§46.07 Necessary Parties

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 46.07 NECESSARY PARTIES

Both the PKPA and the UCCJA address the right to be included in a child custody proceeding. To assure the presence of all the appropriate parties, the UCCJEA imposes on each party an initial and continuing duty to inform the court of any person the child has lived with during the previous five years and of any other litigation concerning the child. RCW 26.27.281. This requirement is discussed in § 46.09[1], below. A person who has been appropriately served is bound by an order given by a court with subject matter jurisdiction, RCW 26.27.061, but if a person who is entitled to notice under state and federal law is not included in a child custody proceeding, the ensuing order may not be entitled to recognition by other states. Examples of cases refusing recognition on this basis are given in § 46.10, below.

[1] Parents Whose Rights Have Not Been Terminated

Under the PKPA and UCCJEA, parents whose parental rights have not been terminated must be given notice of the custody proceedings and joined. 28 U.S.C. § 1738A(e); RCW 26.27.241. This protection for parents is the same as was present under the UCCJA. See State v. Carver, 113 Wn.2d 591, 595-96, 609-10, 781 P.2d 1308 (1989), amended, 789 P.2d 306 (1990) (decree not...