Virginia Child Support

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In Virginia it is the duty of divorced parent to take care of their child in every possible way. They have to pay for the expenses of their child till the point the child do not become emancipated. Virginia divorce child support amount is decided by the court while following the guidelines specified by the state laws. This amount is determined considering a number of factors and also the best interests of the children. If any parent fails to disburse the maintenance amount, they will be the subject of enforcement measures. The Virginia Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) is the enforcement office of the state. Many services are also provided by this office in order to help parents. During the last year, this office had located 153,868 non-custodial parents and successfully collected around $639 million for children of divorced parents in Virginia.

At present, there are 353,000 child support cases in this state. Before filing for a case involving child support, one should understand the basic laws and regulations pertaining to this topic. Go through the following points that will help you in handling your case in a better way:

• The child maintenance amount is determined by taking into account the combined gross income of both parents. The day care costs, extraordinary medical costs and costs of medical insurance are also some important factors.
• In Virginia, a child becomes emancipated when they are 18 years old. The child subsidy amount may be continued if the child is studying in high school. In such cases, the amount will be continued till the child graduates or become 19 year old, whichever happens first.
• A child subsidy order may be modified - increased or decreased. But this can be done only if there is a substantial change in circumstances. This type of change happens when there is an increment or decrement in the income of parents or the requirements of the children change.
• Non-custodial parents, custodial parents as well as agencies and individuals possessing physical custody can make an application for DCSE services.

Enforcement measures

It has been observed that many times, a non-custodial parent does not pay the court-ordered amount. In such cases, the court can enforce the amount in certain ways like:

• Garnishing income or any financial asset
• Placement of liens on property
• Lottery prize offset
• Income withholding, that is, a fixed amount of the non-custodial parent's paycheck is taken out automatically and then used as maintenance amount
• Suspension of occupational licenses and driver's license
• Sending support debt report to credit bureaus
• Interception of tax refunds

Fees charged in Virginia Divorce Child Support (applicable from 2006 to 2008)

DCSE levies the following fees from non-custodial parents:

• If DCSE gets an intercepted federal refund, then the IRS fee is charged. This fee was 14.65 USD during tax year 2007.
• If paternity is proved by genetic testing, then the Genetic Paternity Testing fee is also charged.
• If DCSE wins an enforcement action in the court, then the attorney fees of 120 USD per action may be charged.
• Fees might be charged by the child support agency of some other state for reasons of enforcement.
• In order to provide copies of certain case documents, the copying and labor expenses are also needed. It is essential that this fee should be paid in advance.

DCSE charges some fees from custodial parents:

• Some applicants of DCSE services make a request that the case may be terminated within 6 months. Prior to the completion of 6 months, this applicant reapplies. Then, a reapplication fee of 25 USD is levied. It is essential that this fee is paid by certified check or money order.
• Let us think of a case in which TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefits have not been paid. After 500 USD has been collected in such cases, a yearly fee of 25 USD is subtracted, once in a FFY (Federal Fiscal Year).
• Some other state's child support agency may charge fees for enforcement.
• In order to provide copies of particular case documents, copying and labor expenses are demanded. It is necessary that these fees are paid in advance.
• When a custodial parent opposes the outcome of paternity testing, then genetic paternity testing expenses are charged. Alternatively, the court can order the custodial parent to pay the testing fees. These fees are demanded in advance.

Payments in Virginia Divorce Child Support

DCSE gets payments electronically as well as by mail. The Division microfilms all the payments that are received by mail. Usually, it processes about 13,000 payments every business day. The payer's name and Social Security Number are used to credit the payments.

When there is no incomplete data and a payment is correctly identified, then it can be credited to the relevant account in a single business day after the DCSE receives it.

Some custodial parents have direct deposit system. In such cases, the DCSE deposits the payments in the account within 2 business days. If the custodial parent has not opted for direct deposit, then within 2 business days, a check is mailed to this parent.

Some individuals are ordered to disburse child support payments via Virginia DCSE. Such payments must be payable to the Treasurer of Virginia. On all the payments, the obligor must mention his/her name and Social Security Number.

All these information on Virginia divorce child support will be helpful to custodial and non-custodial parents, irrespective of how much amount they have to pay.

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