What is the difference between child support and child maintenance?

Child support and child maintenance are often confused, however they have very different meanings in the state of Washington. Child support is the financial contribution from one parent in a separated family to the other parent for the care of their child. It is usually paid monthly and is determined by a set of guidelines. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that the parents are both contributing to the child’s wellbeing and the parent who has primary custody of the child is not suffering a financial burden in order to care for the child. Child maintenance is a term used in Washington to differentiate between a parent’s responsibility to provide support for a child over the age of 18 and cover certain expenses associated with this. Such expenses may include college tuition, health care or other medical expenses incurred for the benefit of the child. In conclusion, child support is an obligation of the parents to share the financial costs associated with raising their child. Whereas, child maintenance can be thought of as an additional responsibility placed on the parents to cover expenses associated with the adult life of the child.

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What is the difference between child support and child maintenance?

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