Child Custody Investigations in Washington

If you are concerned about your child’s care, an investigation can document specific exchanges, routines and safety events. We gather dated observations and supporting records for your attorney’s review. Washington courts apply best-interest factors under RCW 26.09.187; GAL appointments, hearing schedules and evaluator practices can differ by county.

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Understanding your child’s care through documented facts

Child Custody Investigations

A missed pickup, an unsafe hand-off or conflicting accounts of supervision may raise an important question. We examine the event and the wider caregiving history, including evidence that challenges an allegation. Washington courts assess the child’s best interests; investigators document facts rather than decide custody or parental fitness.

  • Safety and supervision: examine specific concerns about unsupervised visitation, living conditions, dangerous people or situations, including concerns involving a partner’s criminal history, substance use around children, signs of harm, or suspected impaired driving with a child present.
  • Visits and exchanges: document observable hand-offs and overnight-stay patterns against the existing order. Observation is limited to what can lawfully be seen; it cannot establish everything that happens during a visit.
  • Other concerns: unauthorized caregivers, pickup and drop-off behavior, extended-family caregiving or visitation history, and facts needed for an urgent custody application.
  • Disputed allegations: compare claims of abuse, neglect or unfit parenting with dates, independent witnesses and records. Findings may support or contradict either parent’s account.
  • Facts we help document: observed caregiving routines, exchanges and specific safety events, with dates, sources and gaps clearly identified. Washington parenting plans distinguish residential schedules and decision-making authority, subject to applicable safety restrictions. Counsel and the court apply the governing criteria; an investigator does not decide parental fitness.
  • Evidence focus: we separate one-time incidents from repeat patterns by documenting each observation with dates, times, and context.
  • Report standard: we use neutral, observable language with context and no legal conclusions.
  • Corroboration: field observations are cross-checked against lawful records, witness statements, and timeline references when available.
  • Purpose: give your attorney documented information about your child’s care and the events in dispute, without promising that a judge will reach a particular decision.
  • What you receive: dated observation logs, available photographs or video, witness accounts and incident timelines with sources and limitations.
  • What we won't do: access school records illegally, break into devices, or record without authorization.

Records and events that may matter in a custody dispute

Daily care often provides important evidence: who collected the child, which visits occurred and how a safety concern affected a routine. Existing orders, independent records and firsthand accounts help put individual incidents in context.

Emergency Custody Evidence

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. Do not wait to build an evidence file or hire an investigator. For an urgent custody concern, contact your attorney promptly; when safe, preserve dated incident details, existing messages, witness information, and any lawfully obtained photos or video.

View Emergency Custody Evidence Resource

Serious Parenting Problems and Limitations

Describe the particular conduct behind a concern about abuse, neglect, substance-related impairment, abandonment or withholding a child without good cause. Dates, witnesses and observed effects on care give counsel something concrete to assess.

View Serious Parenting Problems Resource

Temporary Orders and Hearing Prep

If a temporary-orders hearing is approaching, identify the disputed events and available supporting records promptly. A dated chronology can help your attorney prepare declarations and decide what belongs before the court at that stage.

View Temporary Orders Resource

View Hearing-Prep Resource

Guardian ad Litem and Evaluator Support

When a GAL or evaluator is appointed, we can document caregiving history, residence use, inconsistent dates and firsthand witness accounts relevant to the questions under review. We do not take over the evaluator’s role or coach a family’s account.

View GAL Resource

View Appointment Process Resource

View GAL Prep Checklist

Child Preference, Age, and Practical Limits

Do not assume a particular birthday lets a child choose where to live. Maturity, safety, caregiving history and the circumstances behind a preference may matter. Ask counsel how the child’s views can appropriately be considered; avoid pressuring the child to take sides.

Supervised Visitation and Parenting-Class Records

Supervised-visitation notes, parenting-class attendance and provider observations can establish dates and describe what a provider observed. Read them alongside other evidence: attendance or completion alone does not establish how a parent cares for a child.

View Supervised Visitation Resource

View Parenting Classes Resource

When the Child Is Not Returned

For a missed return, concealment concern or possible interstate removal, contact law enforcement and counsel as appropriate to the urgency. Preserve the order, expected return time, last verified location and existing communications without delaying urgent help.

View Immediate Documentation Resource

View Out-of-State Custody Resource

Substance Use, Mental Health, and Safety Boundaries

Drug tests, assessments, treatment records and mental-health records answer different questions. We document observable conduct and its effect on care, and review authorized records in context. We do not diagnose a parent or equate a diagnosis with unsafe parenting.

View Substance-Use Resource

View Mental Health Resource

Coercive Control, Intimidation, and Unsafe Hand-Offs

If exchanges involve intimidation, harassment, coercive control or unsafe caregiver hand-offs, preserve specific dates, messages and witness details when safe. Our work documents events; safety planning and legal protective measures require the appropriate professionals.

