Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Hello,

I live in Snohomish County of Washington State and I am just starting the process of filing with the court to get standard visitation with my kids. I have been paying my ex with checks and money orders because I thought that was a way to keep a record to show the court when I do go that I haven't been a deadbeat dad. Now I was speaking to a friend who recently went through this and wanted to know if what he said was in fact the truth. He said the court told him that even though he could prove he had paid child support because it wasn't through the washington state support enforcement office that it was considered a gift and he now owes that past five years again. I want to take care of my kids but I don't want to be shafted by the legal system either, can someone help make sense of this please.


Asked on 1/16/10, 3:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

The situation your friend poses is where there is an existing order of child support that says you are to make payments through the support enforcement office and you make them independent of the support enforcement office. In those cases, yes, your support payments are likely to be construed as gifts, unless your ex fesses up and agrees that they were in fact child support payments.

The bottom line is to always, always, carefully read your support orders and comply with them to the letter. When in doubt, consult a lawyer. 20-30 minutes with a lawyer will save you thousands down the road if you fall into the category that your friend described to you.

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Answered on 1/21/10, 3:29 pm


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