Visitation for Parent Out of State

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Washington

My friend moved to Louisiana from Washington with her two children, but their father was able to have the children sent back to Washington with an emergency order. She is going to fight the order and she wants to come back to Louisiana because she has a better job (that she has taken a leave of absence from in order to go back to WA and fight for the children) and her sister lives here, but reading here the last few days makes me think that there is no way the WA courts will let her relocate with the children, and their father won't agree to a long distance parenting plan, even if she paid for all of the transportation to and from.

So my initial question is, if she is unable to win custody and bring the children back to Louisiana, would she be likely to get a parenting plan awarded to her by the courts? (I may have more questions based upon the responses I get)

Thanks so much in advance.

ETA: If I left out anything that is needed to know, I apologize. As far as I know, there is no custody agreement between the two of them, they were married at one time, and she has a restraining order on him for DV.

Did she not file the a Notice of Intent to Locate with the courts and dad before she left? If not, she will have an uphill battle on her hands.

If she loses custody of the children, yes she will be able to get a parenting plan for visitation from the courts.

Was there no mention of visitation and custody in the divorce papers?

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Quoting Neal1421

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Did she not file the a Notice of Intent to Locate with the courts and dad before she left? If not, she will have an uphill battle on her hands.

If she loses custody of the children, yes she will be able to get a parenting plan for visitation from the courts.

Was there no mention of visitation and custody in the divorce papers?

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She left because he beat the bejeesus out of her. There is a documented history with the police and CPS of his abuse towards her and the children. She fled in a panic because he had just choked her until she was unconscious. In fact, he just got out of jail a couple of months prior for smacking her around. I can't for the life of me figure out why the courts demanded her to return with the children given the circumstances. I guess a good lawyer can work wonders.

And as far as I know, when she filed the divorce papers, he never responded. Perhaps because he was in jail, but I'm not sure. I don't think it ever got to the child custody stage.

But yeah, she knows she messed up when she left without notifying anyone. Even under the abusive circumstances, she should have called the police the last time before she left.

Hey, thanks a lot for replying. I really appreciate it. She doesn't appear to be nearly as worried about this as I am, but reading on this board for the last few days, it seems that long distance relocation is a very touchy subject, so I wasn't sure.

You say "documented history".

Please clarify that. Does Dad have CONVICTIONS for DV? Or neglect? How were CPS involved? He beat her once, got jailed, and she took him back?

There is a reason I'm asking.

(The reason why the courts demanded the return is because Dad deserves to be have the matter in court before his children are removed. Little thing called the Constitution :) )

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Quoting Dogmatique

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You say "documented history".

Please clarify that. Does Dad have CONVICTIONS for DV? Or neglect? How were CPS involved? He beat her once, got jailed, and she took him back?

There is a reason I'm asking.

(The reason why the courts demanded the return is because Dad deserves to be have the matter in court before his children are removed. Little thing called the Constitution :) )

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Yes. He has a conviction for domestic violence against her. He was released around 7-8 month ago. The CPS case was where he tried to hit her, missed, and hit one of the children. She didn't take him back, he came to pick up the kids for a visit, and decided he wanted to choke her. After that incident, she left and came to Louisiana where her sister lives.

I understand your sentiment, sir. Believe me I do. I wouldn't have advised her to just leave like she did, but I sympathize with where she was coming from.

Thank you for replying.

What was the outcome of the CPS investigation? Again, there is a reason for my question. The answer might affect Mom's chances at being able to relocate.

(This is why it's hard talking to a third party)

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Quoting Dogmatique

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What was the outcome of the CPS investigation? Again, there is a reason for my question. The answer might affect Mom's chances at being able to relocate.

(This is why it's hard talking to a third party)

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Sorry for the delay. Haven't had a chance to get back here like I wanted to.

CPS closed the case because the father was in jail and the child was fine.

Thanks a lot.

There was a finding - either it was unsubstantiated, or substantiated.

I need to know which. Because again, it can matter.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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There was a finding - either it was unsubstantiated, or substantiated.

I need to know which. Because again, it can matter.

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It was unsubstantiated, because the father was in jail, and the child had no visible marks.