If you are a single parent and are not receiving child support from your child’s other parent, Washington State family law may require that parent to provide you with financial support for your child. A Seattle family law attorney is the only good source for advice on your specific case; however, you may consider a few things first.

The first step is for a Seattle family law attorney help you establish paternity. If you are a mother and you were married to your child’s father when you became pregnant, the law presumes that your husband is your child’s father, subject to a rebuttal of that presumption. If you were not married to the father, and the father disputes paternity, you may need to get a blood test to establish paternity. There are many intricate rules under Washington State law regarding establishing paternity, and a Seattle family law attorney should explain them to you.

In any event, once it has been established who the parents are (and further, with whom the children shall reside), the court will enter a child support order. The amount of the order will be based on the incomes of both parents. Here is another area where the advice and assistance of a Seattle family law attorney can be indispensable. In some cases income can be hard to prove, as where a parent is self-employed or “works under the table”. Seattle family law attorneys encounter these cases every day and have developed methods at dealing with them.

A Seattle family law attorney from McKinley Irvin has the experience and professional skill to handle your child support case, no matter what its attendant circumstances. Furthermore, child support often involves other family law actions like divorce and parentage, areas with which McKinley Irvin Seattle family law attorneys are also thoroughly familiar. Contact us today with your child support or other family law questions.