Child Support and Spousal Maintenance (Alimony)

Child Support  Spousal Maintenance (Alimony)

As a parent, you will want to make sure that your children have what they need. In Washington, parents also have the obligation to support their children. In every divorce involving a minor child, child support must be addressed. Child support refers to how the support obligations of the parents towards their children are shared. Child support needs to be addressed in dissolutions of marriage (divorce), parentage (paternity) cases, and non-parental custody cases. Child support often includes a periodic (usually monthly) "transfer payment" from one parent to another, but may also consist of other obligations, such as sharing certain types of expenses.

In Washington, the law provides that a presumed child support amount is driven by the net incomes of the parents. The presumed amount is determined from completing child support worksheets. A set of child support worksheets and instructions can be downloaded HERE.

As noted, the worksheets only provide a presumed amount and percentage allocation of child support. Under appropriate circumstances, the presumed amount and/or percentages for child support is not binding. To ensure that everything is considered, Washington law provides for four steps when a court determines the appropriate level of child support:

1. Compute the total income of the parents;

2. Determine the presumptive child support level from the economic table (the amount listed on the child support worksheets);

3. Decide whether to deviate, based on individual factors; and

4. Allocate the child support obligation based on each parent’s share of the combined net income.

In other words, the "standard calculation" from the child support worksheets only gets the parents to the second step of a four-step process. The worksheets only provide a presumptive amount of child support before the applying any reasons for deviation and the allocation of the child support obligation. There are technical rules, established by court cases and statutes, concerning the calculation of child support and what qualifies as an adequate basis for deviation. Deviating from the presumed amount of child support requires a legally-supportable basis that is listed in the Order of Child Support, which is Washington's court order that addresses child support.

In addition to a basic amount of child support, parents also generally required to share work-related child care, long-distance transportation, and most uninsured medical expenses in the proportions that their net incomes bear to each other. For example, if one parent nets $6,000 and the other parent nets $4,000, then one parent would owe 60% and the other 40% of these expenses. However, it is also possible to deviate from those percentages, assuming there are appropriate circumstances listed in the court order. Also, income tax exemptions are frequently allocated as part of the child support. (The allocation of tax exemptions is separate from head of household filing status.)

In mediated and collaborative divorce cases, child support is a negotiated amount. Rather than being limited to the rough estimates for supporting children provided by the standard child support worksheets, upward or downward deviations are available so that the support more closely matches the actual child-rearing expenses in each household, which may result in a better outcome for the parents and the children. Additionally, it may be possible to increase available funds for children by doing tax planning, including using spousal maintenance as a tool. Arriving at a child support agreement that takes such particulars into consideration and maximizes available funds is best done with the analysis and assistance of a financial specialist.  

Once it has been established, child support can be prospectively modified if there is a substantial change of circumstances that justifies a modification. It can also be adjusted periodically based solely on changed incomes of the parents or a change in age brackets of the children. However, child support cannot be retroactively modified. (In other words, if you lose your job for reasons beyond your control and you are unable to reach agreement, you should consider immediately bring a proceeding to modify your child support and not wait.) 

It is commonly believed that if a child changes primary residences, that child support will automatically accompany the child. However, that assumption may not be correct. Making this assumption could lead to the anomalous result that the parent with whom the child resides may be legally required to pay child support to the parent with whom the child is no longer living. The only way to change the obligation is to obtain an updated court order, whether through an agreed order or an order obtained from a court process. 

Spousal Maintenance (alimony) is a payment of money that usually occurs on a periodic basis, such as monthly, from one spouse to another. It is usually provided to assist a financially disadvantaged spouse, but it is a flexible tool, and may be used for many purposes, including:

• To help both spouses have better financial futures outcome depending on their relative incomes, property, debts. retirement ages, and similar considerations;
• To help a spouse obtain training and experience to enter the workforce at an appropriate level;
• To compensate a spouse for lost financial or career opportunities;
• To assist a spouse during a transitional period;
• To provide additional financial assistance if property is insufficient.

Spousal maintenance is not automatic in every case. Unlike child support, there is no formula to determine either the amount or duration of spousal maintenance, or even a presumed amount of maintenance.

Spousal maintenance is commonly determined by agreement. When deciding spousal maintenance by agreement, it is important to consider the future financial circumstances of both parties, and how the divorce will affect those circumstances. In a collaborative divorce, the assistance of a financial specialist to assist in preparing budgets and who performs a detailed analysis of current and expected financial circumstances can be enormously helpful in reaching an agreement that is both informed and realistic.  

If a court determines spousal maintenance, the law provides that the amount and duration of maintenance is largely within the court’s discretion, based on factors that include:

1. The financial resources of the party seeking maintenance;

2. The time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find employment appropriate to his/her skill, interests, style of life, and other attendant circumstances;

3. The standard of living established during the marriage;

4. The duration of the marriage;

5. The age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations of the spouse seeking maintenance; and

6. The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his/her needs and financial obligations while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance.

The law establishes maintenance as a flexible tool with which to provide for equitable results based on all relevant factors.

Spousal maintenance can be used as a tax planning tool. Provided that IRS requirements are followed, spousal maintenance can be tax-deductible to the payor-spouse and taxable income to the recipient-spouse. If the payor has a higher tax bracket than the recipient, some tax savings can be realized, which may help ease some of the budgetary pressures that may exist in a divorce.