schedule for support determination/visitation

[Louiser]

What is the name of your state?Washington State

My friend has a 4 yo, he has a 25-40 hr/wk job. Support Enforcement (DSHS) has him pay $557 current + 50$ on the $1500 or so he is behind. Ex (not wife) has denied visitation bec he cant pay full amnt. He is unskilled, will be starting a new job next wk for $9/hr @ 40 hr/wk but this will still take almost 1/2 of his income. *Is visitation a right or must it be spelled out in court when there is no abuse issue, just money in arrears? My understanding is $ is not a justification for withholding visitation. *What is the WA state schedule to determine the % of income to go to support? Ex also works, makes around $1500-not sure if gross or net. Can support be modified and past-dated, ie if he were to petition the court showing he has not been getting what the support said he was (which was only 1850/mo anyway) for the last four months, can the past due amnt be modified? *When he was making $1850, that left a bit over 1200 (gross, mind you) to live on. What is the minimum that the state says you neede to live on? $1200 is not a livable wage. Is it the same for CP and Non-CP w/the addition of 'X' amount for the child? He also had a CV joint go out and had to fix that. *When something catastrophic in an economic sense that has a substantial effect on income/outgo, does the court take that into consideration? How do I find answers to questions about Wa laws for him-I am disabled or I would pay for a lawyer. As it is he only ate last week because i bought him groceries.
One more wrinkle-I found out the fencing employer was paying him $.80/ft but showed on his check that he was being pd by the hour thus showing him making much more an hour than he really was, supposedly because there is an accounting advantage. Can we petition the court about that although I don't know how we would present it unless we threaten the employer. I did tell him to get copies of al his stubs. His last check was 300$ for TWO WKS! My friend said that DSHS figures full time as anything over 32 hrs but then 12$/hr X 32 is not 12$ X 40 so how does that work?
Please tell me how I can help him. He does not want to get out of paying support. If he had more money he would pay it in a minute but he needs to live.

 

[Whyte Noise]

What is the name of your state?Washington State

My friend has a 4 yo, he has a 25-40 hr/wk job. Support Enforcement (DSHS) has him pay $557 current + 50$ on the $1500 or so he is behind. Ex (not wife) has denied visitation bec he cant pay full amnt. He is unskilled, will be starting a new job next wk for $9/hr @ 40 hr/wk but this will still take almost 1/2 of his income. *Is visitation a right or must it be spelled out in court when there is no abuse issue, just money in arrears?

***Visitation is a right, but it has to be spelled out in a court order for him to be able to enforce that visitation if she denies him.

My understanding is $ is not a justification for withholding visitation.

This is correct. BUT, as I stated, he has to have a court order for visitation in order for the court to enforce that order.

*What is the WA state schedule to determine the % of income to go to support?

***Here's a link to a WA conline calculator you can use:

http://www.divorcelawinfo.com/states/wash/cal/WACSC.html

Ex also works, makes around $1500-not sure if gross or net. Can support be modified and past-dated, ie if he were to petition the court showing he has not been getting what the support said he was (which was only 1850/mo anyway) for the last four months, can the past due amnt be modified?

No. It's only modified back to the date he files for it. Say, if he files tomorrw (11/15) then it will go back to 11/15.

*When he was making $1850, that left a bit over 1200 (gross, mind you) to live on. What is the minimum that the state says you neede to live on? $1200 is not a livable wage.

***They don't care what you have left to live on. You think $1200 a month isn't a liviable wage? My husband brought home $92 a week after taxes and CS. Try living on less than $400 a month. I'm not trying to be sarcastic, just showing you that they DON'T CARE.

Is it the same for CP and Non-CP w/the addition of 'X' amount for the child?

***I don't understand this question.

He also had a CV joint go out and had to fix that. *When something catastrophic in an economic sense that has a substantial effect on income/outgo, does the court take that into consideration?

***Nope.

How do I find answers to questions about Wa laws for him-I am disabled or I would pay for a lawyer. As it is he only ate last week because i bought him groceries.

***Most attoreny's offer a free or low cost initial consultation. Or, you can research the Washington Statutes online.

One more wrinkle-I found out the fencing employer was paying him $.80/ft but showed on his check that he was being pd by the hour thus showing him making much more an hour than he really was, supposedly because there is an accounting advantage. Can we petition the court about that although I don't know how we would present it unless we threaten the employer.

***Dunno about this one. My husband is management, and is on a straight salary. He works 50 hours a week. However, his paycheck stubs show he works 40 hours a week at a HIGHER wage than what he actually makes. It's the same amount at the end of the day though. He actually works 50 hours a week at $10 and makes $500 a week. His check stubs show that he works 40 hours a week at $12.50 an hour. But, both equal up to the same $500 a week. It's not really the number of hours worked, it's the final amount of wages that's counted. If he gets paid .80 a foot, then that would average out to whatever hourly wage is on his check. Even though you say it makes him look like he's making more than he is, I doubt that's the case. His boss isn't going to pay him $400 (as an example) for 40 hours @ $10 an hour (according to the "accounting" dept.) if he didn't put in $400 worth of fence. See what I'm saying?

I did tell him to get copies of al his stubs. His last check was 300$ for TWO WKS!

***Don't feel like the lone ranger here. Lot's of us have to deal with this as well. He's not alone.

My friend said that DSHS figures full time as anything over 32 hrs but then 12$/hr X 32 is not 12$ X 40 so how does that work?

***I have no clue. I don't know much about the WA guidelines. Although, what I've always seen says 40 hours, not 32.

Please tell me how I can help him. He does not want to get out of paying support. If he had more money he would pay it in a minute but he needs to live.

***Have him call around to see if he can find an attorney that does free or lost cost initial consults. Have him research online, and know what statutes apply to him. Use the online calculator link I provided, and have him see what his CS "should" be. If there's a difference of more than 15 or 20% between what he's paying, and what he SHOULD be paying (based on his current income and all the other factors) he may want to look into a modification to get it lowered. He'd have to see what WA's percentage is though. I just used 15 to 20 as a general guideline, as that's what most states use.

Hope this helps you out some.