How do I collect child support if the paying parent won’t pay?

In this economy, you have to be creative when it comes to every financial decision you make. If you are the custodial parent and you are not receiving child support payments, you may feel like you have limited options.

Authors Lisa Dufour and Kim Schnuelle offer some nontraditional methods for collecting unpaid support beyond wage garnishment in this month’s issue of the Bar Bulletin published by the King County Bar Association. If you are seeking owed child support, here are some ways you can go about collecting those funds:

Qualified Domestic Relations Order – A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) allows the child support to be collected from the paying parent’s retirement funds, including a 401K.

Two-Year Bond – If the paying parent is to receive a large asset from the sale of a house or an inheritance, you can arrange for a bond for two years of future support. The Division of Child Support (DCS) will manage the bond and is responsible for distributing the monthly child support payments as they come due.

Probate Collection – A probate collection is when you leverage the property or assets a paying parent is set to receive from an inheritance of someone who is still alive. In most cases, you can ask DCS to put a lien on the property that the paying parent is to inherit from their own parents and the lien will be placed when the property owner dies. A probate collection is one way to receive back pay as well as future child support payments and can roll into a two-year bond, if appropriate.

Liens, Foreclosures and Home Sales – When the economy flourished, foreclosures and home sales brought a surplus funds that could be put towards outstanding child support payments. At the moment, this isn’t the best method to collect owed funds.

Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act – The Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA) prevents obligors from transferring property for less than its value to avoid paying child support and get away with it.

Supplemental Proceedings – This is a way for an attorney to discover any assets and debts owned by the obligor. It also allows an attorney to question any third parties that may have information regarding the paying parent’s assets without requiring a deposition.

These tactics were shared as a resource for attorneys working with clients, and it’s only the beginning.  Each method requires an attorney to write very specific language in order to make sure that the right payments and taxes are withdrawn and all of the details are uncovered.

If you are not receiving the child support your child needs or have other questions about child support, we can help. Sign up for a free attorney appointment or call Xenia at 877-776-7310 to schedule an individualized appointment.

How can one Pro Se University PS family law workshop help me?

Pro Se University PS workshops give you specific and detailed help with your particular family law problem.  Attend the workshop specific to your larger family law issue, and you will work with Attorney Marie White to draft the documents the court needs from you to complete your family law case.

If you are not sure which workshop would be best for you, call Xenia at 877-776-7310 for a free consultation.  Workshops are $50 and take place in our Burien, Washington office- minutes away from Seattle.

Future workshops.  While our Pro Se University PS curriculum offers workshops on a range of family law issues, let us know if there is a topic that you are interested in that is not currently covered.

Current Family Law Workshop Topics.  Our current workshop schedule drills down into the specifics of divorce, child support, parenting plan issues and family law motions.   

Click here to see our Workshop Schedule.  

If you have questions or suggestions about workshops, feel free to contact us or call us at (877) 776-7310. 

Postsecondary educational support – what is it and why do I have to pay it?

Postsecondary educational support is typically understood to be financial support to your children for college.  But it can also mean helping to pay for a trade school or community college degree.   

The Washington statute that addresses postsecondary support is  RCW 26.19.090.  There are also several important Washington Supreme Court and Appellate Court cases that have interpreted this statute. 

If a child support order has already been entered in your case, it too addresses the postsecondary support issue, at paragraph 3.14.  Often, this paragraph reserves the issue of postsecondary support by providing that the issue must be addressed before the child turns age 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later.  Sometimes your support order will have specific language for how postsecondary support is to be paid for. 

If your child support order reserves the postsecondary support issue and it is now time to address this issue, you will need to bring a motion on the King County Superior Court Family Law docket to get an order regarding postsecondary support.  You will schedule your hearing at the same courthouse – either Kent RJC or Seattle – as your original case.  You will need to supply detailed financial information about yourself, the other parent and the child.  You will also need to have a specific postsecondary education plan for your child, including the name of the school, the cost to attend, and the amount you believe each parent and the child should be responsible to pay.  

Not every family will be required to help their children pay for postsecondary educational support, particularly if they cannot afford to do so. Most postsecondary support orders require the adult child to pay some portion of their educational expenses.   

The entire text of RCW 26.19.090 is printed below.  You should read it carefully and become familiar with the standards it requires for a postsecondary support award so that if you decide to take this issue to court, you will have some idea of what the court is likely to do in your case.   

If you have questions or concerns about this issue, feel free to contact Pro Se University  or call us at (877) 776-7310 for Attorney Support. 

26.19.090

Title 26 DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 26.19 CHILD SUPPORT SCHEDULE 

(1) The child support schedule shall be advisory and not mandatory for postsecondary educational support. 

(2) When considering whether to order support for postsecondary educational expenses, the court shall determine whether the child is in fact dependent and is relying upon the parents for the reasonable necessities of life. The court shall exercise its discretion when determining whether and for how long to award postsecondary educational support based upon consideration of factors that include but are not limited to the following: Age of the child; the child's needs; the expectations of the parties for their children when the parents were together; the child's prospects, desires, aptitudes, abilities or disabilities; the nature of the postsecondary education sought; and the parents' level of education, standard of living, and current and future resources. Also to be considered are the amount and type of support that the child would have been afforded if the parents had stayed together. 

(3) The child must enroll in an accredited academic or vocational school, must be actively pursuing a course of study commensurate with the child's vocational goals, and must be in good academic standing as defined by the institution. The court-ordered postsecondary educational support shall be automatically suspended during the period or periods the child fails to comply with these conditions. 

(4) The child shall also make available all academic records and grades to both parents as a condition of receiving postsecondary educational support. Each parent shall have full and equal access to the postsecondary education records as provided in RCW 26.09.225. 

(5) The court shall not order the payment of postsecondary educational expenses beyond the child's twenty-third birthday, except for exceptional circumstances, such as mental, physical, or emotional disabilities. 

(6) The court shall direct that either or both parents' payments for postsecondary educational expenses be made directly to the educational institution if feasible. If direct payments are not feasible, then the court in its discretion may order that either or both parents' payments be made directly to the child if the child does not reside with either parent. If the child resides with one of the parents the court may direct that the parent making the support transfer payments make the payments to the child or to the parent who has been receiving the support transfer payments.