CHILD SUPPORT
Do you need a lawyer for child support in Virginia? Are you having a hard time receiving the child support you and the other parent agreed to, or that was ordered after your divorce proceedings? Has the other parent filed for child support modification?
If so, an experienced Manassas lawyer skilled in family law is just a phone call away at the Virginia firm of The Irving Law Firm. We serve clients in Manassas, Fairfax, Arlington, Reston, Virginia Beach and other cities.
Child Support Laws: What You Need To Know
The Virginia Department of Social Services Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) defines child support as “[m]oney paid by a parent to help support a child or children not in the parent’s custody. This money is sent to the person who has custody of the child or children. Child support can be voluntary or can be ordered by a court or by the DCSE.”
Child support can include payments of money as well as health care coverage for the child or children.
The amount you or the other parent may have to pay is set by the DCSE by using what it calls “Child Support Guidelines” that examine both the needs of the child and each parent’s income.
According to DCSE, “important factors that may affect the order include work-related child care expenses, child health care premiums, and other children for whom either parent is legally responsible. Only the incomes of the legal parents are considered and not incomes of current spouses.”
A court doesn’t always decide child support decrees. Virginia law allows the DCSE to establish an order itself (which actually can be faster than doing so by going to court).
Whether established in court or not, the child support order must be “served” on the non-custodial parent (NCP). Until then, the NCP is not required to pay support.
Child Support Enforcement: Getting What You Deserve
Your Manassas lawyer for child support will tell you that most support decrees are enforced via income withholding – taking a portion of the NCP’s paycheck to pay for child support.
If the NCP doesn’t have a regular paycheck (or if he or she otherwise is not paying), there are different ways to go about ensuring child support enforcement, including:
Intercepting state and federal income tax refunds,
Placing liens on real or personal property,
Reporting the NCP’s child support debt to credit reporting agencies,
Seizing other income or financial assets,
Suspending Virginia driver’s licenses.
Child Support Modification: Protecting Your Interests
Lawyers for child support cases have seen modifications requested that don’t result in a change in the support order. The modification amount also may not be as much (or as little) as you or the other parent thought.
If you or the other parent is looking to modify the amount and/or frequency of the child support payment, you really should have a skilled Manassas lawyer for child support by your side to ensure that the interests of you and your child remain protected.
Call The Irving Law Firm Today For Child Support Help
If you’re ready to speak with a knowledgeable attorney for child support, then get in touch with us today.
You can give us a call at (703) 844-4118.
The lawyers here at The Irving Law Firm have years of experience helping both custodial and non-custodial parents wend their way through the often complicated – and always emotional – child support enforcement process.
We look forward to helping you!
The Irving Law Firm
9253 Mosby St., 2nd Floor
Manassas, VA 20110
(703) 844-4118
https://www.TheIrvingLawFirm.com/