Does child support come out of unemployment benefits in Washington ESD?

Thanks for the info! Do you know if they take the full amount or just a percentage?

They can take up to 50% of your weekly benefit amount for child support, but it depends on your specific court order and circumstances.

Did you have any trouble reaching someone at Washington ESD to ask about this? I've been trying to call for days.

Getting through to Washington ESD by phone is nearly impossible these days. I tried calling 50+ times last week and either got busy signals or hung up on after waiting hours. Found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to an agent in minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

That sounds too good to be true but I'm desperate at this point. How much does something like that cost?

They focus on getting you connected rather than the cost. Honestly worth it when you need answers about garnishments and benefit calculations.

They're required to send notice before starting garnishment, but if you already have a child support order on file with DCS, it's pretty automatic when you start collecting UI benefits.

You need to contact both Washington ESD and Division of Child Support. Sometimes there are calculation errors or they're using outdated information.

I had a similar issue and used that Claimyr service mentioned earlier. Got connected to an actual Washington ESD representative who was able to review my account and fix the garnishment amount. Made all the difference.

Really? I might have to check that out then. This is costing me hundreds of dollars.

I feel your frustration but getting angry won't help. Document everything and keep trying to reach the right people.

Easy to say when you're not losing hundreds of dollars every month to their mistakes.

That's really helpful information. Is there a way to request they take less if 50% would cause financial hardship?

You'd need to petition the court that issued your child support order for a modification. Washington ESD just follows what DCS tells them to withhold.

That's rough timing. Are you keeping up with your job search requirements while dealing with this?

Barely. Between trying to sort out the garnishment issues and doing job searches, I'm overwhelmed.

Interesting idea. Would that give me more control over the timing of payments?

Potentially, but you'd have to be really reliable with payments or they'll just go back to garnishment.

What did you end up finding out about their calculation method?

they base it on your weekly benefit amount, not your old salary. so if youre getting less unemployment than you made working, the support percentage stays the same but comes from a smaller pot

No, you don't report the garnishment on your weekly claims. Washington ESD handles that automatically on the backend with DCS.

Good to know. I was worried I might be missing something on my weekly filing.

DCS handles all the notifications, not Washington ESD directly. Your ex would get updates on payment status through their DCS case.

Wow, I didn't realize they could do that. Did they give you advance notice?

There was a notice from DCS but it got lost in all the other unemployment paperwork. Pay attention to everything they send you!

How did you finally get through to someone who could help with that?

Honestly, I ended up using one of those callback services after weeks of trying. Sometimes you just need to get creative when the normal phone system isn't working.

Always good to verify. Check your DCS account online and compare it to what's actually being deducted from your UI benefits.