Fairfax & Loudoun County Child Support Attorney

Where Child Support Is Decided

Before a divorce is filed, child support can be decided in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, either on its own or together with custody and visitation. Once a divorce is pending, the circuit court can decide support along with custody, spousal support, and property division. Temporary support while the divorce is pending is available under Va. Code § 20-103. Which court hears the matter affects timing, procedure, and strategy.

How Virginia Calculates Child Support

Virginia uses an income-shares guideline set out in Va. Code § 20-108.2. The court adds the parents’ monthly gross incomes, finds the basic support obligation for that combined income and the number of children on the statutory schedule, adds the cost of the children’s health, dental, and vision coverage and work-related child-care costs, and divides the total between the parents in proportion to their incomes. The amount that results is presumed to be correct. Va. Code § 20-108.1(B).

Two features of the guideline matter in many Northern Virginia cases:

• Shared custody. Where a parent has the children for more than 90 days of the year, as the statute defines those days, support is calculated under a shared-custody formula that accounts for the time each parent has the children. Va. Code § 20-108.2(G)(3).
• Incomes above the schedule. The schedule ends at a combined monthly gross income of $42,500. Above that, the guideline adds a percentage of the income over $42,500 to the scheduled amount: 2.6 percent for one child, 3.4 percent for two, and 3.8 percent for three. Va. Code § 20-108.2(B). In these cases the guideline figure is a starting point, and whether it fits the children’s actual needs is often the central question.

To estimate the guideline amount, use the Virginia child support calculator. For a walk-through of each step, see Calculating Child Support in Virginia: Step-by-Step Guide.

Proving Income

For child support purposes, gross income means income from all sources, including salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, interest, trust income, capital gains, rental income, and spousal support received. Va. Code § 20-108.2(C). For a parent with income from self-employment, a partnership, or a closely held business, gross income is reduced only by reasonable business expenses, and the parent claiming a deduction bears the burden of proving it by a preponderance of the evidence. Id.

That burden matters. When a business pays for vehicles, travel, meals, or family members on the payroll, or when income is retained in the company rather than distributed, the figure on a tax return may not reflect what is available to support the children. The same records also drive spousal support and property division, and the positions taken on income must be consistent across all three. See business owner divorce and executive and government-contractor divorce.

Imputed Income

A court may attribute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily underemployed. Va. Code § 20-108.1(B)(3). The statute directs the court to consider the good faith and reasonableness of a parent’s employment decisions, including decisions to attend an educational or vocational program likely to maintain or increase earning potential. Id. Before the statute added that language, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that where a parent under a support order chose other employment, even as a bona fide and reasonable business undertaking, the risk of that choice fell on the parent rather than the children. Antonelli v. Antonelli, 242 Va. 152 (1991).

Imputation is decided on evidence: the parent’s work history, qualifications, the job market, and the reasons for the change. Where earning capacity is in dispute, the court may order a vocational evaluation by an expert. Va. Code § 20-108.1(H). See Income Imputation in Virginia Support Cases.

Departing From the Guideline Amount

The presumptive amount can be rebutted, but only on findings. A court that orders a different amount must state in writing the amount the guideline would have required and why applying it would be unjust or inappropriate, based on evidence relating to the factors listed in Va. Code § 20-108.1(B). A conclusory statement is not enough; the findings must be explicit enough for appellate review. Richardson v. Richardson, 12 Va. App. 18 (1991). A parent who seeks a deviation, or who opposes one, should build the record on those factors from the start.

Changing an Existing Order

A parent seeking to modify child support must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, a material change in circumstances that justifies the change. A parent seeking a reduction must also make a full and clear disclosure of his or her ability to pay and show that the inability to pay is not the result of his or her own voluntary act or neglect. Edwards v. Lowry, 232 Va. 110 (1986).

The statutory schedule itself was revised effective July 1, 2025. At a combined monthly income of $10,000, for example, the scheduled amount for one child rose from $1,054 to $1,251. The Court of Appeals has held that a substantive change to the guidelines, combined with an existing award that varies significantly from the new presumptive amount, justifies a modification hearing. Slonka v. Pennline, 17 Va. App. 662 (1994). For parents with orders entered before July 1, 2025, it is worth comparing the current order with the amount the revised schedule produces. See Key Changes to Virginia Family Law in 2025.

Timing matters. A support order cannot be modified retroactively. It may be modified only for the period a petition is pending, and only from the date notice of the petition was given to the other parent. Va. Code § 20-108. Waiting to file can forfeit months of adjustment that cannot be recovered.

Agreements on Child Support

Parents may agree on child support in a separation or property settlement agreement, and when a court incorporates that agreement into its decree, it has determined that the agreement is consistent with the children’s best interests. Shoup v. Shoup, 37 Va. App. 240 (2001) (en banc). But parents cannot contract away their children’s right to support, and no agreement can prevent the court from exercising its power to set or change support. Kelley v. Kelley, 248 Va. 295 (1994). See property settlement agreements in Virginia.

How Long Support Lasts

Support ordinarily continues until a child turns 18. The court must order support to continue for a child over 18 who is a full-time high school student, not self-supporting, and living in the home of the parent receiving support, until the child turns 19 or graduates from high school, whichever comes first. Va. Code § 20-124.2(C). The statute also permits support to continue for certain adult children with severe and permanent disabilities. Id.