What Happens If a Parent Violates Custody Orders?

When the other parent keeps a child past their scheduled return, refuses your exchanges, or simply ignores the residential schedule, a Washington court has real tools to hold them accountable, and those tools can put missed time back on your calendar.

A Parenting Plan Is a Court Order, Not a Suggestion

In Washington, what many people call a "custody order" is a parenting plan, and it carries the full weight of a superior court order. The residential schedule inside it, meaning who has the children and when, is enforceable. When one parent stops following that schedule, the other parent does not have to accept it as the new normal. The law gives the court authority to step in, and the mechanism for doing that is a motion for contempt.

Contempt is the legal finding that a person has disobeyed a court order. In the parenting context, it is governed by RCW 26.09.160. That statute treats certain conduct as acting in bad faith. For example, if a parent tries to condition one part of the plan on another, refuses to perform the duties the plan assigns, or hinders the other parent from carrying out their own parenting time, the law deems that bad faith and directs the court to hold the parent in contempt and to award the aggrieved parent reasonable attorney fees and costs for bringing the motion.

What "Bad Faith" Actually Means

Not every missed exchange is contempt. The court is looking for intentional, bad-faith noncompliance, not an honest mix-up, a canceled flight, or a genuine emergency. Under RCW 26.09.160, a parent is presumed to have the present ability to comply with the residential schedule unless they prove otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence, and they must show a reasonable excuse for the failure by that same standard. In plain terms, once you show the other parent did not follow the schedule, the burden shifts to them to explain why, and a good reason like a sudden hospitalization is very different from "I decided the kids should stay with me."

This is why patterns matter. A single late drop-off caused by traffic looks different to a judge than a parent who repeatedly withholds weekends, blocks phone calls, or refuses to hand the children over at all. Documenting the missed time, the messages, and the excuses given helps the court see whether the noncompliance was in bad faith.

The Remedies the Court Can Order

When a Snohomish County judge finds that a parent, in bad faith, has not complied with the residential provisions of the parenting plan, RCW 26.09.160 does not leave the remedy to guesswork. Upon a finding of contempt, the court is directed to order make-up residential time equal to the time the moving parent missed with the child. The court also orders the noncomplying parent to pay all court costs and reasonable attorney fees caused by the noncompliance, along with any reasonable expenses incurred in locating or returning a child. On top of that, the statute requires a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars.

The consequences climb on a repeat. If a parent fails a second time within three years to follow a residential provision, RCW 26.09.160 raises the stakes: the make-up time doubles to twice the amount of time missed, the fees and costs still apply, and the civil penalty rises to not less than two hundred fifty dollars.

The statute also authorizes jail. The court may order a parent imprisoned in the county jail if the parent is presently able to comply with the parenting plan and is presently unwilling to do so. That parent may be held until they agree to comply, but in no event for more than one hundred eighty days. Jail is reserved for genuine defiance, not for a parent who cannot comply for reasons outside their control, but it exists precisely so that a court order does not become optional.

Contempt Is Enforcement, Not Modification

It is important to understand what a contempt finding does and does not do. Contempt under RCW 26.09.160 enforces the existing plan and compensates you for the time and money the violation cost you. It does not rewrite the parenting plan. If your real goal is to change the schedule itself, whether to secure more time, adjust exchanges, or address a parent who cannot be trusted to follow the plan, that is a separate legal path. Modifying a parenting plan is governed by RCW 26.09.260, which sets its own standards and generally requires a substantial change in circumstances. The two tools work together: contempt addresses the broken rules you have now, and modification addresses whether the rules themselves should change going forward.

One more point worth knowing. Filing a contempt motion is a serious step, and the statute cuts both ways. RCW 26.09.160 provides that if the court finds a contempt motion was brought without a reasonable basis, the moving parent can be ordered to pay the other side's costs, reasonable attorney fees, and a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars. That is one reason it pays to build your record carefully before you file.

When to Bring in Counsel

Enforcing a parenting plan is one of the more emotionally charged parts of family law, and the outcome often turns on how well the noncompliance is documented and presented. If the other parent is withholding your children, ignoring the schedule, or using the plan as leverage, you do not have to sort out the standards and the paperwork alone. The Law Office of Chad Foster helps parents across Snohomish County enforce their parenting plans and, where appropriate, pursue changes to them. Reach out for a conversation about your situation and the options that fit it.