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Astraea v1.0 — multi-agent WA family-law assistant

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Eight specialist agents over a 16-book verified WA law corpus (RAG with citations),
per-user document vault, WA court-form PDF auto-fill, comms missions with DV
safety guard, no-KYC auth, TTS. Self-hosted: Flask + SQLite + Ollama, stdlib-only RAG.

Includes README, LICENSE (MIT + not-legal-advice notice), DEPLOY runbook, .gitignore.
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# Washington State Child Support
For educational purposes only — not legal advice.
## The Big Picture
Every parent in Washington has a legal duty to support their children. Child support is set using the **Washington State Child Support Schedule**, codified in chapter 26.19 RCW, which applies in every county, in court and in administrative proceedings, and for both temporary and permanent orders (RCW 26.19.035(1)). The schedule is a formula, not a judge's guess: it uses an **economic table** tied to the parents' combined monthly net income and the number of children (RCW 26.19.011(1), (5); RCW 26.19.020).
Support can be set two ways: by a superior court judge or commissioner in a family law case, or **administratively by the Division of Child Support (DCS)**, a state agency that uses the same worksheets and schedule. A DCS order is just as enforceable as a court order (WashingtonLawHelp.org, "How is child support set?", reviewed 06/03/2026).
## How the Calculation Works, Step by Step
1. **Determine each parent's gross monthly income.** "Gross income" includes essentially everything: salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, overtime, second jobs, self-employment income, rent, royalties, dividends, interest, trust income, capital gains, pensions, workers' compensation, unemployment, disability insurance benefits, Social Security benefits, and maintenance (alimony) actually received (RCW 26.19.071(3)).
2. **Deduct allowed expenses to get net monthly income.** Allowed deductions include federal and state income taxes, FICA, mandatory pension plan payments, mandatory union or professional dues, mandatory state insurance premiums, state industrial insurance premiums, court-ordered maintenance actually paid, up to $5,000 per year in voluntary retirement contributions that show a pre-existing pattern, and normal business expenses and self-employment taxes for self-employed people (RCW 26.19.071(5)).
3. **Combine the two net incomes and look up the economic table.** The table lists a **basic child support obligation per child** for combined monthly net income from $2,200 up through $50,000+ (RCW 26.19.020). For combined net income of $50,000 or less, the table amount is **presumptive** — the court orders it unless a specific, written reason for deviation applies. Above $50,000 per month combined, the court may order more than the table amount, but only with written findings of fact (RCW 26.19.065(3)).
4. **Split the obligation in proportion to income.** Each parent's share of the basic obligation equals their share of the combined net income. The parent with the child most of the time satisfies their share by having the child live with them; the other parent makes a monthly "support transfer payment" (RCW 26.19.080(1); RCW 26.19.011(10)).
**Verification and paperwork.** Both parents must provide the preceding two years' tax returns and current pay stubs, and must complete **child support worksheets** under penalty of perjury. The court will not accept incomplete worksheets, and every support order must state both the standard calculation amount and the amount actually ordered, with written findings for any deviation (RCW 26.19.071(2); RCW 26.19.035(3)–(4)).
## What Counts as Income — and What Doesn't
Income of a **new spouse or domestic partner**, income of other adults in the household, child support received for other children, gifts, prizes, TANF, SSI, food stamps, and similar public assistance are **excluded** from gross income — though they must still be disclosed. Likewise, overtime or second-job income beyond 40 hours per week can be excluded when it is worked to provide for a current family's needs or to retire past relationship or child support debt, if the court finds the income will stop once the debts are paid (RCW 26.19.071(4)).
**Imputed income.** A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily underemployed can have income **imputed** to them — that is, the court counts income they could be earning. The law gives a priority order: full-time earnings at the current rate of pay; then at a historical rate (using Employment Security data); then a past rate; then 32 hours per week at minimum wage for a parent recently on public assistance or released from incarceration; then full-time at minimum wage for someone with no meaningful earnings history; and finally census median income. Income is **not** imputed to a parent who is gainfully employed full-time unless the court finds they are *purposely* underemployed to reduce support, and it is not imputed to an unemployable parent (RCW 26.19.071(6)).
## Expenses Beyond the Basic Amount
The economic table does **not** include health care costs, day care, or certain special expenses. These are added on top and shared in the same proportion as the basic obligation:
- **Health care costs** — medical, dental, orthodontia, vision, chiropractic, mental health treatment, and prescriptions (RCW 26.19.080(2)).
- **Day care and special child-rearing expenses** — such as tuition and long-distance transportation for visits (RCW 26.19.080(3)).
- **Medical support** — every child support order must require both parents to provide medical support: health care coverage that is accessible and available at reasonable cost, plus cash medical support (a proportionate share of premiums, capped at 25% of the basic support obligation) and a share of uninsured medical expenses (RCW 26.09.105). Coverage can be employer or union insurance or public health coverage (RCW 26.09.105(2); RCW 26.18.170).
