Washington WPF CU 01.0500 - Order of Child Support

Filing a Petition to Change Your Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule, or Custody Order has forms and instructions. You can get it and other info online at www.washingtonlawhelp.org. You may also get the court forms at http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/ or ask the family law facilitator, if your county has one.

Maximum support The maximum child support payable is also known as the cap . The maximum child support is applied to the combined income of both parents up to 2.5 times the annual equivalent of all Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) and calculated using the Costs of Children Table.

Washington law does have a statute of limitations for collecting back child support.As a practical matter, then, you can collect past-due support payments until the youngest child on the order turns 28 years old. After the child turns 28, any judgment for child support arrears is normally unenforceable.

In Washington State, child support is paid until the child either turns 18 or graduates High School,whichever occurs later. The support obligation can extend beyond this. Most commonly to cover post-secondary education. However, this is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

Is there a limit to the amount of support I should pay? Yes. The support you pay all your biological children should be no more than 45% of your net income. Each child is entitled to a proportional share.

The minimum amount of support is $50 per month. The maximum is 45% of a parent's net income, unless there is some good reason such as substantial wealth for that percentage to increase.

Using Washington's Child Support Guidelines To calculate child support, use the combined net income of both parents (in other words, add your net income to the other parent's net income) to determine the total amount of child support due.

You can begin an action to reduce or increase child support by filing a petition for modification and the necessary child support worksheets. The Washington State Office of the Administrator for the Courts website provides a variety of state court forms by category, including a Child Support Modification form.

The costs involved in establishing a parenting plan include a filing fee of $200-$250, photocopying fees, and (possibly) fees for service (delivering the papers to the other parent or other parties). If you cannot afford the filing fee, you may use a special form which may let you file without paying the filing fee.