GUARDIANSHIP LAW CHANGES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2022 What happens to the prior laws? The laws that apply to adult guardianships prior to 2022, RCW 11.88 and RCW 11.92, will no longer be in effect on January 1, 2022. The new law, RCW 11.130, will cover all guardianships, conservatorships and protective arrangements as of January 1, 2022 There may be l...

RCW 11.130 is the Washington State law that governs appointment of Court Visitors involved in Adult Guardianship/Conservatorship proceedings. RCW 11.130 provides that the court may appoint a Court Visitor to investigate allegations in the petition and provide recommendations to the Court. All Court Visitors under this title must comply with the tra...

With the implementation of RCW 11.130 as of January 1, 2021 (Minor Guardianships-replacing Non-Parental Custody), we are working hard to make sure all pieces are put together to successfully implement this legislation. One bit of information we wanted to get out immediately is that if you have need for a "Court Visitor" or "GAL" under 11.130, pleas...

​Nov. 16 20181:00 P.M.Cowlitz County Admin bldg.207 N. 4th Ave.Kelso, WA National Adoption Day will be celebrated in Cowlitz County on November 16, 2018, with adoptions occurring at 1:00 p.m. and a public celebration following. The adoptions will be held in the Commissioner's Meeting Room and the celebration will be in the General Meeting Room, bot...

 We have added some new information and a handy checklist to our website for cases involving 3rd party custody matters. These cases can be quite complex, and often the parties are unrepresented. We hope this information will assist in making the navigation of the courts in these cases a bit clearer. Link to Web Information

The Court has been made aware that in some cases in which a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) has been appointed, orders and final pleadings are being entered without the GAL having the opportunity to review and approve the same. Because the GAL is a party to the case, any pleading that relates to areas which are encompassed within their order of appointment...