Child Support

All parents have a legal obligation to support their children.  In determining the amount of support, the Court uses different formulas based on the type of custody arrangement.  In a sole-custody arrangement, the custodial parent has primary physical custody, and the non-custodial parent has visitation of less than 90 days per year.  In a shared-custody arrangement, each parent has physical custody for more than 90 days per year.  And in a split-custody arrangement, there is more than one child, at least one of whom lives with each parent. 

Virginia Courts will apply the child support guidelines to determine what is presumed to be an appropriate amount of child support – called the basic support obligation – considering the gross monthly income of both parents, the number of children, and the type of custody arrangement.  Certain costs can increase the basic support obligation, including health care coverage and child care costs.  As a general matter, each parent is responsible for his or her share of the presumptive amount in proportion to his or her contribution to the gross monthly income, prorated to the amount of time the child spends in the care of the parent.  The Court can also order each parent to pay a proportional share of unreimbursed medical expenses for the children. 

Either parent can ask the Court to deviate from the guidelines in certain circumstances.  In determining whether to deviate from the guidelines, the Court will take into consideration such factors as whether either parent provides support to other children or other family members; custody and visitation arrangements; whether the other parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed; any debts incurred for the benefit of the children; court-ordered insurance or educational benefits; certain capital gains; whether the children have special needs; whether the children have independent financial resources; the children’s standard of living during the marriage; earning capacity or special needs of each parent; division of income-generating marital property, if any; tax consequences (claims for exemptions, child tax credit, and child care credit); any written agreement or decree setting the amount of child support; any other factors the Court deems necessary to consider the equities for the parents and the children.

In addition to ordering a parent to pay monetary support, the Court can require either parent to provide health care coverage and life insurance for the children and the former spouse, and can also award the right to claim the children as exemptions for any tax year for both federal and state income tax purposes.