At Savage Family Law, we understand that nothing feels more important than your children, your family, and the stability of your future. When parenting plans, child custody, or child support are at stake, you need more than legal answers. You need a team that listens, tells you the truth, and helps you take practical steps forward.
We know that the health and well-being of your children is your highest concern. Our attorneys guide parents through custody and support matters with compassion, clear communication, and strong legal advocacy.
Whenever possible, mediation can be a valuable step in protecting your children from unnecessary conflict. A healthy co-parenting relationship can give your children greater stability during one of the most difficult transitions they may experience. That does not mean every case is simple or peaceful. Parenting disagreements can be emotional, complicated, and hard to resolve when both sides believe they are acting in a child’s best interests.
Our team helps parents form practical, viable parenting plans that support consistency, stability, and the child’s long-term well-being. Whether your case calls for negotiation, mediation, or courtroom representation, we are here to help protect your child’s future with experienced legal guidance and personal attention.
Strong Legal Advocacy
Parenting Plan Experience
Compassionate Guidance
Serving Central Washington Families
We are licensed, experienced family law mediators.
Washington is a “best interest” state. That means the court focuses on creating a parenting plan that supports the child’s stability, safety, and continuity. The goal is often to preserve as much consistency as possible from the child’s life before the separation or divorce, while also considering each parent’s role and the co-parenting relationship.
A parenting plan can address where the child lives, how residential time is divided, how major decisions are made, holiday schedules, transportation, communication, and other important issues. These details matter. A vague or unrealistic plan can create conflict long after the court process ends
Non-parental custody, paternity, relocation, changes in parenting plans, and a few other situations often bring about a need for child support, and a need for the family court to establish an appropriate child support arrangement.
An experienced attorney is important in this complex process, so that the burden neither falls on one party alone nor on the taxpaying public. We have extensive practice in establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support arrangements.
Child support payments are calculated based on W-2 earnings in Washington State. Here’s a calculator provided by DSHS that you can go to estimate payments. It is based on the take home pay of the person paying and receiving child support, the number of children and their ages (if they’re under 12.) W-2 income is a simple way to determine an estimate for child support, but there are also many non W-2 means of earning a living, of calculating a net income, and we work hard in discovery to make sure a fair arrangement is considered by the family court.
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Parents need to know that their own desires for the way their children are parented may not align with their children’s other parent or guardians. It is the prerogative of a judge or family law commissioner to take into account the best interest of the child when establishing a parenting plan. And, the law establishes various thresholds for changing a parenting plan in order to protect all parties from an argument and a court date whenever parents disagree. There is a 21-day minimum waiting period for parenting plan changes, and the burden is high to establish an adequate cause for such changes. .
At Savage Family Law, we help parents think through the legal and practical details of parenting plans. We work to create arrangements that serve the child’s best interests while also reflecting the realities of work schedules, school routines, transportation, family history, and parental conflict.
Child support orders can be modified. The DSHS website had some helpful guidance here, and it’s best to consult with us to determine if there is adequate cause for contacting the payer or filing a petition to make this change.
Waiting for child support can be painful for any parent or guardian who is carrying the burden of expenses necessary to care for a child. There are state services and third parties available to file enforcement actions, including wage garnishment. We’re here to guide you and communicate on your behalf to ease the stress of dealing with a negligent parent or guardian.
