Financial Support Investigations in Tacoma

A change in work, income or living arrangements can raise questions about an existing support order. We check relevant public records, document observable work activity and compare authorized financial records with the claim being made. You receive the findings and their sources for legal review; an investigation does not change the support obligation.

Book ConsultationBack to Investigation Types
A hand writing notes in an open notebook.

Checking the facts behind a support question

Financial Support Investigations

You may be trying to understand a reported loss of income, a new business or a shared household that changes expenses. We begin with what is known and identify what can be checked. An expensive purchase or a busy work schedule is a lead, not proof of a particular income.

  • What we look into: income and employment verification, undisclosed side work or business activity, and asset or property leads.
  • Also useful for: cohabitation evidence in support cases, cash-income vs. lifestyle mismatches, and tracing business interests - including shell companies, undisclosed partnerships, and property held through LLCs or trusts.
  • Evidence: compare claimed earnings, residence and expenses with dated records and observations, identifying what is verified and what still needs financial disclosure.
  • Purpose: give counsel factual information to assess a support request, disputed obligation or proposed change.
  • What you receive: relevant records, a chronology of work or residence activity, and an index showing the source and limits of each finding.
  • What we won't do: access financial data illegally or impersonate anyone to obtain tax records.

Tacoma employment and household expenses

If your financial support case is in Pierce County, document the party's actual earnings and employment changes. Local employers include Joint Base Lewis-McChord, MultiCare Health System, the Port of Tacoma, CommonSpirit Health and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. Their different compensation structures affect which income documents matter. Area household-income figures describe the community, not the party's income; use dated, lawfully available records for counsel's review.

Tacoma’s stated cost of living is 26 percent above the national average, with a median home price around $472,000 and two-bedroom rents above $1,500. These local figures provide context only. A support question needs the parties’ actual housing costs and other expenses, documented for the relevant dates; counsel assesses need and ability to pay.

JBLM-related records may include base pay, BAH rates for the relevant zip code and off-base employment that does not appear on a military earnings statement. Public DoD tables are a reference, not a complete personal income record. Tacoma’s 12.42-percent poverty rate describes the community; irregular, gig or cash earnings must be investigated from individual facts.

Records for different support disputes

The right starting point depends on what changed. Keep current and earlier records together so a job loss, new business, shared household or missed payment can be placed in time.

Voluntary Unemployment and Underemployment

For a claimed reduction in earnings, compare the dates with available work records, qualifications and observed activity. Counsel assesses whether unemployment or underemployment has legal significance; lifestyle alone does not establish earning capacity.

View Income-Change Guide

Cash Business and Side-Income Indicators

Public advertising, business links and lawful observations may reveal side work or cash-business activity. We document the activity and dates without converting a sighting or advertised rate into an unsupported earnings estimate.

Self-Employment and Entity Verification

Company filings and authorized business records can help distinguish an owner, officer or employee and show when a connection began. Revenue, expenses and personal income remain separate questions for the underlying records and financial review.

Financial Declaration Support Documents

Pair each disputed declaration entry with the available income, expense or business record and its date. We can identify inconsistencies or missing support for counsel to pursue through the appropriate disclosure process.

View Financial Declaration Resource

Washington Child Support Reform and Worksheet Changes

Use current Washington Courts worksheets and instructions, and preserve income records, claimed deductions and the dates of changes. The linked 2025–2026 reform and 2026 worksheet resources provide background for questions to raise with counsel.

View Reform Update

View Worksheet Update

Modification vs Adjustment Process

Modification and adjustment use different procedures. Ask counsel which applies, then gather the existing order and dated financial changes relevant to that request.

View Modification vs Adjustment Resource

Maintenance and unpaid support

For missed maintenance or child-support payments, keep the order and payment history together. Employment records may help counsel assess enforcement options, including withholding or other statutory remedies; an investigator does not collect by pressure or decide penalties.

View Enforcement Resource

View Maintenance Resource

Hidden Assets and High-Net-Worth Crossover

Property use, LLCs, shell-entity links or substantial purchases may raise questions beyond current wages. We can trace documented connections while keeping ownership, value and income as separate issues.

Bankruptcy, Incarceration, and Other Complicating Factors

Bankruptcy, incarceration, release and a claimed change in ability to pay require precise dates. Preserve the relevant orders, custody or release records and lawful financial documents so counsel can assess the effect on support.

View Bankruptcy Resource

View Incarcerated-Parent Resource

Residence, Vehicle, and Lifestyle Use Patterns

Lawful observation may show use of a home, vehicle or other asset that differs from a disclosure. We record what was used and when; use alone does not establish ownership, value or income.

View Property-Use Resource

Choose the financial question you need checked

Maintenance, changed child support, undisclosed work and asset ownership involve different facts. Identify the disputed claim before deciding which records or observations to purchase.

Hidden Income Investigations

Follow leads about cash work, side jobs and business connections. Report the actual evidence of activity and distinguish it from a verified earnings figure.

