I was ordered to pay child support in 1986 at $123.66 per month. On Feb. 18, 1997 I signed an “Agreed Settlement/Consent Order” that modified the current support to $50 per month per child. (Within this document there is a note that the back support payment amount is “not addressed”). I have two children who were 18 in 1998 and in 1999. The current support payments stopped accruing when they each turned 18.
The child support office told me that there is an original child support order in 1986 which was modified in 1997. Do I need to see if the “Agreed Settlement/Consent Order” that I signed was later taken to court, ruled on, and signed by a Judge?
How does the statue of limitations apply to my case for back child support? Does the modification in 1997 make it where I owe all the back child support until 10 years after my youngest child turned 18 or does the original order have precedence?
By Washington State law, any child support orders that were entered on or before July 22, 1989 have a 10 year statue of limitations. A book I found states, "Although the statutory language is somewhat murky, a judgment for back support entered after July 23, 1989 extends the statute of limitations on the underlying installments to ten years after the youngest child named in the order turns 18". My accrued back support may be almost paid off if the original order has precedence.
I am requesting a conference board with the Washington State Support Office because they now want to take half of my income per month. I would like to know where I stand legally before going into this conference.

