significantly affect the child’s life, a modification may be appropriate. We help parents explain how remarriage has changed the practical realities of caregiving and why the parenting plan should evolve along with the family.
Changes Due to Health or Medical Needs
Serious health issues (whether affecting a parent or a child) can also justify revisiting an existing custody order. A parent struggling with illness may need reduced time or additional support; a child with new medical or therapeutic needs may require a different schedule or more flexibility for appointments. Our lawyers work with medical professionals to gather information that supports a modified plan tailored to the child’s current needs.
Changes Due to the Needs of a Child
As children grow, their needs naturally change. A parenting plan that works for a young child may be unworkable for a teenager balancing school and activities. While the court does not allow a child to decide custody, a mature child’s preferences can be one factor among many. Our attorneys help parents present these evolving needs without placing the child in the middle of adult disputes.
How Domestic Violence Can Affect Child Custody Cases
Allegations or evidence of domestic violence carry significant weight in custody cases. Courts are obligated to prioritize safety, particularly when children have witnessed or experienced abuse.
Domestic violence can affect how decision-making authority is allocated, whether visitation is supervised, and how quickly changes are made to existing orders. Survivors often need immediate protection orders and longer-term legal strategies that safeguard both their physical safety and their legal rights.
At Harbor Family Law, our lawyers take these cases seriously and work quickly to secure protective measures and present evidence of the impact of abuse. We also represent parents who have been falsely accused, ensuring that the court hears both sides and that decisions are based on credible information rather than unfounded claims.
Relative and Grandparent Visitation Rights
Grandparents and other relatives can play a central role in a child’s life. In limited situations, Washington law allows them to request court-ordered visitation when it is in the child’s best interests and contact would otherwise be lost. Our attorneys explain when these petitions are appropriate and help relatives present their relationship to the court in a focused, respectful way.
Paternity Disputes in Child Custody Cases
Paternity disputes arise when a parent seeks to establish legal rights or when biological parentage is questioned. Establishing paternity is often the first step in securing custody, visitation, and child support orders. Genetic testing and court procedures may be required before a father’s rights and obligations are legally recognized.
Harbor Family Law can guide parents through this process so that future custody and support arrangements rest on a clear legal foundation.
Child Custody for Unmarried Parents
Unmarried parents face many of the same challenges as married parents when relationships change, but rights and responsibilities are not always clearly defined without court orders. We help unmarried parents establish parentage, create parenting plans, and obtain enforceable orders so everyone understands where the child will live, how decisions are made, and how expenses will be shared.
Child Support Payments
Child support is a critical component of many custody cases, ensuring that children receive financial support from both parents. Washington uses guidelines that consider the income of both parents, the number of children, and certain expenses such as health insurance and childcare. Even when parents share time fairly equally, support may still be appropriate if there is a significant difference in income.
Our child custody lawyers in Gig Harbor help parents understand how the guidelines apply to their situation and address special circumstances that may warrant adjustments to the standard calculation.
Who Pays Child Support?
In general, the parent who has less time with the child or the higher income is ordered to pay support to the other parent. The goal is not to punish either parent but to ensure that the child’s basic needs (housing, food, clothing, transportation, and educational costs) are met in both households.
How Are Payments Calculated?
Child support calculations begin with each parent’s gross income, then factor in allowable deductions and child-related expenses. The court may consider health insurance premiums, daycare costs, special medical needs, and extraordinary educational expenses. In some cases, additional adjustments are made for long-distance travel required for visitation.
Our attorneys work carefully through these numbers, advocating for fair outcomes and helping parents understand how future changes in income or expenses might justify a modification.
Why Locals Choose Our Gig Harbor Child Custody Attorneys
Harbor Family Law can help you get through all of the difficulties associated with a child custody and visitation dispute. You have a lot of choices when looking for child custody attorneys near you, but here’s what sets our local lawyers apart:
- We have more than 40 years of combined legal experience
- We are members of the Washington State Bar Association, the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, the King County Bar Association, and the Collaborative Law Professionals of Pierce County
- Attorneys Chris D. Maharry and Anthony J. Zorich, Jr. (Tony) are both from Washington and have strong ties to the state and its people
Contact Our Gig Harbor Child Custody Lawyers Near Me Law Firm
Child custody matters are never just about paperwork. These issues are about your children, your daily life, and the future of your family. At Harbor Family Law, we combine legal experience with genuine compassion, helping parents navigate difficult decisions with confidence and support. When you are ready to talk about your situation with our child custody lawyers near me law firm, contact our Gig Harbor law office.
