Fairfax Child Support Lawyer

Child support in Virginia is calculated based on Virginia guidelines. As a Fairfax child support lawyer, I can defend your case in court.

read below how the virginia guidelines are used to calculate child support

Virginia Child Support Guidelines

Children often need both financial and emotional support from parents to grow and thrive.

Parents who support their kids and are actively involved in their lives tend to perform better at school, have a good sense of self-worth, and do better in life. 

• 20-108.2 of the Virginia Code lays down the guidelines for determining child support. The law simply provides a formula to use to figure out the child support payment for a specific case. However, the formula used depends on the custody arrangements between both parents. Whether one parent has sole custody of the child or both parents have joint custody. 

The central factor for determining child support are both parent’s income and how much they provide in a single household.

Throughout the determination using the formula provided in the Virginia Guidelines, the court will look at both parent’s income, work history, prior earnings, how educated each parent is, and any possible job prospects for that parent.

Who is Required to Make Child Support Payments?

Normally, it is the non-custodial parent (one who does not have primary custody of the child) who makes the child support payments to the other parent who provides primary care for the child.

As mentioned above, deciding who has to make such payments will depend on the custody arrangements between both parents. 

In some cases where both parents have joint legal and physical custody, a judge may not impose any child support payment order if both parents are providing equal time and financial support to the child.

Can You Modify a Child Support Order?

Modifications won’t happen automatically. If one parent feels a modification to the order is necessary because the other parent is making more money and paying less in their support payments, they can file a formal motion in court. 

Similarly, where a parent who is required to make the child support payments is having a difficult time paying the full amount imposed by the court, they can file for a modification as well.

It is the court that made the original support payment order that has the authority to modify if they think the conditions of either of the parents have changed since then. 

Till the child is under the age of 18, either parent may request the court to modify the child support order if they can show there have been changed circumstances.

Requests for any modification are required to be made in writing, signed by the requesting party, and must include an explanation of the change in circumstances.

What Happens When One Parent Fails to Comply With the Child Support Court Order?

If any party fails to make payments, violating a court-granted support order, they are most likely to be held in contempt of court.

In such a case, the parent who is to receive the support payments can request a hearing before the judge and ask you to pay all the missed payments. 

Moreover, you would have to appear in court and provide a reason as to why you have failed to make the required child support payments you owe the other parent.

However, if you fail to show up in court, a warrant may be issued for your arrest.

The first thing you will need to do is to convince the judge that you did not deliberately violate the court order and provide proper reasons as to why you failed to make such payments.

The reasons can include anything ranging from you were let go from work or have had no luck finding a job.

It is recommended to provide proof that you made effort to secure a job such as emails to potential employers or any application filed out by you, etc.

Why Should You Hire an Experienced Fairfax Child Support Lawyer?

Setting up child support payments is usually done so about the best interests of the child but can put an extreme financial strain on one parent.

Violating a court order can lead to consequences that you may not think are significant first. However, the judge can issue an arrest warrant and put you in jail for contempt of court. 

It is encouraged to contact an experienced Fairfax Child Support Lawyer to handle the dispute regarding the child support payments appropriately.

The attorneys here at the American Lawyers Group have years of experience handling thousands of cases and providing strong and efficient experience to their clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.