Seattle Attorneys Blog
De facto parentage is an area of law that few people outside of the family law community know about. It is a common law remedy for adults who have taken on the role of parent in a child’s life, without being a biological or adoptive parent to the child.
Certain circumstances have to have occurred in order for a de facto parentage relationship to have existed. Most importantly, an adult (often a person in a relationship with the child’s parent) is invited into the child’s life, and is encouraged by one or both of the parents to act as a parent to the child. Sometimes the adult invited into the child’s life is not ever excluded and the child and adult enjoy the benefits of their relationship without interruption.
Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t go as smoothly, and the child’s legal parent decides to exclude the other parent-like adult from the child’s life. In these cases (assuming that the child has at least one fit and available parent), Washington statutes will not provide a remedy for the person seeking to continue his or her relationship with the child. Fortunately for people in these circumstances, they may be able to protect their relationship with the child by qualifying as a de facto parent under the common law. To qualify as a de facto parent, the person must have (1) taken on a parenting role in the life of the child with the permission of one of the child’s parents; (2) lived in the same household as the child; (3) not expected financial compensation for having a parent-like relationship with the child; and (4) continued the adult/child relationship over a length of time sufficient to have established a bonded parental-like relationship with the child.
If a person can establish that they qualify as a de facto to the child, the court will assist that person in protecting the adult/child relationship to the extent that it serves the child’s best interests. In many cases, this means the de facto parent will get visitation rights with the child among other benefits and responsibilities of being a legal parent.
If you have a relationship with a child that needs protection, we would be happy to advise you regarding your family law issue. Please contact us today.