CHILD SUPPORT:
Each parent is obligated to support his or her children.
A specific procedure is followed. The parties are required to report their gross income from all sources. A child support
worksheet is prepared, which determines each party’s basic support obligation, based upon their current monthly net
income. If you are paid every week or every two weeks, a conversion needs to be made to reflect your net pay on a 4.3 week
per month basis.
The support transfer payment is calculated to include
consideration for medical insurance premiums, uninsured medical costs, daycare costs, transportation expenses and other extraordinary
expenses. The form calls for a statement listing the assets and the general financial condition of each party and provides
for a deviation form the regular support calculation, if one or more reasons apply.
Reasons for deviation from the standard calculation
include:
- Extra or unusual sources of income or tax planning
problems;
- Non-recurring income (overtime, bonuses, second jobs,
etc.;
- Debt and high expenses;
- If the child spends a lot of time with each parent;
- Children from other relationships.
When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or under-employed,
the court will consider that parent’s work history, education, health and age. If a parent is purposely under-employed
to reduce the parent’s child support obligation, then the court may impute income to that parent. This means that the
court will assume that the parent is capable of earning a certain amount of money and will calculate that parent’s support
obligation, based on that assumption.
In Washington, a step-parent who resides with a step-child
in a family unit is liable for support for the step-child. The obligation to support a step-child terminates when the marriage
is legally dissolved. Individuals, who receive public
assistance, assign their support rights to the State in exchange for the assistance they receive. The State provides enforcement
and collection services to individuals and most all support payments are required to be paid to the State through the Division
of Child Support.
When an action is filed, temporary relief is available
by asking for the entry of a temporary order of support. Usually other types of relief are requested to include use of property,
temporary restraining orders, spousal maintenance, legal fees, and the like. Each party must file a financial declaration
accompanied by verification of assets and debts.
We use a computer program to calculate each client’s support obligation. You provide the income figures, and
we can show you the calculation within a few minutes. Support can be adjusted downward, if the responsible parent has a child
in the home for a substantial portion of the year. A child must spend more than 120 of the nights per year in order to qualify
for a downward adjustment. A residential schedule for alternate weekends, a split of holidays, and half of the summer equals
90 days a year and is considered the minimum.
The sum set as the child support obligation includes
an allocation of uninsured health care costs. Each parent should keep track of uninsured medical costs over the period of
a year. Five percent (5%) of the total basic child support obligation is viewed as ordinary uninsured medical costs and are
included in the support payment. Uninsured medical costs over 5% are called extraordinary and shared on a pro rata basis.
The parent receiving support is obligated to pay ordinary uninsured costs, less the 5%.
The support order will state a date when the support
payment is due. Support can be paid either through the support registry or to the parent directly, if payment is reliable.
It will take 30-45 days for the State to set up the file, and careful records should be maintained by each parent as
to what amount is paid and received. If the support payments are not paid in a timely manner, DCS will garnish the wages of
the obligated parent. Never use cash! If you must, get a signed receipt.
SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE:
Spousal maintenance is the phrase the State of Washington uses instead of the
word “alimony”. The court has the authority to award one-party spousal maintenance, if the facts warrant such
a decision the Court is required to consider the following factors:
- The financial resources of the party seeking maintenance;
- The time necessary to educate or train the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment;
- The standard of living established;
- The duration of the marriage;
- The age, physical, and emotional condition and financial obligation of the spouse seeking maintenance;
- The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his or her needs and financial obligations, while meeting
those of the spouse seeking maintenance.
Spousal maintenance is based on a balance of two factors: need versus the ability to pay.
Judges are given broad discretion to do the “fair thing.” Maintenance is a tool that is used to provide assistance
to the financially handicapped spouse by providing funds for retraining or maintaining a standard of living for an overall
fair and equitable result. The duration of maintenance is decided on a case-by-case basis. One spouse is not entitled to a
perpetual lien on the earnings of the other. The reality is that short-term marriages involve zero or short-term maintenance.
Long-term marriages require more serious consideration and mid-term marriage involve a compromise between the two categories.
Each person should be self-sufficient. Often times, a person is not able to be self-sufficient and will not be able to support
himself or herself. If that is the case, then the court will balance those two issues. The court will look at the property
division, the tangible and intangible assets of the community, and will make a decision as to each person’s earning
capacity. Maintenance usually ends once a recipient remarries.
While the award of maintenance is far from automatic, a financially disadvantaged spouse may have the court’s sympathy.
The spouse maintenance should be encouraged to develop realistic goals. The spouse from whom maintenance is sought should
understand that the court will likely see making the other spouse self-supporting as one of the primary purposes of maintenance.
The most important factor is whether there is enough money to go around. The longer the marriage, the more likely the award
of maintenance and the length of maintenance is longer, as well. In a long marriage, the courts will generally try to
place the spouses in an economic position where, if they both work to the reasonable limits of their respective earning capacities,
and manage the properties awarded to him/her, he/she can be expected to be in roughly equal financial position for
the rest of their lives.
