Child support is a serious issue in Washington. The courts do not look kindly on people who are not paying support that they have been ordered to pay. In Washington, there is a specific set of violations that can officially put a person into non-compliance if they commit them.
What Is Noncompliance in Child Support?
People who must pay child support have to follow sets of conditions to remain in compliance. There are a total of seven actions that each constitute noncompliance: failing to respond to an inquiry from a child support agency, ignoring a subpoena from such an agency, failing to reply to an income-withholding announcement properly, failing to pay child support, failing to comply with income withholding, failing to provide children with insurance when required, and failing to report a new hire.
Each of these triggers noncompliance status, which has serious implications. There are many parents who do not receive the right amount of child support, so laws at the state and federal levels are getting more strict to enforce child support payments and to hold accountable parents who do not pay what they owe. These laws make it easier for enforcement agencies to track non-compliance and make the penalties for non-compliance more severe than they were before.
Everyone involved in the process is well aware of what it means to be out of compliance in child support, and the official, legal communications always spell out the requirements and consequences, so there can be no confusion. A parent who is not in compliance will face escalating restrictions and penalties unless they resume paying and make up the difference.