What Factors Affect Spousal Support and Child Support in Virginia?
When a marriage ends, financial questions follow. One of the most common questions Trustice Law Group clients ask is: How does Virginia determine spousal support? The next question is usually: How does that interact with child support?
The Trustice team has put together a guide outlining what you need to know before meeting with a family law attorney to determine how to secure optimal child support or spousal support terms in Virginia courts.
How does spousal support work in Virginia?
In Virginia, spousal support helps one spouse maintain financial stability during and after divorce.
If you file in juvenile and domestic relations district court, or if a child custody lawyer helps you seek temporary support during a divorce (known as pendente lite support), the court uses a formula that considers both parties’ incomes and whether minor children are involved.
At the final divorce hearing, the court examines 13 statutory factors before deciding whether ongoing support is appropriate and, if so, for how long.
What factors do Virginia judges consider in spousal support cases?
When determining spousal support, Virginia courts review numerous factors, including:
- The length of the marriage
- Each spouse’s income and earning potential
- The reason for divorce (such as adultery or cruelty)
- Contributions — both financial and non-financial — to the household
- Each party’s education, age and health
- Whether one spouse must remain home to care for a child with special needs
Judges also weigh the need for support versus the other spouse’s ability to pay.
How do spousal support and child support overlap?
Spousal support and child support are separate but often intertwined.
For example, a skilled child support and custody lawyer with extensive experience in Virginia courts will be able to collect all relevant information in order to paint as clear a picture for the judge as possible.
Trustice Law Group attorneys start by conducting an in-depth interview to determine all the factors of your situation in order to calculate their assessment of your child support needs using Virginia support guidelines.
Often, the process starts with an in-depth review of each parent’s income and childcare responsibilities. Those income figures can greatly influence how much spousal support is awarded.
Note that Virginia child support and spousal support determination processes may be ongoing ones that are revisited over several years.
In Virginia, if your circumstances change — say you lose a job or your childcare costs increase — you may need to modify or enforce a child support order or request a change to your spousal support terms.
Both require a formal motion and evidence of a material change in circumstances. We discuss what constitutes material change in circumstances in another article.
Stay-at-home parents and Virginia courts’ expectations
Virginia courts recognize that stay-at-home parents make valuable non-financial contributions to a marriage. However, after divorce, judges typically encourage both parties to become self-supporting.
Trustice Law Group’s expert child custody and support attorneys can help demonstrate why temporary or extended spousal support may be fair — especially if one parent paused their education or career to raise children.
How long will spousal support last?
There is no fixed formula, but a common outcome is that support may last for roughly half the duration of the marriage (for example, 10 years of support after a 20-year marriage).
It’s also important to note that courts may end support if the receiving spouse remarries or cohabitates in a relationship similar to marriage. Ending support is its own process and requires the paying spouse to file a motion to amend.
Protect your rights as a spouse experiencing divorce
The financial outcome of a divorce can shape your future for years — even decades — to come. That’s why consulting a family law attorney with extensive experience dealing with child support and spousal support cases is critical.
The Trustice Law Group team includes many highly experienced child support attorneys who are very familiar with the Richmond and Central Virginia courts.
We work closely with every single client to ensure our Virginia courts consider every factor that affects a client’s ability to provide or receive support.
For more information on spousal and child support law in Virginia, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get your questions answered based on your unique situation. Click to request a time today or by calling us at 804-207-9381.