• Washington state considers child support debt serious.child image by Byron Moore from Fotolia.com
  
  When a divorce in Washington is final, if children are involved, the court enters a child support order for the noncustodial parent. The child support order is a court order determining the financial obligations of a noncustodial parent in regard to supporting the children. In Washington, the state government has created an administrative agency to enforce child support laws and orders. The Child Support Division of the Department of Social Health and Services (DSHS) can garnish a noncustodial parent's net disposable income (or income after mandatory deductions) when the noncustodial parent fails to make timely child support payments in full.
  
  

Enforcement

• Garnishment is one of the most effective ways to enforce a debtor's financial obligation. With wage garnishment in child support cases, the custodial parent can intercept the noncustodial parent's wages, income and other assets before the debtor receives them. The noncustodial parent's employer is considered the garnishee.
  
  

OWI

• The child support division of the DSHS, will, upon application, issue an order withholding income for child support (OWI) to the child support debtor's employer. At that point, the employer will begin to withhold wages from the noncustodial parent to the extent directed by the OWI. The employer will deduct the money in the same manner in which it withholds the employee's taxes. The employer is legally bound to enforce the order until the child support division sends a written letter to the employer terminating the OWI.
  
  

Restrictions

• Washington and federal laws treat child support obligations as more serious than other kinds of debt. For instance, for other types of debt (such as credit card debt) a creditor can only garnish 25 percent of the debtor's wages. However, because child support involves the welfare of children, Washington law allows the garnishment of up to 50 percent of the noncustodial parent's wages if the noncustodial parent falls into arrears.
  
  

Net Disposable Income

• The employer must calculate the noncustodial parent's net disposable income in determining how much wages to withhold pursuant to the OWI. To compute the net disposable income, the employer must start with the gross amount the employer owes the employee for the employee's paycheck. The employer must add back any cash advances but deduct mandatory withholding like income taxes, social security and FICA taxes. In addition, the employer must deduct any mandatory pension amounts and/or mandatory union dues. The amount left after the mandatory deduction constitutes the employer's net disposable income. That is the amount that can be garnished.
  
  

Warning

• Contact a qualified attorney licensed in Washington to find out what rights or obligations you have, if any, with regard to garnishment laws for child support in Washington. All laws are subject to change.