Title 26 — Title 26 DOMESTIC RELATIONS

An order or decree entered under this chapter shall not disentitle a child to any benefit due the child from any third person, agency, state, or the United States. Action under this chapter shall not affect any rights and benefits that a native American child derives from the chi…

After a decree of adoption is entered, as soon as the time for appeal has expired, or if an appeal is taken, and the adoption is affirmed on appeal, the clerk of the court shall transmit to the state registrar of vital statistics a certified copy of the decree, along with any add…

Upon receipt of a decree of adoption, the state registrar of vital statistics shall:(1) Return the decree to the court clerk if all information required by RCW 26.33.250 is not included in the decree;(2) If the adoptee was born in a state other than Washington, or in a territory …

(1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the parties to a proceeding under this chapter from entering into agreements regarding communication with or contact between child adoptees, adoptive parents, siblings of child adoptees, and a birth parent or parents.(2) …

The department of health shall be a depository for statistical data concerning adoption. It shall furnish to the clerk of each county a data card which shall be completed and filed with the clerk on behalf of each petitioner. The clerk shall forward the completed cards to the dep…

(1) Petitions governed by this chapter shall be served in the manner as set forth in the superior court civil rules. Subsequent notice, papers, and pleadings may be served in the manner provided in superior court civil rules.(2) If personal service on any parent or *alleged fathe…

(1) In deciding whether to grant a petition for adoption of a hard to place child and in reviewing any request for the vacation or modification of a decree of adoption, the superior court shall consider any agreement made or proposed to be made between the department and any pros…

(1) All records of any proceeding under this chapter shall be sealed and shall not be thereafter open to inspection by any person except upon order of the court for good cause shown, or except by using the procedure described in RCW 26.33.343. In determining whether good cause ex…

Department, agency, and court files regarding an adoption shall be confidential except that reasonably available nonidentifying information may be disclosed upon the written request for the information from the adoptive parent, the adoptee, or the birth parent. If the adoption fa…

(1) An adopted person over the age of twenty-one years, or under twenty-one with the permission of the adoptive parent, or a birth parent or member of the birth parent's family after the adoptee has reached the age of twenty-one may petition the court to appoint a confidential in…

(1) The department, adoption agencies, and independent adoption facilitators shall release the name and location of the court where a relinquishment of parental rights or finalization of an adoption took place to an adult adoptee, a birth parent of an adult adoptee, an adoptive p…

(1) An adopted person over the age of eighteen may file with the department of health a certified statement declaring any one or more of the following:(a) The adoptee refuses to consent to the release of any identifying information to a biological parent, biological sibling, or o…

(1) Every person, firm, society, association, corporation, or state agency receiving, securing a home for, or otherwise caring for a minor child shall transmit to the prospective adopting parent prior to placement and shall make available to all persons with whom a child has been…

(1) If a natural parent unsuccessfully petitions to have an adoption set aside, the court shall award costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, to the adoptive parent.(2) If a natural parent successfully petitions to have an adoption set aside, the natural parent shall be liab…

See RCW 26.38.110.

(1) Every person, firm, society, association, corporation, or state agency receiving, securing a home for, or otherwise caring for a minor child shall transmit to the prospective adopting parent prior to placement and shall make available to all persons with whom a child has been…

The department shall adopt rules, in consultation with affected parties, establishing minimum standards for making reasonable efforts to locate records and information relating to adoptions as required under RCW 26.33.350 and 26.33.380.[ 1994 c 170 s 3.]

(1) All persons adopting a child through the department shall receive written information on the department's adoption-related services including, but not limited to, adoption support, family reconciliation services, archived records, mental health, and developmental disabilities…

See RCW 26.38.130.

The legislature finds that the importance of children's relationships with their siblings is well recognized in law and science. The bonds between siblings are often irreplaceable, leading some experts to believe that sibling relationships can be longer lasting and more influenti…

The court, in reviewing and approving an agreement under RCW 26.33.295 for the adoption of a child from foster care, shall encourage the adoptive parents, birth parents, foster parents, kinship caregivers, and the department or other supervising agency to seriously consider the l…

This act shall take effect January 1, 1985. Any proceeding initiated before January 1, 1985, shall be governed by the law in effect on the date the proceeding was initiated.[ 1984 c 155 s 41.]

