Kirkland Divorce Attorneys

Our Kirkland child support modification attorneys are here to help.

Due to the highly personal and occasionally volatile nature of separations or divorces, the law foresees circumstances under which parties can petition for a temporary order to modify a support obligation or a parenting plan. Since spousal maintenance is also usually ordered for a determined time period, it can thereafter be modified based on a "substantial change in circumstances" by the parties, namely economic. It should be noted that if the divorce is concluded by settlement, it is possible for the parties to stipulate that an order cannot be modified. For modifying orders in Kirkland, WA, the laws are the same.

In order for a child support order to be modified, certain minimal conditions must be met with regards to the amounts affected:

• There change must be of at least $100 and at least a 25% increase or decrease in the established support amount; or,
• An increase in support of less than $100 would allow the receiving family to cease the reception of public assistance; or
• Three years have passed since the support order was initially set or was last reviewed for modification; or
• There has been a significant change of the payer’s circumstances since the order was established or last modified.

Case law has helped to establish what may constitute a significant change in circumstance that would allow for child support modification. Some examples include:

• You are currently serving a jail sentence; or
• You have become permanently disabled; or
• You now receive public assistance; or
• You have new children that you must also support; or
• You have lost your job and are unable to find employment at the same wage.

Additionally, a motion for a temporary order to reduce a support obligation may be sought in situations such as a temporary layoff or other type of occupational disruption.

In the case of a parenting plan, changes may only be sought in a few cases. The parenting plan may be amended upon agreement between both parents, and in all cases, only insofar as the change is in the best interests of the child or children. In the event of a disagreement between the parents regarding a proposed change, the parenting plan can be modified by the court only if revisions are made necessary by a substantial change having occurred in the child (or children’s) life or in the lives of the parents since the parenting plan was ordered. Residential or visitation schedules can also be modified if the court finds that the child’s present living environment is physically or emotionally harmful.

The information above is refernced from the Washington State Bar Association and is reprinted here with the Bar Association’s explicit permission.