Hidden Assets and Asset Search Investigations

Trace property, vehicle and business connections through lawful sources. We identify documented links and unresolved ownership or control questions, without promising a complete asset inventory.

How we investigate financial claims

We may combine records research, a defined observation window and authorized documents. The purpose is to answer the disputed question without assuming all available methods are needed.

Surveillance Services

Observe relevant work activity or residence use and document dates, duration and coverage gaps. These observations can test a claim but do not establish exact earnings.

Background Check Services

Review public business, property and court records for relevant names, filings and transactions. Each connection remains tied to its source and date.

Digital Forensics Services

Preserve authorized financial files and activity records in their original context, then compare dates and statements. We do not promise access to someone else’s private account or balance.

Location Services

Check current residence, employment and business-location leads through available records and lawful observations, explaining what is confirmed and what remains uncertain.

Local income and expense records

A military allowance, a healthcare work schedule and a business-owner draw need different documentation. Local averages cannot substitute for the party’s records.

Local Employment and Income Verification

JBLM, MultiCare Health System, the Port of Tacoma and CommonSpirit Health have different compensation arrangements. Keep dated records of job changes and actual pay so counsel can evaluate the relevant period.

Cost-of-Living Context

Tacoma housing costs can provide context for a support dispute, but document the party's actual housing and other living expenses with dates and lawfully available supporting records. Area home-price and rent figures do not establish that person's necessary expenses or a legal baseline. Counsel assesses how the documented expenses relate to need and ability to pay.

Military Compensation Analysis

For JBLM-related support, preserve available personal pay documents alongside BAH and DoD reference tables, plus any authorized evidence of civilian earnings. Treat each source separately; a public rate table does not establish everything the person receives.

A hand writing in a notebook beside a laptop.

Washington Law and Court Sources

The linked child-support schedule and modification statutes help identify questions for counsel. Pierce County court resources provide case information; legal and financial professionals assess calculations and procedural choices.

Start with the claimed financial change

Bring the support order, the relevant disclosure or statement, and the records that prompted your concern. We can identify what could be checked and whether the answer requires a financial specialist.

  • First conversation: The first consultation is free and lasts 30 minutes. Tell us what happened, which orders apply and what you need to establish. Additional communication outside the purchased task is $150/hour, prepaid separately; communication already included in the task is not charged twice.
  • Planning: Most plans are developed within 48 hours once the timing pressure, activity area, and evidence priorities are clear. Share the dates of job, income or household changes and any hearing deadline. We confirm the research and observation task before payment and scheduling.
  • Costs: Lite is $150 per investigator-hour; Heavy is $300 per investigator-hour. Preparation and report writing each cost $150/hour. Round-trip travel from our Tacoma office is $2.50/minute. Other time is billed in whole hours, with partial hours rounded up. Each purchased service hour carries $15 in expense credit for Lite or $30 for Heavy. Credits on hours used for your task cover only that task's expenses; any remainder expires at report delivery. Expenses are charged at cost. Applicable surcharges are separate dollar charges, not deductions from service hours. We confirm the work, schedule and prepaid costs by text and email. See Pricing for unused-time, credit, specialist and other fee terms.
  • Your report: You receive a dated account of the work, findings and supporting material, with sources and unresolved questions identified. Report time is $150/hour. The ordinary deadline is 9 p.m. Pacific on the next business day after the task finishes, including return travel; completion after midnight uses that new calendar date. Business days exclude weekends and the 11 federal holiday periods, each including the day before and after. A faster report costs $300 only when you request it and we accept, plus report time. We notify you of priority delays or additional approved report work and update delivery timing.

Related Evidence and Planning Guides

Questions about support investigations

Does Pierce County’s median household income determine a parent’s support calculation?

An area median is not the party's income. Document the specific party's employment, side work and benefit income using lawfully available records and relevant dates; counsel and appropriate financial specialists assess the calculation.

How does Tacoma's cost of living affect financial support cases?

Local housing costs can help explain the context of a claimed budget. Compare the party's actual housing and other living expenses with dated supporting records; area averages do not establish need or ability to pay. Counsel assesses their relevance to the support question.

How are military BAH rates handled in Pierce County support cases?

Military pay tables and housing-allowance rates provide context, not a complete record of a person's actual income. Use lawfully available pay documents and relevant dates; counsel assesses the treatment of allowances in the support calculation.

Can you investigate if someone is earning unreported income in the Tacoma area?

Yes. We can check public business records, observe relevant work activity and compare documents you are authorized to provide. The report identifies earnings leads and their sources. Exact income may require further disclosure or financial analysis; an occupation, purchase or lifestyle does not prove unreported earnings by itself.

Talk through a disputed income or expense

Tell us what the order or disclosure says, what appears to have changed and which records you have. We can discuss the investigation that may help your attorney assess the question.

Book ConsultationView Services
Call Now Text Us