FL All Family 140 Parenting Plan: How to Complete Washington's Required Form

Every Washington Parenting Plan Uses This Form

Form FL All Family 140 is the mandatory state court form for every parenting plan filed in Washington, whether the case involves a divorce, legal separation, or parentage action. You cannot submit a parenting plan on plain paper, in a letter format, or using an out-of-state template. The Superior Court will reject it.

The form is available for free on courts.wa.gov. But downloading it and understanding how to complete it are very different experiences. FL All Family 140 is a dense, multi-section document with statutory references, legal checkboxes, and blank spaces that require precise language. Filling it out incorrectly — or leaving sections blank — can delay your case, trigger a rejection, or create enforcement problems years later.

The July 2025 Form Update

In July 2025, the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts overhauled FL All Family 140 to improve readability for self-represented litigants and add critical safety provisions. If you are using a version you downloaded before that date, replace it immediately — courts may not accept the old version.

The update added three mandatory attachments:

Attachment A (Limitations) consolidates all domestic violence findings, substance abuse restrictions, and mental health limitations under RCW 26.09.191 into a single, structured section. Previously, these limitations were scattered throughout the form in ways that self-represented parents often missed.

Attachment B (Sex Offenses) is required only if a parent or household member has a history of sex offenses or child abuse under RCW 26.09.192.

Attachment C (Supervised Visitation) establishes binding rules for supervised contact — the designated supervisor, scheduling, cost allocation, and conditions for stepping down to unsupervised visits. This attachment exists because supervised visitation arrangements were a major source of post-decree litigation, with vague terms leaving parents in perpetual conflict over logistics.

The update also introduced a "No Limitations" Five-Factor Test: if a recognized safety concern exists but the parties or court decide not to impose restrictions, the judge must make five specific written findings explaining why contact is safe and the risk of recurrence is remote.

Section by Section: What the Form Requires

Children covered. List every minor child born to or adopted by both parents. Include full names, dates of birth, and current addresses. This section also identifies whether any child has special needs that affect the residential schedule.

Residential provisions. This is the most detailed section and the one most parents struggle with. You must specify:

• The regular school-week schedule (which nights the child spends with each parent)
• The weekend schedule (if different from the weekday pattern)
• A holiday rotation covering Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, summer vacation, each parent's birthday, the child's birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and any culturally significant holidays
• Transportation responsibilities (who drives, where exchanges happen, who pays travel costs)
• Rules for schedule changes, make-up time, and communication between households

Vague language like "parents will share holidays" or "schedule to be determined" will get your plan rejected or, worse, signed and then litigated for years. Specify dates, times, and locations.

Decision-making authority. For each of three categories — education, healthcare, and religious upbringing — check whether decisions are made jointly or by one parent. If a domestic violence finding exists under RCW 26.09.191, joint decision-making is prohibited. Day-to-day decisions (meals, bedtime, homework help) always remain with the parent currently caring for the child and do not need to be addressed in this section.

Dispute resolution. Name a specific method (mediation, arbitration, or counseling) and, if possible, a specific provider. The court wants to see that you have a plan for resolving implementation disagreements without filing another court motion every time a scheduling conflict arises. This section is waived when domestic violence findings make mediation unsafe.

Custodian designation. One parent is designated as the "custodian" solely for purposes of federal and state compliance (IRS, passports, school enrollment). This label has no effect on the substantive residential or decision-making provisions of the plan. It exists because federal programs require a single custodial parent designation.

The FL All Family 135 Declaration

Form FL All Family 135 is the companion form you will use throughout your case. It is a written declaration — your sworn statement of facts submitted to the court in lieu of live testimony.

Commissioners and judges in Washington family law cases make most decisions based on written declarations, not oral testimony. Your declaration needs to present specific, factual evidence: dates, times, documented events, and observable behavior. Avoid emotional arguments, character attacks, and hearsay. A strong declaration reads like a timeline of facts, not a personal essay.

You will use FL All Family 135 when seeking temporary orders, responding to the other parent's motions, and presenting your case at an adequate cause hearing for plan modifications. Learning to write effective declarations is one of the most valuable skills a self-represented parent can develop.

Common Mistakes That Cause Rejections or Problems

Leaving sections blank. Courts interpret blank sections as incomplete, not as "we agree." If both parents share transportation equally, write that — do not leave the transportation section empty.

Using an outdated form version. The July 2025 update is the current version. Earlier versions lack the safety attachments that courts now expect.

Inconsistent overnight counts. If your residential schedule produces a different overnight count than what you claim on the child support worksheets, the court will catch the discrepancy. Calculate your overnights carefully — they affect child support deviation eligibility under RCW 26.19.075.

Vague holiday language. "Alternating holidays" without specifying which holidays, exact dates, pickup and drop-off times, and who provides transportation creates guaranteed post-decree conflict.

Getting Help With the Form

The Washington Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide provides a section-by-section walkthrough of FL All Family 140, including the July 2025 attachments, residential schedule templates, and a declaration-writing worksheet for FL All Family 135. It is designed for parents completing the form without attorney assistance.

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