(1) If a person or entity not entitled to child support payments wrongfully or negligently retains child support payments owed to another or to the Washington state support registry, those payments retain their character as child support payments and may be collected by the division of child support using any remedy available to the division of child support under Washington law for the collection of child support.

Terms Used In Washington Code 74.20A.275

  • Account: means a demand deposit account, checking or negotiable withdrawal order account, savings account, time deposit account, or money-market mutual fund account. See Washington Code 74.20A.020
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
  • State: means any state or political subdivision, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Washington Code 74.20A.020
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Support moneys: means any moneys or in-kind providings paid to satisfy a support obligation whether denominated as child support, spouse support, alimony, maintenance, or any other such moneys intended to satisfy an obligation for support of any person or satisfaction in whole or in part of arrears or delinquency on such an obligation. See Washington Code 74.20A.020
(2) Child support moneys subject to collection under this section may be collected for the duration of the statute of limitations as it applies to the support order governing the support obligations, and any legislative or judicial extensions thereto.
(3) This section applies to the following:
(a) Cases in which an employer or other entity obligated to withhold child support payments from the parent’s pay, bank, or escrow account, or from any other asset or distribution of money to the parent, has withheld those payments and failed to remit them to the payee;
(b) Cases in which child support moneys have been paid to the wrong person or entity in error;
(c) Cases in which child support recipients have retained child support payments in violation of a child support assignment executed or arising by operation of law in exchange for the receipt of public assistance; and
(d) Any other case in which child support payments are retained by a party not entitled to them.
(4) This section does not apply to fines levied under *RCW 74.20A.350(3)(b).

NOTES:

*Reviser’s note: RCW 74.20A.350 was amended by 2018 c 150 § 202, changing subsection (3)(b) to subsection (4)(b), effective January 1, 2019.
Short titlePart headings, captions, table of contents not lawExemptions and waivers from federal lawConflict with federal requirementsSeverability1997 c 58: See RCW 74.08A.900 through 74.08A.904.