Themis Essay 930 Flashcards
Upon the petition of either party, Virginia courts can modify spousal support orders to
increase, decrease, or terminate payment, as the circumstances may make proper, unless the parties contract otherwise.
A new decree for child or spousal support only operates
prospectively.
To justify a change in spousal support, a court must find an
(i) involuntary and unforeseen, (ii) material change in the parties’ circumstances.
Child support awards, visitation, and custody agreements can be modified by
the issuing court or another court with jurisdiction upon a showing of a material change in circumstances that was neither voluntary nor foreseeable.
On a parent’s petition, the court’s own petition, or the petition of a probation officer or Department of Social Services, the court can
modify or make a new decree when the parents’ circumstances and interests of the child require.
A Virginia court may deviate from the application of the child support guidelines only after
making a written finding that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate based on the relevant evidence of the particular case based upon enumerated statutory factors.
Factors a court may use when deviating from child support guidelines are:
(i) the special needs of the child resulting from any physical, emotional, or medical condition, (ii) the standard of living the child enjoyed during the marriage, and (iii) the earning capacity, obligations, financial resources, and special needs of each parent.
Willful failure to pay support for a child or spouse is
a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of at most $500, or confinement in jail for at most twelve months, or both.
The purpose of criminal contempt is to
punish an obligor for willful default of the obligations imposed by a court.
In Virginia, judges may issue attachment for
contempt, and punish them summarily, for disobedience of any person to any lawful process, judgment, decree or order of the court, including support awards.
