As a parent facing divorce, one of your biggest concerns likely is the amount of monthly child support you will receive or have to pay. In Washington, as in all other states, both parents have the obligation to support their children. In cases of divorce, the Washington State Court System has a published Child Support Schedule that contains the economic table which courts use to determine parents’ monthly basic support obligation.
Two factors enter in: you and your spouse’s combined monthly net income and the number of children you have. Each of you must contribute your proportionate share of this amount based on your respective monthly net income.
Examples
For instance, if you have two children and you and your spouse have a combined net annual income of $50,000, your combined monthly child support obligation amounts to approximately $660. For a combined net annual income of $80,000, the obligation amount increases to approximately $842 per month. A combined net annual income of $100,000 results in a monthly obligation of about $987.
Keep in mind that the above figures represent the total monthly child support obligation, not your personal share of it. That figure gets calculated based on the proportional share of the total amount represented by your income. For instance, if your spouse’s income accounts for two-thirds of the $100,000 total, his or her monthly child support obligation amounts to $658, while yours amounts to $329. In other words, if you are the lower-income spouse, you can expect to receive monthly child support payments of $658 assuming you have two children.
