Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Child support

Normally, the court will not go back in time to change child support. However, I have seen the court relieve a parent from being required to pay back child support when the child did not live with the other parent. The argument falls under the "doctrine of laches." Under this doctrine you are not asking the court to change the old order, you are asking the court not to enforce it because enforcing it would be unfair. A lot depends on how the judge views the situation. Even if the judge agrees that enforcement would be unfair, it is still possible that the court would enforce the order anyway. Because the argument falls outside the kinds of standard questions covered by the forms, I suggest you talk to an attorney in your area.