La Leche League International
This website has several articles about family law that are supportive of breastfeeding including:
- The Breastfeeding Relationship and Visitation Plans
- Breastfeeding and Divorce
- In the Best Interest of Breastfed Children
Letter for court cases in support of extended breastfeeding
Washington State
During and after a separation or divorce, a court will look at more than just the fact that a mother is breastfeeding her child to determine where a child will reside. The following legislation provides more information.
The Parenting Act
The Parenting Act of 1987 went into effect on January 1, 1988. This act tries to address the concerns of both the mother and father in allocating their parental rights and responsibilities, the child's best interest is the Act's primary consideration. It eliminates the concepts of "custody" and "visitation," and instead provides a residential schedule that specifically details the time that the child(ren) will reside with each parent. For more information about the act, go to the Washington State Bar Association "Divorce and Parenting."
A parenting plan is a court-approved, written arrangement that is worked out between parents, or decided by a judge if the parents cannot agree on its terms. It is a legal document now required in Washington for any annulment, legal separation or marital dissolution proceeding where minor children are involved. The Northwest Justice Project provides a booklet of instructions and forms for completing a parenting plan.
A series of cases has defined guiding principles that are used to determine where a child will reside. In the case Chatwood v. Chatwood, 44 Wn. (2d) 233, 239, 266 P. (2d) 782, the following guiding principles are listed:
- Each case must be considered and determined separately, upon its own facts and the situation before the court;
- The best interests and welfare of the children in custody matters are the paramount and controlling considerations. The interests of parents, including claims of the right to child custody, are subsidiary in relation to consideration of the welfare of their children;
- Those factors usually inherent in the mother-child relationship must be considered in relation to the age and sex of the children. However, in this connection, socially desirable traits of character, emotional maturity, economic ability or stability of the mother, cannot be disregarded;
- The findings of the trial courts will be accepted as verities on appeal, unless the record evidence clearly preponderates against such findings;
- Trial courts must necessarily be allowed broad discretion in custody matters, because so many of the factors to be considered can be more accurately evaluated by the trial judge, who has the distinct advantage of seeing and hearing witnesses, and is in a better position to determine their credibility, than the members of an appellate court, who have access only to the printed record on appeal, and to the briefs and argument of counsel.
Legal Assistance
Because having a court decide where a child of divorce will reside is such an important matter, legal assistance is essential. For those that are of low income the Northwest Justice Project has the Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral service, CLEAR. They can provide advice and even refer you to a legal aid provider in your community that is currently accepting cases of the type you need help with.