In the Matter of the Parentage of: A.W.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 20, 2022
Docket37607-9
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Matter of the Parentage of: A.W. (In the Matter of the Parentage of: A.W.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Matter of the Parentage of: A.W., (Wash. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

FILED JANUARY 20, 2022 In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

In the Matter of the Parentage of A.W. ) ) No. 37607-9-III CATHERINE HERRMAN, ) ) Appellant, ) ) v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) JACOB WARNER, ) ) Respondent. )

SIDDOWAY, J. — Catherine Herrman appeals the trial court’s entry of a final

parenting plan for her and Jacob Warner’s daughter, A.W.,1 under which Mr. Warner,

1 To protect the privacy interests of minor children, this court identifies them only through the use of initials. General Order of Division III, In Re the Use of Initials or Pseudonyms for Child Victims or Child Witnesses (Wash. Ct. App. June 18, 2012), http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/?fa=atc.genorders_orddisp&ordnumber =2012_001&div=III. No. 37607-9-III Herrman v. Warner

rather than Ms. Herrman, serves as the primary residential parent. For the first time on

appeal, Ms. Herrman raises legal challenges to the procedure followed by the trial court.

She also challenges the sufficiency of the findings and evidence to support the plan’s

residential provisions. Because she fails to demonstrate any preserved error and the

findings and evidence are sufficient, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Catherine Herrman and Jacob Warner have a child together, A.W., who was born

in late 2009. About a year and a half later, Ms. Herrman completed and filed a petition

for establishment of parentage that identified Mr. Warner as A.W.’s alleged and

presumed father. A temporary parenting plan was entered a few weeks later that

identified Ms. Herrman as A.W.’s primary residential parent. Mr. Warner was given long

weekend visitation every other week, with shortened weekends when A.W. started

school. Because Ms. Herrman lived in Davenport and Mr. Warner lived in Moses Lake,

Ritzville was designated as the pickup and drop-off location for visitation.

A second temporary parenting plan was entered in January 2015, when A.W.

became enrolled in school. Ms. Herrman remained the primary residential parent.

The parties had some disagreements operating under the parenting plan thereafter,

but the issue in this appeal was not presented until the summer of 2018, when Mr. Warner

petitioned to change the parenting plan, proposing a residential schedule under which

A.W. would reside primarily with him and he would have major decision making

2 No. 37607-9-III Herrman v. Warner

authority. His petition was supported by declarations from Mr. Warner, his wife, his

parents, and a close family friend. The declarations expressed concern about A.W.’s

safety and well-being. All asserted a belief that A.W. was living with her maternal

grandmother, Julie Lawson, rather than with Ms. Herrman. Ms. Herrman opposed the

petition, filing a declaration of her own and one from Ms. Lawson.

After reviewing the submissions, the trial court entered an order finding adequate

cause for a hearing to address whether A.W. was residing with her mother or

grandmother.

Almost a year later, Mr. Warner filed a further declaration and a proposed

parenting plan after he was contacted by Child Protective Services (CPS) and invited to

attend a safety team meeting triggered by two incidents where Ms. Herrman’s then 3-

year-old son had walked away from Ms. Herrman’s home. His declaration expressed

heightened concern for A.W.’s health and safety. Mr. Warner’s proposed parenting plan

accused Ms. Herrman of neglect and child abuse. Ms. Herrman responded with her own

declaration, evidently at a hearing held in August 2019. According to statements later

made by the trial court, it was at the August 2019 hearing that it “told everyone that

there’s only a temporary parenting plan, there’s no final parenting plan to modify,” and

they “need[ed] to set up a trial date for the final parenting plan.” Report of Proceedings

(RP) at 38-39.

3 No. 37607-9-III Herrman v. Warner

The trial was conducted in March 2020. Mr. Warner was represented by counsel.

Ms. Herrman appeared pro se. At the outset of the trial, the court again stated that Mr.

