An important part of a divorce that involves children is determining custody and child support. In the state of Virginia, it’s the responsibility of both parents to support their children — regardless of whether they’re married or not. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the state expects each parent to cover a certain percentage of the entire child support amount, no matter who has the custody of the children. In order to avoid conflicts with the social services department, parents need to separately and correctly calculate the percentage they will have to pay for their child support obligation.
Calculate Your Virginia Child Support
This is where a Virginia Child Support Calculator comes in handy. Although the child support laws in Virginia are fairly straightforward, you’ll need a reputable lawyer or local family law firm like the Coastal Virginia Law Firm to help you navigate the legal processes of divorce and child custody. In order to help parents determine the amount of child support money they are expected to pay or be paid after a divorce, a reliable child support calculator that is based off of the child support guidelines set by Virginia’s law can be extremely helpful.
Although parents have the liberty to agree to a higher or lower amount after a divorce, their legal obligation to pay child support is based on the following factors:
Possible Unforeseen Child Support Issues with Child Support Enforcement
Whether you have custody of your children or not, one of the most common issues that can occur when you’re paying child support is an inability to pay the amount of VA child support you were ordered to by the court. Inability to meet your child support obligation can be due to lack of monthly gross income or other financial obligations. When this happens, you’re expected to file for a child support modification, which will have an impact on the child support obligation amount, if you’re receiving or hope to receive public assistance in order to take care of your children.
Consequently, the county attorney may get involved on behalf of the state to look for child support payments. Furthermore, the county attorney may request the court to compel the parent who has custody of the children to look for employment or a higher income in order to help take care of the expenses related to the child on public assistance.
What’s Covered by Virginia Child Support
It’s important to note that child support payments are strictly meant to be used for the child and are not intended to cover spousal support. There are certain situations, however, in which the child support money may offer spousal support to the parent who has custody of the child. For example, when child support funds are intended to provide adequate food and shelter for the child, it’s difficult to separate it from spousal support because the custodial parent will benefit directly from the income.
When you are calculating child support, you therefore need to consider the basic needs of your children. These include basic resources such as food, shelter, clothing, and education. There are other additional child support obligations that parents may be expected to contribute to including medical coverage, dental expenses, or childcare. Furthermore, divorced parents may be required to cover your children’s extracurricular activities that are usually spelled out in the child custody agreement based on the current after-school expenditure. Calculating your support obligation can be challenging since you don’t always know what the combined amount will be but you can use whatever information you have to estimate.
How Much You Earn in Monthly Child Support
When you are calculating your child support in Virginia, each parent will need to consider their monthly income. The good thing is that the state of Virginia considers the combined earnings of both parents. So whether you’re the one paying the child support or expecting to be paid monthly child support, you need to bring your gross income into consideration when using a Child Support Calculator.
Moreover, a calculator also considers whether either parent earns additional income like bonuses or incentive pay. In addition, if you receive severance income or any other lump-sum payment, you will need to take it into consideration when doing your monthly support calculation.
Whether Custodial Parent Lives with Another Spouse
If you’re the custodial father or mother and you live with another spouse or partner, then your current partner has no obligation to support the child you had with your ex-spouse. The amount of child support your ex-partner is asked to pay monthly by the court won’t be affected if you are living with another partner.
But if your new spouse provides basic needs for the children you had with your ex-spouse including food, clothes, shelter, and education, your ex-spouse has a legal right to ask the court to reduce their child support. However, they must prove to the court that your current partner pays most of the children’s expenses.
Child Support Guidelines Regarding The Time You Have with the Children
The amount of time a parent spends with their children becomes important when calculating child support if both parents spend at least three months a year with the children. This means that as your time with the children increases, your financial obligation to your children decreases. Your financial support obligation may not decrease if your parenting time and income match that of the other parent and you share other expenses such as health insurance and childcare costs equally.
Regardless of how successfully you pay your child support on time, it’s imperative that you follow your children’s visitation schedule properly. Similarly, parents must help pay their child’s support without fail no matter how well they follow their visitation schedule. When children are involved in a divorce, following all legal requirements is crucial.
How to Fill a Child Support Form in VA
As mentioned above, the amount of child support you’ll have to pay depends on many factors, including the amount of time you spend with your children. If you spend less than 90 days per year with your children, you are not considered the custodial parent and therefore have to pay child support to the other parent. Here are steps you need to follow when calculating your child support in Virginia:
- Determine the amount of income each parent earns every month
- Combine and calculate the gross incomes of both parents
- Check the basic shared obligation amount
- Calculate the total combined child support responsibility
- Determine the percentage obligation of each parent
- Calculate the monthly obligation of the non-custodial parent
- Deduct insurance premiums to determine the child support payment
Make sure to follow each step of this process if you’ll be using the Child Support Guidelines Form and ask our family law attorneys for assistance if you’re feeling confused or overwhelmed. A lawyer will be happy to provide information and support regarding custody and calculations. You could also use an online calculator to determine your individual support obligation, but it’s important to note that the results offered by any Child Support Calculator are just estimates generated from the relevant data you provide. The child support calculator may ask you to provide information regarding your monthly income, expenses, time with the children, and more.
In addition, it’s important to understand that the total amount of financial obligation the court gives you may be different from the one you get after doing your calculations. Understand that these monthly support obligation estimates are intended to be for informational purposes only, and should not be taken as legal advice.