USA – WASHINGTON Law and Practice Contributed by: Stacy Heard, The Law Office of Stacy D. Heard
For an international removal, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction may provide an additional mechanism for seeking the child’s return. The United States implements the Convention through the International Child Abduc - tion Remedies Act (ICARA), 22 U.S.C. §§ 9001 et seq. Where the child has been wrongfully removed to or retained in another Convention country, the left- behind parent may bring an application under the Convention seeking the child’s prompt return. Whether the Hague Convention applies depends on factors including whether both the United States and the country to which the child was taken are parties to the Convention, whether the child was habitually resident in the United States, and whether the removal or retention breached the other parent’s custody rights under the law of the child’s habitual residence. If the destination country is not a Hague Convention country, the Convention return procedure is gener - ally unavailable. The parent may instead need to rely on Washington or federal court orders, US diplomatic assistance, and the laws and courts of the country where the child is located. The process can therefore be substantially more complicated where the destina - tion country is not a Convention country. Accordingly, the availability of the Hague Convention can make a significant difference to the procedure for securing the return of a child taken internationally, but it does not eliminate the need to establish the underlying custody or parental rights and satisfy the applicable legal requirements. 3.3 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction The United States is a party to the 1980 Hague Con - vention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which is implemented domestically through ICARA. The US Department of State acts as the US Central Authority. Washington State does not provide free legal advice on these matters. However, parties may be able to locate an attorney who will handle the case pro bono.
The author considers Washington State to apply the Hague Convention principle of the immediate return of the child. Each case is fact-specific, however, so in some cases, the defences will be strongly considered and litigated. Costs and Timescale The statute requires that a child be returned within six weeks, but litigation rarely moves that quickly. It could take a few months. The cost is also case-dependent. If there are no defences, the case requires less time to litigate, thus costing less. The average cost is approxi - mately USD25,000 to USD100,000. Legal Assistance The United States has made a reservation under Arti - cles 26 and 42 of the Hague Convention, so there is no general entitlement to free legal representation in Hague proceedings. Unlike some Convention coun - tries, the US government is not required to pay for attorneys or court proceedings. However, the US Department of State operates a Hague Convention Attorney Network, through which eligible applicants may be connected with attorneys willing to provide representation on a pro bono or reduced-fee basis. The service is not guaranteed: an attorney may decline the case, and applicants may still be responsible for filing fees, service costs, trans - lations, travel expenses and other litigation costs. Eligibility for pro bono or reduced-fee assistance is generally assessed by reference to income and finan - cial circumstances. The Department of State currently uses thresholds based on 125% and 200% of the US Federal Poverty Guidelines for assessing eligibility. Thus, while free or reduced-fee assistance is available in practice, it is not an enforceable right and may be difficult to obtain, particularly where an attorney can - not be located who is willing to accept the case. Hague Convention Case Data The US Department of State publishes annual data concerning incoming Hague Convention cases, including reported cases and case closures. The Department’s current data page provides information by year, including 2025 and earlier years:
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