Warner erred when he framed his petition as one for modification, because no final

parenting plan was ever entered. Ms. Herrman told the court she thought she received

something indicating that a final parenting plan was entered. She was unable to produce

it, she said, because she was temporarily excluded from her apartment following damage

from a fire.

Mr. Warner called Ms. Herrman as his first witness, after which he and his wife

testified in support of his proposed parenting plan. Ms. Hermann provided testimony in

the form of a statement to the court following Mr. Warner’s case, and was her only

witness.

In Ms. Hermann’s direct examination, she was presented with school records

revealing that A.W. was consistently performing poorly in school. The records also

revealed that A.W. had more excused and unexcused absences than was admitted by Ms.

Herrman, who had testified that A.W.’s attendance was “good.” RP at 13. Ms. Herrman

conceded that she had not attended A.W.’s parent/teacher conferences attended by Mr.

Warner, but claimed it was because A.W.’s teacher held a separate conference with her.

She did not recognize a breakdown of A.W.’s test scores that was offered by Mr. Warner

4 No. 37607-9-III Herrman v. Warner

as exhibit R-101, saying she had never seen it.2 Mr. Warner identified it as a document

given to him at the parent/teacher conference by A.W.’s teacher, who he said was “really

concerned about her math[,] that she needs extra work at home.” RP at 51.

Ms. Herrman conceded that it was Ms. Lawson, rather than her, who handled the

visitation handoffs in Ritzville, in part because Ms. Herrman and the Warners “don’t get

along.” RP at 25. Ms. Herrman conceded that Ms. Lawson most often accompanied

A.W. to A.W.’s doctor’s visits. She later explained that A.W.’s doctor in Davenport is

Ralph Panke, “[a]nd I don’t go to doctor appointments with Ralph Panke because Ralph

Panke and I have a personal conflict.” RP at 65.

Ms. Herrman conceded during the trial that after being court-ordered to provide

Mr. Warner with her telephone number the prior fall, “he got out of line and I changed

my phone number.” RP at 67. She discounted the requirement that Mr. Warner have the

ability to contact her, stating that “it’s just not necessary.” RP at 68. She agreed that Mr.

Warner has to “contact[ her] mom for everything.” Id.

Ms. Herrman denied that A.W. lived with Ms. Lawson, but conceded that the

apartment she rented for herself, her two young sons, and, allegedly, A.W., had only two

bedrooms.

2 For the first time on appeal, Ms. Herrman questions the authenticity of exhibits admitted at trial. We decline to review her unpreserved objections. RAP 2.5(a).

5 No. 37607-9-III Herrman v. Warner

Mr. and Ms. Warner testified to reasons they were convinced that A.W. was living

with her grandmother rather than her mother. They included that A.W. had her own

bedroom at Ms. Lawson’s home that included a dresser for her clothing, and that

whenever they had seen A.W. while in Davenport, it had always been at Ms. Lawson’s

home, and never at Ms. Herrman’s apartment.

At the conclusion of the evidence and summations, the trial court announced from

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re the Marriage of Murray
622 P.2d 1288 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1981)
State v. Wade
979 P.2d 850 (Washington Supreme Court, 1999)
State v. Scott
757 P.2d 492 (Washington Supreme Court, 1988)
In Re the Marriage of Croley
588 P.2d 738 (Washington Supreme Court, 1978)
In the Matter of Custody of Stell
783 P.2d 615 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1989)
In Re Marriage of Lemke
85 P.3d 966 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2004)
In re the Marriage of Chandola
180 Wash. 2d 632 (Washington Supreme Court, 2014)
State v. Wade
979 P.2d 850 (Washington Supreme Court, 1999)
State v. Sisouvanh
290 P.3d 942 (Washington Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Fairfax
179 Wash. 2d 411 (Washington Supreme Court, 2013)
In re the Marriage of Lemke
120 Wash. App. 536 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2004)
Department of Social & Health Services v. Jones
904 P.2d 1132 (Washington Supreme Court, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
In the Matter of the Parentage of: A.W., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-matter-of-the-parentage-of-aw-washctapp-2022.