This is an important note to pro se parties involved in a family law case in Washington state:

Washington State Child Support Schedule Worksheets have been updated.  You will be required to use the new worksheets after July 2010.  You may download the new worksheet by clicking the link below.  The worksheet is in Microsoft Word format, so you may use and edit it on your computer.

Get the New Washington State Child Support Schedule Worksheet
Click here

If you need assistance filling out this paperwork, sign up for our "How to Draft a Child Support Worksheet" workshop.  Attorney Marie White will walk you through the process of filling out the paperwork and share her expertise on your family law issue.  

This workshop is $50 and is available on the following dates this month:

• Tuesday, July 13 at 6:30pm
• Tuesday, July 20 at noon
• Tuesday, July 27 at 6:30pm

Click here to sign up.  If you need help with paperwork regarding a different family issue, we can help.  Check our Workshop Schedule online, or call Xenia at 877-776-7310 for a free consultation.

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.