Archive for the ‘Family Law’ Category

« Older Entries

Will I have to pay child support?

Sunday, February 21st, 2016

If you are the legal parent of a child, then the Commonwealth of Virginia says that you have an obligation to provide support for that child. There are actual numbers in the Code of Virginia that show the total gross family income and the amount of support that the legislature has determined is necessary for the support of up to 6 children.

Once you have that base number, that number can be increased by any work-related child care and any health insurance for the child. This will give you the total amount of support that should be provided for that child.

In the case where one parent has the child the majority of the time and the other parent has the child for less than 90 24-hour periods, the total child support obligation is multiplied by his or her percentage of the total family income and the non-custodial parent will pay his or her percentage to the custodial parent. For example, if the custodial parent earns 40% of the income and the non-custodial parent earns 60% of the income, then the non-custodial parent will pay 60% of the total child support obligation to the custodial parent.

In the case where the non-custodial parent has the child for more than 90 24-hour periods, there is another calculation where the amount of time the child spends with each parent is taken into account. The first step in this process multiplies the total child support obligation by 1.4. This higher number is then multiplied by the time each parent has the child and then multiplied by the percentage of income for each parent. This determines the total amount of child support for each parent and the difference between the two is the amount of child support that is paid by one parent to the other.

The calculation formulas are in the code, but most people use a calculation spreadsheet formula provided by a software vendor. Most attorneys, the courts, and the Department of Social Services, Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) all use these same software vendors. There is also an online provider at www.SupportSolver.com that can be used for your own calculations, although the Courts or DCSE will use their own software for the actual numbers to be in the order.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Children, Support | No Comments »

Do Dads ever get custody?

Friday, January 15th, 2016

The short answer is ‘yes’, Dads often get legal and/or physical custody of their children!

In Virginia, the courts use what is called a ‘best interest of the child’ standard when deciding child custody matters. The factors are found in Virginia Code Section 20-124.3 and these are the things that any Judge, either in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations (JDR) District Court or the Circuit Court must consider before making a child custody decision.

If the child is very young, and the mother is breast feeding the child, that would make it much more difficult for a father to get custody at that time, but other than that, there is no presumption that a mother is the preferred parent.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Custody, Family Law | No Comments »

When can I file for custody of my baby?

Saturday, January 9th, 2016

I’ve had two different people come into my office in the past month who want to establish custody for their unborn children. The problem is that custody cannot be established until the child is born and becomes an independent person.

You can do a lot to get ready. You will need the name, physical and mailing address, and phone number of the other parent so that they can be properly and legally served with any custody papers after the birth of your child.

In most jurisdictions in Virginia, the initial custody determination filing requires a small filing fee (I think it was $25 the last time I checked locally). Also, check with your Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Clerk’s office. In some areas, the petition is filed in the clerk’s office and in other areas the initial petition is prepared in a Court Services office. Some of the Court Services offices are in the courthouse and sometimes they are in a different building.

The timeframe for the initial appearance in court will depend on the jurisdiction and the court calendar, but count on it being at least a month before the initial hearing. Then, if mom and dad are in agreement about custody, the court can usually enter an order that day. If the matter is contested, you will be scheduled for a contested hearing and that may be 1-3 months out depending again on the court’s calendar.

Until the child is born, the most important thing you can do is to take good care of yourself and make sure that the child has every opportunity to be born safe and healthy.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Custody, Family Law | No Comments »

Terminating Parental Rights

Saturday, January 2nd, 2016

I’ve had a few people contact me recently because they either want to voluntarily relinquish their parental rights, or they want to terminate the parental rights of an absent father. Trust me, I’m not picking on fathers but I’ve had the same question 3 times in the past 2 weeks and they all just happened to concern absent fathers.

First of all, the Courts in Virginia will not let anyone voluntarily relinquish parental rights. If both parents agree that the father won’t be involved in the child’s life, and the mother is able to properly provide for the child, there is no reason to have the court involvement at all. Just do it. Most people agree that it is better for a child to have both parents involved in their life, but it is still a personal decision.

However, if the parents think that they can get rid of a father who can not afford to pay child support and then apply for TANF to support the child, that won’t happen. And while the Courts themselves can terminate parental rights when a parent has been proven to be unfit, you can’t request that the Courts do so just because a parent has not been involved in the child’s life, and/or is unable to provide financial support.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Adoption, Children, Custody, Family Law, General Information, Support, Visitation | No Comments »

Can we just agree to change the child support amount?

Monday, December 2nd, 2013

I had a person in my office recently who said that he and the children’s mother had agreed to reduce the amount of child support he had to pay because he was laid off from his old job and his new job didn’t pay as much. They even had a document that said the amount would be reduced, and it was notarized. He thought their agreement would cancel the court order.

And then she took him to court for non-payment and he was charged with failure to comply with an order of the court which included a possible jail sentence of up to one year.

First of all, when the Judge issues that piece of paper telling you what to do… it is not a suggestion….it is not an example….it is not an ‘if you want to’ or ‘if you feel like it’. It is an ORDER. That means you have to do it or face consequences.

Secondly, having a document notarized does not make it more ‘legal’ than having a document that isn’t notarized. Most of the time, a notarization just means that the person signing the document produced identification saying they were the person who’s name was on the document. This may keep your girlfriend from signing your wife’s name, but it doesn’t make the document legal.

What they should have done was to go to court to file a motion to amend child support due to a material change in circumstances. His change in employment status would probably have met the criteria for a material change, especially if both of them agreed. Then the court would have recalculated the child support payment from the date of the petition. You can also provide the court with a ‘Consent Order’ that says you agree to an amount even if that amount is different from the amount that would be calculated by the statutory guidelines.

Sure it takes time out of your day to go to court to get the amount changed….but it is probably worth it when you consider the amount of time you might be spending going to court on a show cause….and the possibility of going to jail!

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Children, Family Law, General Information, Support | No Comments »

« Older Entries