For the purposes of this chapter, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in state registered domestic partnerships as well as to …

Nothing contained in chapter 3, Laws of 2012 shall be construed to alter or affect existing law regarding the manner in which a religious or nonprofit organization may be licensed to and provide adoption, foster care, or other child-placing services under this chapter or chapter …

The interstate compact on the placement of children is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in form substantially as follows:ARTICLE I. Purpose and PolicyIt is the purpose and policy of the party states to cooperate with ea…

Financial responsibility for any child placed pursuant to the provisions of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article V thereof in the first instance. However, in the event of partial or complete default o…

The "appropriate public authorities" as used in Article III of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children shall, with reference to this state, mean the department of children, youth, and families, and said agency shall receive and act with reference to notices required b…

As used in paragraph (a) of Article V of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the phrase "appropriate authority in the receiving state" with reference to this state shall mean the department of children, youth, and families.[ 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 331; 1971 ex.s. c…

The officers and agencies of this state and its subdivisions having authority to place children are hereby empowered to enter into agreements with appropriate officers or agencies of or in other party states pursuant to paragraph (b) of Article V of the Interstate Compact on the …

Any court having jurisdiction to place delinquent children may place such a child in an institution of or in another state pursuant to Article VI of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and shall retain jurisdiction as provided in Article V thereof.[ 1971 ex.s. c 1…

As used in Article VII of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the term "executive head" means the governor. The governor is hereby authorized to appoint a compact administrator in accordance with the terms of said Article VII.[ 1971 ex.s. c 168 s 7.]

Any person, firm, corporation, association or agency which places a child in the state of Washington without meeting the requirements set forth herein, or any person, firm, corporation, association or agency which receives a child in the state of Washington, where there has been …

Chapter 88, Laws of 2022 may be known and cited as the uniform unregulated child custody transfer act.[ 2022 c 88 s 101.]

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Child" means an unemancipated individual under 18 years of age.(2) "Child-placing agency" means a person with authority under chapter 74.15 RCW to identify or place a …

Chapter 88, Laws of 2022 does not apply to custody of an Indian child, as defined in the Indian child welfare act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903, as amended, to the extent custody is governed by the Indian child welfare act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. Secs. 1901 through 1963, as amended.[ 2…

This section, RCW 26.38.110, 26.38.120, and 26.38.130 do not apply to a transfer of custody of a child by a parent or guardian of the child to:(1) A parent of the child;(2) A stepparent of the child;(3) An adult who is related to the child by blood or by law;(4) An adult who, at …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a parent or guardian of a child or an individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption may not transfer custody of the child to another person with the intent, at the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights an…

(1) If the department has a reasonable basis to believe that a person has transferred or will transfer custody of a child in violation of RCW 26.38.110(1), the department must respond in accordance with chapter 74.13 RCW.(2) If the department provides a child protective services …

(1) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, "advertisement" means communication by newspaper, radio, television, handbills, placards or other print, broadcast, or the electronic medium. This definition applies throughout this section.(2) No person or entity shall cause to …

In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall consider the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that enact it.[ 2022 c 88 s 301.]

Chapter 88, Laws of 2022 modifies, limits, or supersedes the electronic signatures in global and national commerce act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001 et seq., as amended, but does not modify, limit, or supersede 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices…

RCW 26.38.100 through 26.38.120 and 26.38.130 apply to:(1) A transfer of custody on or after June 9, 2022; and(2) Soliciting or advertising on or after June 9, 2022.[ 2022 c 88 s 303.]

The purpose of this chapter is to assure the right of every child with disabilities to parental love and care as long as possible, to provide for adequate custody of a child with a disability who has lost parental care, and to make available to the child with a disability the ser…

So long as the parents of a child with a disability are able to assume parental responsibility for such child, their parental responsibility may not be removed or denied, and commitment by the state or any officer or official thereof shall never be a requirement for the admission…

The parents or parent of any child who is temporarily or permanently delayed in normal educational processes and/or normal social adjustment by reason of physical, sensory or mental disability, or by reason of social or emotional maladjustment, or by reason of other disability, m…

The petition for an order for the commitment of a child to custody shall request the court to issue an order for the commitment of such child to the co-custody of the state and a relative or relatives, a friend or friends, an attorney or attorneys, a church through its chief offi…

Upon the filing of a petition for an order for the commitment of a child to custody, a hearing upon such petition shall be held in open court, and, if the court finds that the petition should be granted, the court shall issue an order for the commitment of the child to custody as…

Upon the issuance of an order for the commitment of a child to custody, the court shall transmit copies thereof to the co-custodians named therein. For the state as co-custodian the copy of such order shall be filed with the department of social and health services whose duty it …

The parents or parent upon whose petition an order for the commitment of a child to custody has been issued may, before such commitment becomes effective, petition the court for a rescission of the order or for a change in the co-custodians other than the state, or to determine t…

It shall be the responsibility of the state and the appropriate departments and agencies thereof to discover methods and procedures by which the mental and/or physical health of the child in custody may be improved and, with the consent of the co-custodians, to apply those method…