There is no law in Virginia that requires you and your former spouse to create a parenting plan during the divorce process or any custody and visitation proceeding in the juvenile court. As attorneys who also build estate plans, we should highlight how no law requires you to have a will or a revocable trust either. However, there are tremendous benefits to everything we just mentioned. Today, we wanted to discuss why Read More
How to Enforce a Child Support Order in Virginia
Both parents have an obligation to care for and support their child, and when parents divorce (or if parents are not married, but one parent seeks child support from the other), the court will order one parent to pay the other child support. However, some parents refuse to pay their share of child support, leaving the other parent and the child in serious financial trouble. If you need to know how to enforce a child Read More
What are the Best Interests of the Child in Virginia?
The Virginia courts take decisions about minor children very seriously, including choices about where the child will live and how much support they will receive during and after a divorce. Whenever there is an issue regarding a child, the judge is required to look at the decision through the lens of what is in the best interests of the child, but what exactly does that mean? At Select Law Partners, PLLC our Read More
What are Parental Rights for Unmarried Parents in Virginia?
The parental rights of married parents are easily established in Virginia when a child is born, but the rights of parents who are unmarried are considerably murkier. If you are an unmarried parent of a child and wish to establish your rights to custody, visitation, or support, you need an experienced Virginia family law attorney to zealously advocate for your rights and the rights of your child. Establishing Read More
Do I Have to Pay Child Support if I Have 50/50 Custody?
The common preference in family law courts in Virginia is to maintain joint custody of a child during and after a divorce. This means that both parents maintain legal and physical custody of their child, and in some cases even splitting time equally, 50/50, between parents. However, an equal split of custody in a joint custody case often leads to questions about the payment of child support between parents. If the Read More
Does Incarceration Affect a Parent’s Child Support Obligations?
Paying child support is a court ordered responsibility, and if the noncustodial parent is incarcerated, this does not erase the obligation to pay for his or her children’s needs. Parents are expected to pay child support regardless of their personal situation, but the circumstances of the incarceration can have an affect on a parent’s child support obligations. In many cases, the noncustodial parent who is Read More
How Long Must Child Support Be Paid in Virginia?
Under Virginia law, both parents have a duty to provide support to their minor children, regardless of whether the parents are currently married or were married in the past. Child support cases usually occur following a divorce or where the father has not married the mother of a child and is not providing support, and, if paternity of the child can be established in the case of an unwed father, the courts will Read More
Child Visitation Laws in the State of Virginia
A parent who does not have custody of a child (also called a noncustodial parent) in Virginia will usually have a right to visitation with the child, even where the parents were never married. However, exercising this right may require the parent to obtain a court order. Below, we provide a brief overview of the child visitation laws in the state of Virginia. The Difference Between Custody and Visitation Both Read More
Determining Paternity in a Child Custody Dispute
When there is a dispute over the custody of a child in a Virginia court, that court is going to primarily look to the two biological parents of the child in determining who should have custody. It is possible for other people such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles to win custody of a child, but that will generally only occur where both biological parents are found to be unfit and/or unavailable. When a child is born Read More
Advice for Divorcing Dads Who Want to Retain Child Custody
Dads going through the divorce or other custody process in Virginia often believe the system is rigged against them. This frustration can boil over into a cynicism about the family law process, causing them to give up their rights or to act out in ways that may hurt their case. No doubt that family law and custody issues can be emotionally trying and many fathers do not want the courts to be involved in their Read More
