State law obligates you and your former partner or former spouse to provide financial support for any children that you birth or otherwise adopt until they reach the age of majority, 18 years old, or graduate from high school, whichever is later.
Depending on the child custody arrangement that the parties agree to when they decide to live separately, one parent may be responsible for ensuring that they provide financial support through child support payments to the other parent. This ensures that the parties are dividing the child’s expenses equitably. Generally, the non-custodial parent sends child support payments to the custodial parent or primary residential parent. In rarer cases, the opposite occurs.
An experienced family attorney will understand the details of child support mandates in Virginia. Contact an attorney who can and will work to get you a reasonable and equitable amount in child support, enforce compliance with child support orders, and modify child support orders as necessary. If you need assistance resolving your child support issues, contact a Manassas child support lawyer for help today.
Determining Child Support
Parents can amicably determine child support and have it memorialized in a child support order. If the parties are unable to make that determination without court intervention, the court can decide which parent is obligated to pay child support and how much they will pay if either party is required to do so.
In determining the appropriate amount of child support, the court considers numerous factors, including:
- The average number of days that the non-custodial parent has the child or children annually
- The child’s standard of living prior to separation
- The child’s age, health needs, and emotional and physical health
- The child’s educational needs
- The parent’s contributions to the child’s welfare
- The parent’s financial resources
- The parent’s responsibility for other children
- Other factors that the court deems relevant
A skilled Manassas child support attorney can help an individual understand the factors associated with determining child support.
Enforcing Child Support Payments
When a child’s other parent fails to make child support payments that their daughter or son is entitled to, it is important to have a qualified child support lawyer in Manassas with experience in enforcing child support orders for payments that were overdue or that were not made in full.
It is also important to work with a legal profesional who has successfully worked to ensure that future payments are made timely. It may be necessary to involve federal or state courts to force the nonpaying parent to comply with support orders. The courts have multiple methods of doing so, which include:
- Revoking the noncomplying parent’s driver’s license
- Intercepting federal tax refunds
- Garnishing wages
- Placing liens against property
- Seizing assets
Contact a Manassas Child Support Attorney
When searching for a family law attorney who can establish real solutions and useful guidance when you have child support issues, it is important to seek the services of a skilled Manassas child support lawyer that you can trust.
It is pertinent to work with an attorney who will help you anticipate the court’s decision regarding support payments and provide you with the information needed to maximize the benefits that should be available for your child.
It is important to contact an attorney who will fight to get you the support that your child is entitled to.
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