Family LawMay 11, 20200 comments

Virginia Family Law 2020 Legislative Update

Each year elected representatives in the Virginia House and Senate introduce pieces of legislation, also called bills, and work to have them passed into law. Our family law attorneys monitor the legislative process to keep apprised of changes in the law as they relate to the practice of family law and our clients’ cases. A few of the newly passed bills are discussed below in our Virginia Family Law 2020 Legislative Update.

2020 Adultery Changes in Virginia

SB433 amends Va. Code Ann. §8.01-233.1 to provide an exception to the portion of the statute that prevented an adverse inference to the assertion of a party’s 5^th Amendment right to self-incrimination. In Virginia, adultery is a crime. One of the factors that the Court considers when determining spousal support and division of property is the reasons for the dissolution of the marriage. Before this amendment a party could refuse to answer questions about adultery, even if that adultery was part of the reason the marriage broke down, and the Court would not be able to draw an adverse inference for the refusal to answer. An adverse inference is negative conclusion that is drawn from a party’s failure to present evidence that is within a party’s possession, custody or control. Now, with the change in the law, the Court can draw an adverse inference from a party’s failure to testify about adultery in cases that involve custody, visitation, support, divorce or separate maintenance.

2020 Child Support Changes in Virginia

SB428 amends Va. Code Ann. §20-108.2 to add Subsection D1, which provides that for any child support action commended within 6 months of the date of birth of a child, with some exception, the Court shall order that the parents pay, in proportion to their gross incomes, any reasonable and necessary unpaid expenses of the mother’s pregnancy and the delivery of the child in addition to other child support obligations. Prior to this change a party requesting child support and payments for unreimbursed medical expenses for a child could only get relief back to the date the request was filed with the Court, and pregnancy and delivery expenses were not items that could be awarded.

2020 Pendente lite Support Changes in Virginia

HB1500 amends the statutes that deal with the calculation of pendente lite support (support that is ordered during the pendency of a court case). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) changed the tax implications of spousal support. Prior to January 1, 2019, spousal support was deductible by the payor and reportable as income by the payee. On January 1, 2019 and after, spousal support was no longer included as income to the payee. This created a major issue with respect to calculating pendente lite support, as existing support guidelines were developed under the prior law.

HB1500 amends the statutes that govern the calculation of pendente lite support in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (JDR), Va. Code Ann. §16.1-278.17(C), an the Circuit Court, Va. Code Ann. §20-103. The new guidelines amend the formula used to calculate support in JDR cases, and sets out a formula to calculate support in Circuit Court cases in cases where the parties’ combined gross monthly income is less than $10,000.00. Both statutes allow for the Court to deviate from the guidelines for good cause, including the impact of any tax considerations or exemptions.