[WA] My father and step mother died, leaving me (19m) and my step sister (8f). My step sisters father, who has previously never cared about her, is getting full custody and has told me he won't allow me to visit. Is there anything I can do?

Hi, so my life is falling apart.

As the title says, a few weeks ago my father and my step mother were killed in a car accident. They have been married for 7 years, and my step mother had a daughter from a previous marriage who is 8 years old. I love her unconditionally as if she were my own sister and I would fight tooth and nail to keep her safe.

She has no immediate family other than her father in the area, so he is going to receive full custody of her. I don't know if subjective opinions are allowed in posts like this, but this guy is a fucking asshole. The reason my step mother left him is because he was abusive (which was never reported to the police, but I know several people who have witnessed it first hand, so it absolutely 100% happened), and the reason he was abusive was because my step sister was born and he didn't want a child. As a result, he has never given a shit about her, never asked to see her, and has never wanted anything to do with her until now.

I was at home with my step sister a few days ago and he knocked on the door. I opened it and we had a really ugly conversation about what was going to happen to my step sister now that her mother and my father were dead. I told him that if he did end up having custody I would want to be seeing her as often as possible as I consider her my family. He told me, verbatim "that's not gonna happen, son. I don't want my daughter spending time with half caste blood." (he's referring to the fact that my father is mixed race, and that I am too as a result. I slammed the door. I was absolutely livid, which brings me to this post.

So basically, I have a few questions:First, Can anything be done to stop him having custody? There are no police reports about his abuse, and his criminal record is clean by all the research I have completed.

Third, at the very least, could I contend in a court that I have visiting rights to her? I'm not actually related to her, so I'm not sure what the standing is there.

Third, if it's not possible to force allowed visits, is there anyway I can straight up adopt my step sister? I have an office job that pays well, so financial security wouldn't be a problem, I have an apartment of my own, and I would be 100% willing to be her full time guardian.

EDIT: I want to make it absolutely clear that my sister does not want to live with her dad, and she says she wants to live with me.

Thank you so so so much to anyone who responds to this. I'm at my wits end and I will do literally anything to keep my step sister close to me, and I don't care about the cost.

submitted by /u/throwmeinalake123 to r/legaladvice
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