Charlottesville Divorce Lawyer Rob Hagy: court deviates from child support guidelines and awards mother $1,000.00 Per Month In Child Support.

In the case of Bokassa v. Bokassa, the Virginia Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, ruled that the trial court did not err when it ordered father to pay mother $1,000.00 in child support.  Mother and father never married, have two children, and share physical custody of the children. Mother filed a request for child support. The juvenile and domestic relations district court entered an order requiring father to pay mother child support, and father appealed to the circuit court. On November 19, 2012, the circuit court held a hearing on the matter. According to the written statement of facts, mother testified she was not employed and received $1,000 per month in child support from father. According to the written statement of facts, the circuit court determined father’s gross income, gave father credit for support payments for a child from another relationship, and gave father credit for the health insurance he pays for the children.According to the final order, the circuit court considered all the factors in Code § 20-108.2(D) and deviated from the shared custody guidelines due to mother’s “poverty level.” The circuit court ordered father to pay “only” $1,000 per month because that was the amount mother requested.  Based upon a review of the circumstances in this case, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in deviating from the shared custody guidelines in determining the amount of child support and in ordering father to pay mother $1,000 per month in child support.

-Rob Hagy, Charlottesville Child Support Lawyer. For help with your child support questions, please contact me at (434)293-4562 or email me at [email protected] for assistance.