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If work, income or household circumstances have changed, a dated record can help your attorney assess what to do next. Washington support calculations, adjustments and modifications are not interchangeable. Keep the existing order, relevant dates and lawfully available financial records together before commissioning additional investigation.
Use the current court instructions and the order in your own case. These notes explain factual preparation, not legal advice or a promise that evidence will be admitted. Check dated rule and form references with the official source before relying on them.
Identify the financial claim, when circumstances changed and the records available to check it. The examples below involve different evidence and may require different legal procedures.
For a claimed earnings reduction, compare known qualifications, work schedules, business involvement and actual activity over time. These facts may assist legal review; an investigator does not decide voluntary underemployment or impute income.
Cash work and side jobs may leave public advertisements, business links and observable activity even when payroll records are limited. We document those indicators without turning a work schedule into an assumed earnings total.
For a self-employed person, identify the entities involved, the role shown in filings and the work actually performed. Ownership, control, gross business receipts and personal income are different questions.
Gather authorized records supporting the financial declaration’s income, expense and business claims. We can compare dates and documented activity to identify discrepancies your attorney may want to pursue.
Use the current Washington Courts support worksheets and instructions when preparing financial information. Preserve income records, claimed deductions and the dates of changes.
Modification and adjustment are different Washington procedures. Ask counsel which applies before commissioning research, because the relevant period, forms and factual questions may differ.
When payments are missed, preserve the order and payment history and identify any known employment changes. Counsel or the appropriate agency handles enforcement tools such as withholding or license consequences; investigators can document relevant facts.
Business entities, property use and spending may connect a support dispute with a wider divorce or hidden-assets question. We identify the connection and agree on any additional work before expanding the assignment.
Bankruptcy, incarceration and release dates may affect the factual history behind an ability-to-pay claim. Preserve the relevant records and distinguish when each change occurred; counsel assesses its legal effect.
Use of a home, vehicle or other asset, along with documented travel, may identify a lead worth checking against reported finances. Observation can establish activity and dates, but does not by itself show ownership, value or who paid.
The Washington child-support schedule and modification statute are linked below. Counsel can explain the applicable procedure and which facts matter to your support question.
EHB 1014 changed the economic table and self-support reserve effective January 1, 2026. The cited worksheet revision is June 2026. Sections 4-12 have a separate April 1, 2027 effective date; do not apply a future effective version simply because it appears alongside current provisions.
Use the applicable official schedule and worksheets. Counsel handles calculations, eligibility and procedure; we can investigate a defined disputed fact or organize the supporting records.
For Worksheet Part I, line 2, organize records for the applicable deduction categories: income taxes; FICA or self-employment taxes; specified mandatory state deductions; industrial insurance; mandatory union or professional dues and pension payments; qualifying voluntary retirement contributions; maintenance actually paid; and normal business expenses. The current instructions and statutory limits determine what qualifies; general household bills and debt are not automatically deductions.
Official references: RCW 26.19; AOC 2025 Legislative Summary; WAFLS discussion of EHB 1410 child-support reform; October 2025 Child Support Legislation transcript; Washington Courts mandatory worksheets; WSCSS Form Packet
The official maintenance and modification statutes are linked below. Your attorney can assess the existing order and explain whether a particular work or household fact matters legally.
Washington spousal maintenance has no mandatory statewide calculator. RCW 26.09.090 identifies factors including financial resources and needs, time for education or training, the marital standard of living, marriage duration, age and condition, and the other spouse's ability to meet needs while paying maintenance.
Gather dated budgets, income records, employment or training information and records of the household's standard of living. If a work, business or residence claim is disputed, lawful observation and available public records may help check it. An observed workday or shared address does not establish exact income or financial support.
Read the actual decree and any written agreement before assuming a later event changes maintenance. Death, remarriage, cohabitation and modification provisions are not interchangeable, and cohabitation does not automatically end an obligation. Counsel determines how the order and law apply; our role is to document the relevant facts and dates.
Use the Washington child-support schedule and modification statute with counsel to identify the legal process. We gather the dated facts that process requires; we do not select it for you.
Start with the current order, its worksheets and the dates of earlier changes. Under the version of RCW 26.09.170 effective until April 1, 2027, substantially changed circumstances can support a modification petition at any time. Subsection (9) also provides an adjustment route after 24 months based on changed incomes or the economic table or standards, without that showing. Other exceptions and procedures exist; this is not a complete eligibility checklist.
Ask counsel which route and effective version apply before selecting forms or filing. Keep income and deduction records for the relevant periods, a chronology of job or business changes, and records supporting each disputed figure. If work or employer information remains unresolved, investigation may help verify it; observed activity alone does not establish earnings.
A PI cannot choose your filing procedure, calculate your legal entitlement or change an order. Clear source dates let counsel assess what changed and which records matter to the request.
Official references: RCW 26.09.170
When income, employment or living arrangements may have changed, we can document the facts and when they changed. Ask counsel whether modification, adjustment or another process applies: RCW 26.09.170 includes exceptions to its substantial-change requirement. Family Private Investigator does not decide eligibility or calculate the court-approved support amount.
The official sources below cover investigator licensing, child support and support changes. Ask counsel which earnings issue and time period need examination before beginning paid work.
Washington property and maintenance statutes are linked below. Counsel can explain which disclosure duties and court orders apply and what an identified asset connection means for the case.
Tell us what happened, which records you have and when you need the findings. We can discuss lawful investigative work and its limits.
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