Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Can my wife do anything to make me pay more child support???

I have a question which bothers me for a while. I have a daughter from my first marriage who is 11 years old now. My ex-wife is very money hungry and always took advantage of me financially. The only reason we still talk to each other is our daughter Theymoved to another state so i get to see her only 1-2X a year. I do pay child support, send presents for her, fly there, fly her to visit me and buy her everything she needs/wants every year. This year i've asked my ex to pay the flight ticket together which she completely refused. She was coming for a month again but no matter how much i love her i can't afford to pay for everything again) My ex also started to make comments lately about how come i cant afford if i make all that money. WHich i'm not. I'm an officer risking my life every single day- working shifts to make sure i pay all my bills INCLUDING MY CHILD SUPPORT. And this is my question, i'm afraid my ex could redo the child support. I've been paying the same amount for the last couple of years. My salary is definitely more than it was when the amount was decided though. Is there a way for her to try to increase the amount money i'm paying now based on my increased salary??? Please help!!!!!


Asked on 4/15/08, 8:29 pm

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

Re: Can my wife do anything to make me pay more child support???

Officer,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in short, yes, your ex-wife can increase your child support, and she can do so for a number of reasons from what you have described in your submission. First, right off the bat, when your daughter turns 12, according to the standardized calculations, even if your income and expenses all remained the same, the support would go up if your wife asked for a modification based upon your daughter turning 12. This is based upon the state support worksheets that lay out a formula based upon the age of the child and income of the parents, among other things.

Second, based upon your increase in income, that is a second basis for an adjustment in support, (up or down), but usually, this does not affect support payments drastically.

Perhaps the good news here is that you too can ask that the current support order be modified. For instance, from what you wrote, you pay 100% of all long distance transportation costs. If I were your lawyer, I would only agree to pay your proportional share of such costs. (The proportional share is determined by adding your income and your ex's income. From that total, you each contribute a certain percentage. Say you make $50,000 and she makes $25,000 annually. That means you make 66% and she makes 34%. Therefore, you pay 66% of all long distance transportation costs and mom picks up the rest. You get the idea.)

If you have more questions, please feel free to get in touch with me anytime.

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Answered on 4/15/08, 9:51 pm


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