Fighting for Fair Support Arrangements That Work for Your Family

Child and Spousal Support Attorney in Williamsburg, VA

Support calculations in Virginia follow specific guidelines, but the numbers do not always tell the full story.

Your income, your expenses, your obligations, and your family's needs are unique.

You deserve an attorney who ensures the court sees your real financial picture and fights for arrangements that are fair and sustainable.

We help parents and spouses navigate the complexities of child support and spousal support with the experienced advocacy you need.

How Support Works in Virginia

Virginia law recognizes two types of support in family law matters: child support and spousal support. Both are designed to ensure financial fairness and stability when families separate.

Child Support in Virginia

In Virginia, both parents are legally required to support their minor children regardless of marital status. This obligation reflects the principle that children should not suffer financially because their parents are no longer together.

How Long Child Support Lasts:

The support obligation generally continues until the child reaches age 18 or is emancipated. It may be extended until age 19 if the child remains a full-time high school student, whichever occurs first. The court may also order continued support for any 

The Purpose of Child Support:

Virginia has adopted an income shares model for calculating child support. The underlying principle is that a child should receive the same proportion of parental income as if the parents had continued to live together. The goal is to maintain a standard of living for the child that is similar to what the child would have experienced in an intact family.

How Child Support is Calculated

Virginia uses an income shares model to calculate child support. This approach combines both parents' incomes and then divides the support obligation proportionally based on each parent's share of the total.

The calculation process considers:

Gross monthly income: The court calculates each parent's gross monthly income from all sources.

Combination of income amounts: The parents' incomes are combined to determine the combined gross monthly income.

Support Guidelines: Virginia's child support guidelines set forth a schedule that determines the total support obligation based on combined income and the number of children.

Proportional Division: The total obligation is divided between the parents in proportion to each parent's percentage of the combined income.

Adjustments may include:

• Health insurance costs for the children

• Work-related childcare expenses

• Extraordinary medical or dental expenses

• Shared or split custody arrangements

Imputed Income:

If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court may impute income to that parent. This means the court calculates support based on what the parent could earn rather than what they actually earn.

Minimum Support:

Virginia has a presumptive minimum child support obligation of $68 per month payable by the payor parent, even when guideline calculations would result in a lower amount.



Can Child Support Be Changed?

Yes. Child support orders can be modified when circumstances change. Either parent can request a review and modification of child support.

Common Reasons for Child Support Modification:

• Significant change in either parent's income (job loss, promotion, career change)

• Change in custody arrangement

• Change in the child's needs (medical, educational, extracurricular)

• Child aging out of support or becoming emancipated

• Change in health insurance costs or childcare expenses

• Addition of other children to either household

To modify child support, you must show a material change in circumstances since the most recent order was entered. Virginia allows review when income has changed significantly. If your circumstances have changed, we can help you determine whether modification is appropriate and guide you through the process.



Establishing Paternity

for Child Support

Before child support can be ordered, legal parentage must be established.

For married parents, this is generally straightforward.

For unmarried parents, paternity must be established before support obligations can be enforced.

How Paternity Is Established:

• Marital presumption: A child born to a married woman is presumed to be the child of her husband

• Voluntary acknowledgment: Both parents sign a written statement under oath acknowledging paternity

• Genetic testing: DNA testing can establish or exclude paternity with near certainty

• Court determination: A court can determine paternity based on evidence presented

Who Can Bring a Paternity Action:

• The child

• A person with legal custody or standing in loco parentis to the child

• A person claiming to be a parent

• Either parent

• The Department of Social Services or Department of Juvenile Justice

Once paternity is established, the father has both rights and obligations regarding the child, including the obligation to pay support.



Spousal Support in Virginia

Spousal support (alimony) is the obligation of a spouse with greater financial resources to provide monetary support to the other spouse.

Unlike child support, spousal support is not automatic. The court must determine whether an award is appropriate in light of the circumstances of each case.

In Virginia, spousal support may be awarded when one spouse is unable to adequately provide for their own needs.

The purpose is to help the lower-earning spouse maintain a reasonable standard of living while adjusting to post-divorce financial realities.

How Spousal Support Is Determined

Once the court determines that spousal support is appropriate, it uses a set of statutory factors to decide the nature, amount, and duration of the award. These factors are set forth in Virginia Code Section 20-107.1(E).

Factors the Court Considers:

• The standard of living established during the marriage

• The duration of the marriage

• The age and physical and mental condition of each spouse

• The monetary and non-monetary contributions of each spouse to the family

• The earning capacity and employment history of each spouse

• The education and training of each spouse

• The property interests of each spouse

• The provisions made for marital property division

• The needs of each spouse

• Decisions made during the marriage regarding careers, education, and parenting

The court weighs all of these factors together to determine whether support should be awarded, how much should be paid, and for how long. No single factor is determinative.

Modification of Spousal Support:

In general, the court can modify spousal support orders to increase, decrease, or terminate payment upon petition of either party, if there has been a material change in the circumstances of the parties that was not anticipated by the parties at the time of the award, unless the parties contracted otherwise.

How Adultery Affects Spousal Support

Adultery has significant consequences for spousal support in Virginia. A spouse who committed adultery loses the right to receive spousal support. This is an important consideration in many divorce cases.

The Manifest Injustice Exception:

There is one narrow exception. The court may award support to an adulterous spouse if denying support would constitute a "manifest injustice." This is a high standard that is rarely met. Courts apply it only in extreme circumstances where the denial of support would be grossly unfair.

The Clean Hands Doctrine:

Virginia follows the "clean hands" doctrine in equitable proceedings like divorce. This means a spouse who raises fault must not have committed a similar fault themselves. For example, a spouse who also committed adultery cannot use the other spouse's adultery to bar support.

The Virginia Court of Appeals addressed this issue in Bandas v. Bandas, where the court upheld a support award to an adulterous wife because the husband seeking the divorce had also committed fault. Both parties' conduct matters when fault is raised in divorce proceedings.

Support Issues in Military Divorce

When a service member is involved in a support case, additional considerations come into play. Military income includes components that civilian income does not, and special rules may apply.

Military Income Includes:

• Base pay

• Allowances such as Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)

• Special pay and bonuses

How allowances are treated in support calculations can vary. Some courts include BAH and BAS in income calculations; treatment depends on the specific circumstances.

The military has its own interim support guidelines that apply during separation before a court order is in place. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) can process support allotments directly from military pay.



Importantly, deployment does not eliminate support obligations. A service member remains responsible for support even while deployed.

Enforcement of Support Orders

Support orders are legally enforceable court orders. When the person obligated to pay support fails to do so, there are legal remedies available.

Enforcement Options:

• Wage garnishment or income withholding directly from the obligor's paycheck

• Contempt of court proceedings, which can result in fines or jail time

• Suspension of driver's license or professional licenses

• Interception of tax refunds

• Reporting to credit bureaus

• In extreme cases, incarceration

The Virginia Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) can assist with the collection of child support. You may also pursue private enforcement through an attorney.

If you are not receiving the support to which you are entitled, document all missed payments carefully. We can help you understand your enforcement options and take action to collect what is owed.

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