Going through a divorce in Virginia can be a complicated process, but when parents of minor children go through a divorce there are added complications that they must resolve. This is because they have to make difficult decisions regarding who will make major decisions regarding their children and when each parent will have the children.
They also need to make decisions regarding how each parent will contribute towards the children’s financial needs, which is accomplished through child support orders. There are different aspects of child support orders though. There is the basic monthly child support obligation and also other costs which are included in child support orders which may occur less frequently than the basic expenses.
Basic child support
This part of the child support obligation is for the basics such as food, clothing and shelter. It is determined by the child support guidelines which uses the parents’ respective incomes, the number of minor children the parents have and the custody arrangement for the parents. However, this basic child support obligation can also include the amount a parent pays for the children’s health and dental insurance premiums each month.
Other expenses
The child support order can also state the percentage that each parent will pay when the children incur uninsured or unreimbursed medical expenses. Another expense that can be included is how much each parent will be responsible for any child-care expenses that the parents incur for work-related reasons.
There are many expenses that parents in Virginia must pay for their children. This is true whether the parents are married or divorced. However, when parents are divorced, there may be a child support order put in place to ensure that both parents are contributing. Determining the child support amount can be complicated though and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.