Statutes: Washington

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) “Parent” means a legal parent whose rights have not been terminated, relinquished, or declared not to exist.

(2)(a) “Relative” means:

(i) Any blood relative, including those of half-blood, and including first cousins, second cousins, nephews or nieces, and persons of preceding generations as denoted by prefixes of grand, great, or great-great;

(ii) Stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister;

(iii) A person who legally adopts a child or the child’s parent as well as the biological and other legally adopted children of such persons, and other relatives of the adoptive parents in accordance with state law;

(iv) Spouses of any persons named in (a)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this subsection, even after the marriage is terminated;

(v) Relatives, as named in (a)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this subsection, of any half sibling of the child; or

(vi) Extended family members, as defined by the law or custom of an Indian child’s tribe or, in the absence of such law or custom, a person who has reached the age of eighteen and who is the Indian child’s grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, or stepparent who provides care in the family abode on a twenty-four hour basis to an Indian child as defined in 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4).

(b) “Relative” does not include a person whose parental rights have been terminated, relinquished, or determined not to exist with respect to a child who is the subject of a petition under this chapter.