West Virginia Child Support
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correct? Calculate what your support should be OR calculate the arrears owed to you.
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West Virginia child support is based upon official
guidelines for the calculation of child support. The
amount of child support arrived at under the guidelines
is presumed to be correct, unless it is shown that the
amount is unjust or inappropriate. The courts will
follow the child support guidelines unless the parents have agreed to
a support amount approved by the courts, or the
courts determine the guidelines are unjust for a
particular case.
West Virginia child support awards may
deviate away from the guidelines after the Court
considers certain factors. Some of the factors the Court
may consider include, whether the spouse seeking support
is the custodian of a child whose condition or
circumstances make it appropriate for that spouse not to
seek outside employment, the time and expense necessary
to acquire sufficient education and training to enable
the spouse to find appropriate employment, and that
spouse's future earning capacity, the duration of the
marriage and the actual period of cohabitation as husband
and wife, the comparative financial resources of the
spouses, including their comparative earning abilities in
the labor market, the needs and obligations of each
spouse, the tax consequences to each spouse, the age,
physical and emotion condition of each spouse, the
vocational skills and employability of the spouse seeking
support and maintenance, any other custodial
responsibilities, the educational level of each spouse at
the time of the marriage and at the time the action for
divorce is commenced, the cost of education of minor
children and of health care for each spouse and the minor
children, the distribution of martial property, any legal
obligations of the spouses to support themselves or other
as well as any other relevant factors the Court may deem
relevant.
West Virginia child support is based upon Federal
mandates. The Federal Government compels that the states maintain
certain support, support enforcement and support collection laws or
lose Federal aid. West Virginia has complied and so has every other
state. The Federal mandates are based upon research that outlines the
amount of support available to children in intact families. Each state
support law is supposed to maintain that support level for children of
divorced or separated parents.
West Virginia child support can be withheld directly from the earnings of
the parent who has been ordered to provide support. In fact, in West
Virginia, every divorce decree involving children has a provision for
the withholding of child support. The payments are withheld much like
income tax is withheld from earnings payments. This way of paying and
receiving West Virginia child support is generally easier for both parties and
considered a very dependable solution. The way it typically works is,
once the support is withheld, it is then sent to the state agency
authorized to receive and disburse payments. Once it has been verified
that the support was paid, it is then sent to the parent designated to
receive the support.
In West Virginia, either parent may be also be
ordered to provide health insurance coverage for the child. All
relevant factors will be considered. Generally, the decision as to
which parent is going to provide medical insurance coverage for the
child and how medical bills will be paid is set out in the marital
settlement agreement. If it is not, then the courts may require either
parent to provide health insurance coverage for the child. Usually, if
a reasonable medical insurance plan is available through one of the
parents’ employment, they are required to cover their child on it.
West Virginia child support orders are subject
to change or modification to reflect a substantial change in
circumstances. In order to have a modification take place the party
requesting the modification must file an order with the court, showing
evidence of the change in circumstances. Typically, the evidence must
be completely new to the court. Any issues addressed previously in the
child support arrangements are not means for modification. Some of the
factors which the Court will consider in determining if a modification
should occur are as follows: The parent's income and earning
capacities, the assets that are available for support, the employee
benefits of each parent, the income of a new spouse or cohabitant, the
new family responsibilities of each spouse, the increase in the cost of
living, the change in cost of rearing the child, the heath conditions
of parents and child and the modification of custody arrangement.
If you are owed back West Virginia child support, you should be
aware that West Virginia has a statute of limitations that will prevent
you from collecting these arrears after ten years. You should check
both the laws from the State that issued the Order of Support as well
as the laws for the State where the support payer resides. The statute
of limitations will be the longer of the two.
A parents West Virginia child support obligation will continue until a child reaches the age of 18 but may continue
until the child finishes high school. If the Court finds "good cause"
it may order that child support payments continue beyond the age of 18
if the child is unmarried, residing with a parent and is enrolled in as
a full-time student in a secondary or vocational program and making
substantial progress toward a diploma. In this case, payments will not
extend past the child’s 20th birthday. A child will also
automatically be ineligible for child support if that child marries, is
removed from disability status by a court order, or the child dies.
In West Virginia child support may include an order
that a parent
contribute toward the cost of a child’s college education. If your
Order does not address the issue of college, a party seeking to have
the other parent contribute to the cost of a child’s college education
must file for modification and prove to the court that the child is
doing well and it is in his or her best interest to remain in college.
At this point the court will make a judgment whether the support should
continue through school and that if more money should be paid to
finance part of the tuition bills.
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