Non-parental custody in Washington State is now handled through a court process called minor guardianship under Chapter 11.130 of the Revised Code of Washington. The old non-parental custody statute, Chapter 26.10, was repealed in 2021. Orders issued under the old law remain valid, but any new petition or modification runs through the minor guardianship process.1Snohomish County, WA. Minor Guardianships A court can appoint you as a child’s guardian if both parents consent, if parental rights have been terminated, or if you prove with clear and convincing evidence that neither parent is willing or able to care for the child.
Legal Grounds for a Non-Parent to Get Custody
A court can appoint a guardian only after finding two things: the appointment serves the child’s best interest, and at least one of three conditions exists. Both parents may consent after being fully informed about what guardianship means. All parental rights may already have been legally terminated. Or the petitioner may prove by clear and convincing evidence that no parent is willing or able to carry out their parenting responsibilities.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.185 – Basis for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
That third path is the most common one in contested cases, and the burden is deliberately steep. Washington’s constitution protects a parent’s right to raise their child, so the question is not whether you would be a better caregiver. You must show that neither parent can meet the child’s needs, measured against the parenting functions defined in state law: maintaining a stable relationship with the child, handling daily needs like feeding and health care, ensuring adequate education, and providing financial support.3Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 26.09 – Dissolution Proceedings, Parenting Plans
Evidence that a parent cannot fulfill these functions might include a documented pattern of abuse or neglect, abandonment, extended incarceration, or a long-term inability to parent due to severe substance abuse or a debilitating mental health condition. It must be substantial and specific, not speculative. Judges are not looking for imperfect parenting. They are looking for a genuine inability or unwillingness to parent at all.
Who Can File
Washington law allows any person interested in a minor’s welfare to petition for guardianship.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.225 – Emergency Guardian for Minor In practice, most petitioners are grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, or close family friends who have been caring for the child informally and need legal authority to enroll them in school, consent to medical care, and make similar decisions. A child who is 12 or older can also nominate a preferred guardian, and the court must consider that preference.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.195 – Notice of Hearing for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
What Goes in the Petition
The petition must include your name, address, and relationship to the child, along with the child’s name, age, and residence. It must identify both parents and their current addresses, name any person who has had primary custody of the child for at least 60 days within the past two years, and disclose any other custody or guardianship case involving the child pending anywhere.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.190 – Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
The petition states the legal basis for guardianship. The factual reasons go in a separate supplemental declaration filed alongside it, signed under penalty of perjury. That declaration is where the specific evidence lives.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.190 – Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
Evidence That Strengthens Your Case
Useful supporting evidence includes police reports documenting domestic violence or drug-related incidents, investigative records from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and the child’s medical or school records showing missed appointments or chronic absences. Personal evidence matters too: photographs of unsafe living conditions and written declarations from people with firsthand knowledge. Every witness declaration must be signed under penalty of perjury.
Forms, Background Checks, and Fees
The required court forms, including the Minor Guardianship Petition (GDN M 102) and Summons (GDN M 001), are on the Washington Courts website.7Washington State Courts. All Forms Related to Minor Guardianship You and every other adult in your household must complete background checks. If the child owns property, include a general description and estimated value in the petition.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.190 – Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
File the completed petition with the Superior Court Clerk in the county where the child lives. The filing fee is $290, but there is no fee when the proposed guardian is a relative of the child.8King County. Superior Court Clerk’s Office Fee and Payment Information Non-relatives who cannot afford the fee can ask the court to waive it based on financial hardship.