View Coercive-Control Resource

Domestic Violence, CPS, and Documentation Boundaries

Domestic-violence and CPS concerns may overlap with custody proceedings. We document available facts while respecting restrictions on CPS and health-care records. Investigation does not replace emergency response, advocacy, treatment or legal advice.

View CPS and Documentation Resource

View CPS and Health-Care Access Resource

More specific caregiving and custody concerns

A missing child, a concern about a caregiver and a long-term guardianship question require different work. Start with the issue affecting your family.

Grandparent Rights Investigations

Establish the history of a grandparent’s care and contact through records and witnesses. An attorney assesses the legal basis for visitation or other relief.

How we investigate caregiving concerns

The work depends on the question: an exchange may call for observation, a care history for witness interviews, or a disputed message for digital preservation.

Surveillance Services

Observe specified exchanges and caregiving routines from lawful locations. Record times and visible conduct without treating an observation as a clinical assessment.

Witness Interview Services

Interview people with firsthand knowledge of care or exchanges. Ask when they observed it, what they remember and whether records support their account.

Background Check Services

Review relevant public records about identified caregivers or household members and verify identity matches. Protected school, medical and CPS files require lawful authority.

Digital Forensics Services

Preserve authorized messages and digital records concerning arrangements, exchanges or incidents, with dates and surrounding conversation intact.

Washington Law and Court Sources

Washington’s parenting-plan and restriction statutes are linked below. Counsel can explain how the current law applies to your child’s circumstances and which factual questions need investigation.

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Planning, costs and your report

We start with the child’s care arrangements, relevant orders and the specific concern. Share any hearing date or GAL appointment before we plan work.

  • First conversation: Your first consultation is free and lasts 30 minutes. Additional communication outside the agreed task is $150/hour, prepaid separately; communication already included in the task is not charged again.
  • Planning and scheduling: Most plans are developed within 48 hours once the necessary facts, locations and restrictions are clear. We confirm the assignment and schedule by text and email; tell us about any hearing or other deadline before booking.
  • Costs: Lite is $150 per investigator-hour; Heavy is $300 per investigator-hour. Preparation and report writing each cost $150/hour. Round-trip travel from our Tacoma office is $2.50/minute. Other time is billed in whole hours, with partial hours rounded up. Each purchased service hour carries $15 in expense credit for Lite or $30 for Heavy. Credits on hours used for your task cover only that task's expenses; any remainder expires at report delivery. Expenses are charged at cost. Applicable surcharges are separate dollar charges, not deductions from service hours. We confirm the work, schedule and prepaid costs by text and email. See Pricing for unused-time, credit, specialist and other fee terms.
  • Your report: The report records caregiving observations and incident dates, supporting media or witness accounts, and any limits on what could be established. Reports are due by 9 p.m. Pacific on the next business day after the task finishes, including return travel. Completion after midnight uses that new calendar date. Business days exclude weekends and the specified federal holiday periods, including the day before and after each holiday. Faster delivery costs $300 per report only when requested and accepted, plus report-writing time. We notify you of schedule changes caused by approved additional report work or priority delays.

Related Evidence and Planning Guides

Frequently Asked Questions About Child Custody Investigations in Washington

What evidence helps in an emergency custody case?

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and do not wait for an investigation. When safe, dated incident notes, lawfully obtained photos or video, witness accounts and existing police or CPS references may help explain the urgency to your attorney.

Can you help when a guardian ad litem or evaluator is involved?

Yes. With the appropriate authorization, we can gather facts about caregiving, residence use, disputed timelines and witnesses relevant to their review. We report findings independently and do not act as the GAL or custody evaluator.

Do supervised visitation or parenting-class records matter in custody cases?

Yes, they can establish attendance, dates and what a provider observed. They need context: completing a class or attending a visit does not by itself resolve a custody concern. We can place authorized program records alongside other events.

Can you document school, childcare, or caregiver-pattern issues?

Yes. Appropriate observations, firsthand witnesses and records you are authorized to provide can document pickups, attendance, childcare substitutions and other routines. We record the dates covered and avoid assuming a limited sample describes all care.

Can you access school or medical records to prove custody concerns?

We can review records provided with lawful authority, but we cannot bypass protections on school or medical information. Discuss access with your attorney. Public research, observation and interviews may answer some questions without protected files.

How do substance-use or mental-health concerns fit into custody investigations?

The work is about lawful documentation of behavior, routine impact, treatment or testing context when available, and third-party facts. A private investigator does not diagnose anyone or substitute for treatment professionals.

Start with the concern affecting your child

Tell us what happened, when, and what order or schedule applies. Bring records you already have so we can assess whether further observation, interviews or preservation would answer the question.

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