Parents have a duty to support their minor children. Virginia’s child support laws ensure that parents fulfill their obligations to their children. Virginia uses child support guidelines to determine the appropriate amount of support to be paid to the custodial parent. The child support guidelines are intended to provide fair and consistent child support obligations throughout Virginia; thus, Virginia Courts presume they provide the correct amount of support to be paid. In order to rebut the presumption that the child support guidelines are correct, the Court must find that applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate.
The amount of time a parent spends with a child can impact the amount of child support paid. Virginia Courts use different child support guidelines depending on the number of days a parent spends with a child each year. If a parent has less than 90 days of parenting time each year, the Court will use the Virginia Sole Custody Child Support Guideline. If a parent has 90 days or more of parenting time each year, the Court will use the Virginia Shared Custody Child Support Guideline. Virginia defines a “day” as a 24-hour period. Virginia allows credit for half days if the parent has the child overnight but for less than a 24-hour period.
Child support is generally required until the child reaches the age of 18 or, if the child is still a full-time high school student, not self-supporting, and living with the party seeking support, until the age of 19 or graduation from high school, whichever occurs first. The Court may order support for a severely and permanently mentally or physically disabled adult child if the disability existed prior to the age of 18, the adult child is unable to live independently and support himself, and the adult child lives with the party seeking support.
Child Support Orders usually require that the parties divide the cost of unreimbursed medical and dental expenses in proportion to their gross incomes. Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses include things like co-pays, deductibles, braces, and eyeglasses.
Child Support Orders often require that the parties share and/or alternate claiming the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child. Between federal and state tax returns, the Child Tax Credits can be worth thousands of dollars so addressing them in the Child Support Order is important.