Emergency Guardianship When the Child Is in Danger
When a child faces immediate danger, you do not need to wait for the full case to run. A court can appoint an emergency guardian if the appointment will likely prevent substantial harm to the child’s health, safety, or welfare and no one else with authority appears willing and able to step in.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.225 – Emergency Guardian for Minor
An emergency guardianship lasts up to 60 days and can be extended once for another 60 days if the conditions that justified it continue. The court can also extend it further while a full guardianship hearing is pending. The emergency guardian’s powers are limited to what the court order specifies. This is a temporary measure to keep the child safe while the main case proceeds, not a shortcut to full guardianship.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.225 – Emergency Guardian for Minor
Serving Notice and the Hearing
After filing, you must formally notify everyone the statute requires. Washington law mandates personal service of the petition, the supplemental declaration, and the hearing notice on the child if the child is 12 or older, on each parent (or, if no parent is living, the nearest adult relative who can be found with reasonable effort), and on any existing guardian or holder of a prior non-parental custody order. Personal service means an adult who is not a party physically hands the documents to each person. You cannot serve the papers yourself.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.195 – Notice of Hearing for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
A broader group must also receive notice by mail, including grandparents and adult siblings of the child, anyone who had primary custody of the child for significant periods in recent years, any person the child nominates as guardian, and any person a parent nominates. The court can waive notice to people in this second group for good cause, such as when notifying someone could put the child at risk.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.195 – Notice of Hearing for Appointment of Guardian for Minor
Once the parents have been served, the court schedules an initial hearing. A judge or commissioner reviews the petition, confirms proper notice was given, and checks the background check results. If both parents consent, the guardianship can be finalized relatively quickly. If either parent objects, the court will typically appoint a guardian ad litem, an independent person who investigates and reports to the court on the child’s best interests, or an attorney for the child, then schedule a contested hearing or trial.9Washington State Legislature. Washington Code Chapter 11.130 – Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act
If the Child May Have Native American Ancestry
If the child is or may be a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe, the federal Indian Child Welfare Act adds requirements the court must follow. ICWA applies to any proceeding that would remove an Indian child from a parent’s custody and place them with a guardian when the parent cannot get the child back on demand, which describes most contested minor guardianships.10Bureau of Indian Affairs. ICWA Notice
If there is any reason to believe the child has Native American ancestry, formal written notice must be sent by certified mail to the child’s tribe through its designated ICWA agent and to the appropriate Bureau of Indian Affairs regional director. The notice must include the child’s name, birthdate, birthplace, and tribal enrollment information if available, along with the same details for parents and grandparents.10Bureau of Indian Affairs. ICWA Notice Failing to comply with ICWA can result in the entire guardianship being overturned. If you are unsure whether the child has tribal connections, raise it with the court early. The tribe, not the petitioner, decides whether the child qualifies as an Indian child under ICWA.
What You Can Do Once Appointed
A guardian for a minor has the same duties and responsibilities as a parent with respect to the child’s support, care, education, health, safety, and welfare.11Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.230 – Duties of Guardian for Minor That means providing food, safe housing, clothing, and emotional support, choosing the child’s school, consenting to medical and dental treatment, and making the daily decisions of raising a child.
If no conservatorship is in place for the child’s finances, the guardian can start legal proceedings to compel a parent to pay child support or make other payments for the child’s benefit.12Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.235 – Powers of Guardian for Minor Many guardians overlook this. If the child’s parents are alive, they still owe financial support, and you have standing to enforce that obligation.
As a court-appointed guardian, you have the right to access the child’s educational records and make enrollment decisions. Under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, these rights belong to parents or guardians until the student turns 18 or enrolls in a postsecondary institution.
If the child receives Social Security benefits, for example as a survivor or because of a disability, the Social Security Administration requires a designated representative payee to manage those funds. A court-appointed guardian can apply for that role. The SSA does not recognize a power of attorney for this purpose; only a designated representative payee can manage the benefits.13Social Security Administration. A Guide for Representative Payees
What Parental Rights Remain
Guardianship does not terminate parental rights. The biological parents remain the child’s legal parents, and the court order will typically define their ongoing role. A judge may grant visitation, which can be supervised or restricted depending on the circumstances that led to the guardianship.
A parent can also petition at any time to terminate the guardianship, modify its terms, or have the guardian removed and replaced.14Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.240 – Removal of Guardian for Minor, Termination of Guardianship, Appointment of Successor Guardianship is not necessarily permanent. If a parent gets sober, finishes a prison sentence, or otherwise demonstrates they can resume parenting, they can ask the court to restore their rights, and the court will weigh whether the original reasons for the guardianship still exist.
How the Guardianship Ends
A minor guardianship terminates automatically when the child turns 18, is adopted, becomes emancipated, or dies. It can end earlier if the court finds the original basis no longer exists. Even then, the court will not automatically return the child to a parent on request. The judge must consider whether ending the guardianship would actually harm the child and whether the child’s interest in staying with the guardian outweighs the parent’s interest in having their rights restored.14Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 11.130.240 – Removal of Guardian for Minor, Termination of Guardianship, Appointment of Successor
The child, a parent, or anyone interested in the child’s welfare can petition to modify the guardianship, remove the guardian, or appoint a successor.9Washington State Legislature. Washington Code Chapter 11.130 – Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act If you are the guardian and a parent files to terminate, prepare to show why continued guardianship serves the child’s interests. Courts approach these motions with the same care they applied to the original appointment.
Tax and Financial Aid Consequences
You may be able to claim the child as a dependent on your federal tax return. Under IRS rules, a child who lives with you for more than half the year and receives more than half of their financial support from you can qualify as your dependent, even if you are not a biological relative, as long as the child is a member of your household for the full year.15Internal Revenue Service. Dependents Claiming the child as a dependent opens the door to the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit if you qualify, and the dependent care credit.
The guardianship order also affects the child’s later financial aid. On the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a student who is or was in legal guardianship is considered independent, meaning aid eligibility is based on the student’s own income rather than a parent’s. The student will need to provide a copy of the court order to the school’s financial aid office.