Child Support Lawyer Virginia
Child Support Lawyer Virginia
When a child’s parents are not married, family law judges are generally required to execute a formal child support order concerning the child’s financial wellbeing. Each state has its own formula for calculating mandatory child support obligations. If you are unsure of whether you are required to file for child support or pay child support, connect with a child support lawyer Virginia families trust to clarify your rights and options. In the event that you’re in a position to either pay or receive child support, a trusted Virginia child support lawyer from our firm can help you to navigate your rights and obligations under the law.
Financial Obligations Beyond Court-Ordered Support
It is important to understand that the care of children is very rarely financed exclusively through court-ordered child support. As a result, it is a good idea to understand some of the ways that you can manage your child’s financial needs beyond this formulaic and restrictive judicial process.
For example, if you and your child’s other parent remain active participants in your child’s life—however your legal and physical child custody arrangements have been ordered—chances are that you have a parenting agreement or parenting plan in place. If you’re currently navigating a divorce or romantic split and your child custody arrangement is not yet subject to a formal court order, you’ll likely be tasked with drafting a parenting plan in the near future. A parenting plan provides an excellent structure to detail some of your child’s financial needs in a setting that extends beyond formal child support orders.
Financial Considerations – Parenting Plans
As our firm’s Virginia child support lawyer team can explain in greater detail, parenting plans serve as a legally-enforceable way to set expectations concerning one’s co-parenting relationship. Meaning, you can use your agreement to detail how your co-parenting arrangements will function on a day-to-day basis in ways that are legally enforceable in the event that you or your child’s other parent refuses to honor its terms.
Most of the time, parenting plans are primarily concerned with the days upon which the affected child(ren) will reside with each parent. Also, parenting plans tend to govern common co-parenting concerns that have the potential to cause tension, such as how holidays and special occasions will be managed.
Parenting plans do not govern, nor do they detail formal court-ordered child support. However, you can use yours to address financial concerns beyond this formal order. For example, your parenting plan can spell out which parent is obligated to pay for extracurricular activities, or the cost of travel between households. It can note which parent will keep your child on their insurance. If the strict formula of formal child support orders doesn’t adequately address your child’s financial needs, the experienced Virginia legal team at May Law, LLP may be able to help you utilize your parenting plan to achieve necessary ends.
Common Child Support Misconceptions
If you want to get child support from your ex, it’s important to speak to a child support lawyer in Virginia promptly. A lawyer can assist you with the process and answer your questions. Here are some common misconceptions about child support.
Men are always the ones who pay child support
Many years ago, men were the main breadwinners in marriages. Therefore, they were generally the ones ordered to pay child support after getting divorced. However, that isn’t the case today. More and more women are in the workforce these days. If the woman earned a higher salary during the marriage, she would likely be ordered to pay child support.
Child support can’t be modified
Some people assume that once a child support order has been issued by a judge, it can’t ever be changed. This isn’t true. If there is a substantial change in circumstances, the judge may be able to modify the order. For example, if your ex pays child support and has recently lost a job, the judge may modify the order to reflect the change in income.
Parents who don’t pay child support may be denied visitation
A parent who fails to pay child support may face serious consequences. However, denied visitation isn’t one of them. While it’s frustrating to deal with an ex who won’t pay child support, you can deny him or her from seeing your kids.
Child support end when the child turns 18
This is another common misconception that a child support lawyer in Virginia hears. The truth is that child support doesn’t always automatically end once a child reaches the age of majority. If the child, for example, has a disability, he or she still may receive child support past the age of 18.
Parents who don’t see their children don’t have to pay child support
Some parents believe if they don’t spend time with their children, they aren’t obligated to pay child support. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Even if a parent doesn’t see his or her kids, that person is still responsible for financially supporting them.
Child support is tax deductible
This is yet another common myth about child support. Parents who pay child support are not permitted to deduct it from their taxes.
If you have additional questions about child support, schedule a consultation with a child support lawyer in Virginia today.
