In Virginia many individuals pay or receive child support to or from the parents of their children. If a parent asks for child support to be paid into the Division of Child Support Enforcement, then the Court will order it done. However, many people prefer to just pay support “direct”, that is, directly between the parents, which cut down on potential administrative headaches.
If you pay or receive child support directly, there are however some common sense tips to keep in mind to minimize any potential headaches or show causes in future.
1) Keep a record of all payments received or sent, including date, amount, and initialed by each party.
2) Keep receipts for out of pocket costs and give to the other parent a summary of monthly out of pocket expenses when asking for reimbursement.
3) Ask for reimbursement for out of pocket costs from the other parent in a timely manner, and be ready to provide receipts to the parent if needed.
4) Keep records of receipts and payments indefinitely if you’ve never been to court since the initial determination of support, or, if you’ve been to court for a show cause, or new modification, keep all records and payments that post-date that court appearance if the Court has already ruled on old bills and payments.
5) Be polite and cordial in all written communications with the other parent regarding support- keep in mind a Court could one day be looking at the documents.
If you have questions about your child support payments, please contact the Family Law attorneys at Winslow & McCurry at 804-423-1382.
