WA state law calculating child support payment

Child Support 3 views 1 answers
I live in Washington State. Until recently, my ex wife and I had joint custody of our daughter. There was no child support payments required and we split expenses for healthcare, education, clothes, etc 50/50. The schedule has recently changed to whereby I have my daughter approximately 33% of the time and her mother has her 67% of the time. Now that she is living with her mother more, we are trying to figure out an equitable way to figure out how I can pay her support for the approximately 5 or 6 extra days a month she now has our daughter. She keeps talking about the WA State Child Support Schedule. Our combined incomes are greater than $7,000 so, if I understand the schedule correctly, the amount for a single child is $1,218 per month. Based on this number, I calculated that I would owe her approximately $209 per month based on the extra days she has her. However, my question is, does that monthly figure factor in all the expenses that we normally split as well? For example, her health insurance is covered through her mother's job and I reimburse her 50% of the premium. If we go by the schedule and I pay the $209/month plus the 50% of the health care premium, am I paying twice for her health insurance? Basically, what I am asking is - is the $1,218 per month figure inclusive of all living expenses? Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanks. David

Attorney Answer

1
Thuongtri Nguyen ·
The free online WA child support calculator is at http://www.courts.wa.gov/ssgen/ . You can use the calculator to estimate the BASIC child support. The parents who pay insurance premiums are credited for some of those payments. Parents likely will need to contribute more for the child's expenses (such as school fees, braces, medical procedures, etc.). The court has the authority to order parents whose incomes are above $7000 (the maximum for the statutory table) to pay more than the amount from the table. If post secondary education (college) is in your child's future, you may be ordered to pay those expenses too. The parents may agree with each other to an amount different than that from the calculator/worksheet. If the agreed amount is not unreasonable, the court likely will accept the deviation. You may want to review your facts and options with an attorney.
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