Child Support, Parenting Plans

Untimely Petition for Postsecondary Education Support in Washington Divorce

February 17, 2017 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Under Washington law, courts may order postsecondary support for children in some circumstances, but as a recent case reminds us, it is not automatic. Parents must be sure they understand the child support order and follow any deadlines for filing the petition for postsecondary support. It is important that parents consult with their attorneys before the child turns 18 or graduates from high school. The child support order may require the parent to petition for postsecondary educational support before the child’s high school graduation.

In this case, the child support order stated that support would continue until each child reached the age of 18 or graduated from high school, whichever was later, but not after a child reached the age of 19, except as provided in the paragraph on postsecondary educational support. That paragraph provided that the right to petition for postsecondary support was reserved as long as it was exercised before the child turned 18.

The child had already turned 18 at the time the father filed for postsecondary educational support, but they were still in high school. The court dismissed the petition as untimely, and the father appealed.

When a Child Fails to Meet Conditions for Washington Post-Secondary Education Support

February 6, 2017 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Washington family law provides for child support to include post-secondary education in some circumstances. Before awarding this type of support, the court must first determine if the child is dependent on the parents for his or her reasonable necessities. The court has discretion in determining how long to award the support, based on a number of factors. The statute requires the child to be enrolled in an accredited institution, pursuing studies commensurate with his or her vocational goals, and to be in good academic standing. The statute requires an automatic suspension if the child fails to comply with these requirements. RCW 26.19.090.

If a court does award post-secondary education support, it must determine the consequences of the child’s failure to comply with the conditions in the order. A Washington appeals court recently considered this issue in an unpublished opinion.

The trial court had modified the child support order to include post-secondary education for one of the couple’s daughters in 2014. The order included a condition that the daughter “enroll in and attend school full-time.” The daughter was not a full-time student during the spring term of 2015, due to medical issues. A court commissioner granted the father’s motion to terminate support for the daughter. The superior court then denied the mother’s motion for revision and entered a judgment against the mother for the tuition the husband had paid and attorney fees. The court also denied the mother’s motion for reconsideration, and she appealed.

Issues Related to Children in Washington Divorces

January 26, 2017 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Matters related to children are often the most contentious aspects of a divorce. Ideally, parents will work together to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement regarding custody, decision-making, and support. When the parties cannot agree, however, the court may have to decide these issues based on factual findings and statutory requirements.

A Washington appeals court recently considered several issues related to parenting in a recent case. A temporary order granted equal residential time, appointed a guardian ad litem, and authorized joint decision-making. A subsequent stipulated order stated the parties agreed to update each other on the child’s health and follow the recommendations of his health care providers. Following the trial, however, the trial court entered an order limiting the father’s residential time based on findings of abusive use of conflict, neglect, and not acting in the child’s best interest.

The trial court determined the father’s net monthly income was more than $15,000, while the mother’s was less than $400, making the combined income greater than the top support schedule tier. RCW 26.19.020. The trial court ordered a transfer payment of $3,000 per month, which was greater than the amount provided in the statute. The husband appealed the child support order and the parenting plan.

The One Page of Paper that Can Make Your Meeting with a Family Law Attorney More Valuable

April 21, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Everyone can relate to the experience of walking into the grocery store without a shopping list and leaving the store without what you went in for, having spent lots of money on things you didn’t need. Notes aren’t only important for grocery shopping. They can help keep meetings on task, organized, and efficient. That is why we recommend that people bring notes into their first meeting with a family law attorney. One sheet of paper is probably enough for your first meeting. The paper should include the following: Continue reading

5 Common Child Support Myths in Washington State

April 12, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Myth 1:

You don’t have to pay child support if you have a 50/50 parenting plan.

Fact: While it is true that in some cases with 50/50 parenting plans there will be no transfer payment of child support from one parent to the other, in many 50/50 cases, especially those where the parents’ incomes are very different, one parent may still have to pay money to the other parent for the support of the child.

Washington Family Law Forms Will Be Changing – May 1, 2016

March 31, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Washington family law clients and attorneys alike should know that there are changes coming to the Washington State Family Law Forms. The revised forms will become required on May 1, 2016, but they are available now on the Washington Courts Website for review and preparation for adoption.

The forms are called “Plain Language” forms and are meant to be easier to read and understated. From our review, many of the forms are easier to read and understand. This will benefit pro se litigants (those people that are not being assisted by a family law attorney). It will also benefit people that have attorneys, because they won’t have to waste their valuable time having the complicated forms explained, and, instead, will be able to spend their time telling their family law attorney about the facts of their case and giving the attorney time to discuss strategy and the best way to move forward. It will also benefit people that are represented by an attorney, but are opposing a party that is pro se. These pro se opposing parties sometimes make claims that they did not understand the online forms and as such should not be held to what they agreed to therein. The Plain Language forms will be easier to understand and thus, if someone signs these documents the courts will probably be less likely to believe that a party did not understand what they were signing. Continue reading

Postsecondary Support

February 29, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

As many parents of adult children know, most children do not stop needing support (financial, mental, and emotional) when they turn eighteen or graduate from high school. Providing continued emotional or mental support is usually not a point of contention between parents. Whether to provide financial support can be a different story. When the parents of adult children are still married at the time the child reaches the age of majority, the parents usually decide together how much longer they will offer housing, pay for college, and otherwise financially support the child. When the parents are not married at the time the child turns eighteen or graduates (and the current child support order ends), there are often questions about whether to provide support (and how much support) for the adult child. There is also the question of who should contribute to the support.

Sometimes, unmarried parents request that the court determine whether and how much postsecondary support should be provided to the child. A parent must request postsecondary education contribution from the other parent prior to the current child support order ending (usually eighteen or when the child graduates from high school). If a request is made through court action, the court may decide to award post-secondary support, but it is not mandatory.

King County’s Parenting Seminar

February 27, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

In King County, Local Rule 13 requires parents of minor children (kids under 18) involved in many types of family law cases to attend a parenting seminar during the sixty days following the filing of a petition. As this is a part of many of the cases we handle at Blair & Kim, we hope to provide some information related to this seminar. Continue reading

Circumstances When Litigation May Not Be The Best Route – Family Law

January 31, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

While it might be surprising to to read a law firm telling you about circumstances when you may not need an attorney or want to seek court action to respond to a difficulty in your life, it actually serves both the clients’ interests and an attorneys’ interests to consider when court action may not be necessary. The overriding rule is that if a client is going to spend more (time, energy, resources) than they stand to gain, it’s only worth litigating an issue if the principle is important enough that spending additional money on attorneys’ fees and legal costs is justified. Any potential litigation requires an attorney to do a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the potential benefit of litigation outweighs the potential risk and resources expended.

Reminder for Parents Planning to Relocate

January 10, 2016 | by Blair & Kim, PLLC

Parents sharing a child’s residential time under a court order (like a residential schedule or parenting plan) should be aware of the requirements of the relocation provisions of RCW 26.09. That chapter of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) requires that under certain circumstances a residential parent relocating the child must give notice prior to the relocation. Parents are sometimes confused about what circumstances require them to provide such notice. Continue reading