Child Custody vs. Parenting Plans – Differences and Similarities
It is important to understand that while the process of determining child custody and the terms of a parenting plan are very similar, the functions of these processes are distinct. The primary difference between determining custody and determining the terms of a parenting plan is that one concerns the legal rights of parents to make major legal and medical decisions on behalf of their children (legal custody) and where their children will reside (physical custody) and the other details the legally-enforceable expectations of how a former couple’s co-parenting situation will function (parenting plan).
In both instances, a Virginia child custody lawyer from our firm can help you to construct your wishes and come to a mutual agreement in re: these legal issues with your child’s other parent. In the event that you and your child’s other parent have fundamental differences over custody or parenting plan terms, our firm’s Virginia child custody lawyer team will aggressively advocate on behalf of your interests in court.
Crafting a Manageable Parenting Plan
Your parenting plan will govern the “everyday” of your co-parenting relationship. In addition to detailing when your child will reside with each parent and how holidays and special occasions will be managed, you and your co-parent can choose to address a variety of different issues within the body of your parenting plan. For example, you can detail who will be responsible for paying for certain extracurricular activities and who will be responsible for transporting your child between your two homes.
There are two primary things that you’ll want to keep in mind when constructing a manageable parenting plan. First, in the event of a dispute, the court will resolve your differences according to the “best interests of the child” standard. Therefore, you’ll want to keep your child’s best interests at the forefront of your mind throughout the drafting process. Second, you’ll want to set expectations that are clear enough that everyone involved can plan their lives accordingly but that are not so inflexible that they won’t allow “life to happen.” For example, indicating that you’ll be responsible for ensuring that your child is picked up from each day from school is a solid expectation. Mandating that you alone will pick them up at 3:00p.m. daily leaves no wiggle room for reasonable changes in either timing or pickup needs.
Transitioning from parenting in one home to parenting a child who is navigating two households is never easy. The experienced Virginia legal team at May Law, LLP can help to ensure that your needs and your child’s needs are met during this challenging time.
Get to Know May Law, LLP
If you are looking for a family law lawyer to deal with your child custody law battle in Virginia, you can count on May Law LLP to retrieve optimal results. They are an experienced law firm and they understand the intricate laws that make up the legal spectrum of family law in Virginia. May Law LLP is a respectable and understanding group of attorneys who know what it takes to get the results that you need. And they understand that if you want to discuss the personal details of your case with the child custody lawyer in Virginia, that you have other choices. But May Law LLP believes they are your best child custody lawyer in Virginia and that you should call them today.
Filing for divorce in Virginia requires that you have to be a legal resident of Virginia for six months before filing for divorce, if you have any children that are under 18 then The couple must Separate for one year before filing, however if they do not have children they can file for divorce after living separately for six months if both spouses enter a separation agreement which establishes how property will be divided.
Often times filing for divorce in Virginia is going to consist of filing certain forms with your local Circuit Court, each county has their own rules and may have different forms so you should make sure that you have the required forms from your local courthouse to ensure that you are not filling out forms that are of no use to you.
In Virginia a couple can have an uncontested divorce, which means that both spouses agree on every matter of the divorce, and these are the type of divorce that are settled quicker and are less expensive. To seek an uncontested divorce the parties must agree to file for a no-fault divorce meaning that neither spouse is listed as being at fault for the marriage ending. To be eligible to obtain an uncontested divorce both spouses either agree on every issue, regarding property and children as well. A joint separation agreement is to be signed in which the spouses divide up their assets and responsibilities following the divorce, if the couple has minor children and they must also include provisions about visitation, custody, child support and insurance coverage.
However if you not lucky to have an uncontested divorce and you may need a child custody lawyer in Virginia, and in Virginia there are two types of child custody legal custody and physical custody. Physical custody is going to refer to where the child spends the majority of their time while legal custody refers to the right to make important health, education, religion and welfare decisions for the child. You may have both types of custody, or it may be share between the parents jointly. With so custody one person understands responsibility for the care and control and has the primary authority to make decisions concerning the child, so custody means that the child lives with one parent only and the noncustodial parent has visitation rights. However joint legal custody means both parents retain joint responsibility for the care and control of the child and authorities to make decisions concerning said child.