Are grandparents allowed to file for child support from the parent of their grandchild?

In Washington, grandparents are not legally allowed to file for child support from the parent of their grandchild. This is because Washington generally only permits a parent to file for child support from the other parent of their child. Grandparents generally do not have legal standing to file for child support in Washington unless they have been granted temporary guardianship of the child, as defined in the Washington Code. Grandparents may, however, be able to receive financial assistance from the parents of their grandchildren in other ways. For example, the Washington Supreme Court has found that grandparents may be able to seek financial contributions from the parents of their grandchildren in connection with caring for her grandchild. This ruling is based on the principle that parents have an obligation to operate in the best interests of their children and, if grandparents are helping to care for the child, that obligation may extend to helping cover the cost of care. In addition, the Washington Grandparents Rights Law allows grandparents to seek visitation rights with their grandchildren, even if the parents are together and not separated. This law permits grandparents to file suit for visitation rights, and if the court finds that visitation is in the best interests of the child, it can order visitation rights for the grandparent. Although grandparents in Washington are not able to file for child support from the parent of their grandchildren, they may be able to seek financial contributions from the parents in other ways, and they may be able to seek court-mandated visitation rights.

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Are grandparents allowed to file for child support from the parent of their grandchild?

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