## Deviations From the Standard Calculation
The standard calculation is presumed correct, but the court may deviate for specific, statutorily recognized reasons — and must state them in written findings. Recognized reasons include a **significant amount of residential time** with the paying parent; children from other relationships; extraordinary debt not voluntarily incurred; special needs of disabled children; special medical, educational, or psychological needs; nonrecurring income (like bonuses or overtime); possession of substantial wealth; significant disparity in living costs; and tax-planning considerations. The parents' mere agreement is **not** by itself a valid reason to deviate (RCW 26.19.075).
## Limits and Safety Valves
The schedule contains built-in protections for low- and moderate-income payers (RCW 26.19.065):
- **Self-support reserve.** Support generally cannot reduce the paying parent's net income below **180% of the federal poverty guideline for a one-person family** — except for the presumptive minimum payment (below).
- **Presumptive minimum.** When a parent's net income is below 180% of the federal poverty guideline, the order is generally **$50 per child per month** unless the parent proves even that would be unjust in their case.
- **45% cap.** A parent's total support obligation for all their children cannot exceed **45% of net income** except for good cause (such as substantial wealth, day care expenses, or special medical/educational needs).
- **Ability to pay.** For a parent with public assistance income or who is incarcerated with no assets, support can be set at $0 in appropriate circumstances (WashingtonLawHelp.org, "How is child support set?").
## How Long Does Support Last?
Child support continues until the child is **emancipated** — which in practice means age 18, unless the order extends it so a child still in high school can **finish high school** (RCW 26.09.170(3), (8)(b)). Support can also be ordered for a **dependent adult child** under RCW 26.09.100 (RCW 26.19.035(1)(f)).
**Postsecondary (college) support** is possible but is **advisory, not mandatory**: the court decides whether a dependent child's postsecondary educational expenses should be supported, looking at the parents' expectations, resources, and education levels, and the child's aptitudes. To receive it, the child must enroll in an accredited academic or vocational school, actively pursue study, stay in good academic standing, and share academic records with both parents. Support generally ends at the child's **23rd birthday** except for exceptional circumstances, and payments are usually made directly to the school (RCW 26.19.090).
## Changing (Modifying) a Support Order
- **Substantial change of circumstances.** Either party can petition to modify support at any time based on a substantially changed circumstance — but voluntary unemployment or underemployment by itself is not a substantial change (RCW 26.09.170(1), (5)).
- **24-month adjustment.** Once 24 months have passed since the order (or the last adjustment), either parent can ask for an adjustment based simply on changes in income or changes in the economic table — no substantial change required (RCW 26.09.170(9)).
- **Other paths.** Modification is also available after one year for severe economic hardship, to extend support through high school, or to add an automatic adjustment provision; and a change of more than 30% that causes hardship can be phased in two equal steps (RCW 26.09.170(8)–(9)).
- **Incarceration.** A parent serving a sentence longer than six months can seek to abate support to $10 per month per order, with restoration available after release (RCW 26.09.170(6)–(7); see also RCW 26.09.320).
- **Procedure.** Modification starts with a petition and worksheets (a $20 filing fee applies to dissolution cases); the responding party has 20 days to answer (60 if out of state) or face default; and the matter is usually decided on affidavits and worksheets rather than live testimony (RCW 26.09.175).
## Enforcement
Support orders are enforced through chapter 26.18 RCW and, for cases handled by the state, chapter 74.20A RCW. The **Division of Child Support (DCS)** can collect support through income withholding, intercepts, license actions, and other remedies, and the state is subrogated to the family's right to support when public assistance is paid (RCW 74.20A.030). Parents can also apply to DCS for enforcement services at any time (RCW 26.18.170(5)). All support orders must be registered with the **Washington State Support Registry** with a confidential information form (RCW 26.23.050).
## Where to Get Help
- **Washington State Child Support Schedule (WSCSS)** — the definitions, standards, instructions, economic table, and worksheets, free at courts.wa.gov/forms (RCW 26.19.050).
- **Division of Child Support** — dshs.wa.gov/dcs; 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-442-5437) for enforcement services.
- **WashingtonLawHelp.org** — free guides and fillable Child Support Worksheets and Orders (Northwest Justice Project).
- **CLEAR legal aid hotline** — 1-888-201-1014 (WashingtonLawHelp.org).
*Sources: RCW 26.19.011, 26.19.020, 26.19.035, 26.19.050, 26.19.065, 26.19.071, 26.19.075, 26.19.080, 26.19.090, 26.09.100 (cross-reference), 26.09.105, 26.09.170, 26.09.175, 26.09.320 (cross-reference), 26.18, 26.18.170, 26.23.050, 74.20A, all verified against app.leg.wa.gov; WashingtonLawHelp.org "How is child support set?" (06/03/2026). Note: RCW 26.19.110 was repealed and is not cited.*