Grandparent Rights Investigations in Washington

If contact with your grandchild has changed, a documented history may help your attorney assess the situation. Washington relative visitation under RCW 26.11 has relationship and harm requirements and a presumption favoring a fit parent’s decision. It differs from minor guardianship under RCW 11.130. An investigation does not establish eligibility or a right to visitation.

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Documenting your role in the child’s life

Grandparent Rights Investigations

We can help reconstruct caregiving and contact history from dated records and people with firsthand knowledge. The work may clarify when care occurred, how routines changed and which details remain disputed. Your attorney identifies whether those facts relate to a visitation or guardianship request.

Examples: a historical caregiving timeline, witness interviews and records of established routines and changes in contact.
When this can help: factual review of a relative-visitation dispute, relevant guardianship circumstances or questions about the child’s care.
What you receive: a chronology with supporting records and witness accounts, separating verified dates from recollection and uncertainty.

Reconstructing caregiving and contact history

Longstanding care may be documented through several sources. We review existing material before deciding whether interviews, public records or observation would fill a gap.

Witness Interview Services

Interview people who personally observed your care or contact with the child. Ask for dates, examples and any records that support their recollection.

Surveillance Services

Where relevant and lawful, document specified exchanges or current routines. Observation does not authorize contact prohibited by an order.

Background Check Services

Check relevant public records and identified household connections. Access to protected school, medical or CPS records requires proper authority.

Process Service

Attempt lawful service of approved documents and record the outcome. Counsel determines the applicable notice and service requirements.

Washington Law and Court Sources

Read the relative-visitation statute and current Washington Courts materials with counsel before commissioning work. The legal threshold is demanding, and detailed documentation alone does not meet every requirement.

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Planning, costs and your report

We begin with the caregiving history and the legal question counsel has identified. Existing records and witnesses help define a useful assignment.

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 care and contact history with supporting sources, witness accounts and unresolved differences in recollection. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions About Grandparent Rights Investigations in Washington

What history can you help document?

We can examine caregiving dates, contact with the child, changes in routine and firsthand witness accounts. We identify supporting sources and gaps. Counsel determines whether those facts matter to a particular petition.

Should I speak with an attorney before hiring an investigator?

Yes, when you need to know whether visitation or guardianship is legally available. Once counsel identifies the relevant factual questions, we can assess which records or interviews might help answer them.

How will family members’ accounts be handled?

We record what each witness knows firsthand, what they learned from others and any conflicting details. We agree on updates and authorized recipients at intake, without promising that every account will support your position.

Put your caregiving history in date order

Bring the dates, records and names of people who know the history directly. We can discuss how to document missing facts relevant to the legal question your attorney identifies.

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