Title 20, Domestic Relations

An income-withholding order issued in another state may be sent by or on behalf of the obligee, or by the support enforcement agency, to the person or entity defined as the obligor's employer as defined in § 63.2-1900 under the income-withholding law of the Commonwealth without f…

A. Upon receipt of an income-withholding order, the obligor's employer shall immediately provide a copy of the order to the obligor. The employer shall treat an income-withholding order issued in another state which appears regular on its face as if it had been issued by a tribun…

If an obligor's employer receives two or more income-withholding orders with respect to the earnings of the same obligor, the employer satisfies the terms of the orders if the employer complies with the law of the state of the obligor's principal place of employment to establish …

An employer that complies with an income-withholding order issued in another state in accordance with this article is not subject to civil liability to an individual or agency with regard to the employer's withholding child support from the obligor's income.

An employer that willfully fails to comply with an income-withholding order issued in another state and received for enforcement is subject to the same penalties that may be imposed for noncompliance with an order issued by a tribunal of the Commonwealth.

A. An obligor may contest the validity or enforcement of an income-withholding order issued in another state and received directly by an employer in the Commonwealth by registering the order in a tribunal of the Commonwealth and filing a contest to that order as provided in this …

A. A party or support enforcement agency seeking to enforce a foreign support order, or a support order or an income-withholding order, or both, issued in another state, may send the documents required for registering the order to a support enforcement agency of the Commonwealth.…

A foreign support order, or a support order or an income-withholding order issued in another state, may be registered in the Commonwealth for enforcement.

A. Except as provided in § 20-88.88, a foreign support order or a support order or income-withholding order of another state may be registered in the Commonwealth by sending the following records to the appropriate tribunal in the Commonwealth: 1. A letter of transmittal to the t…

A. A support order or income-withholding order issued in another state or a foreign support order is registered when the order is filed in the registering tribunal of the Commonwealth. B. A registered support order issued in another state or in a foreign country is enforceable in…

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection D, the law of the issuing state or foreign country governs (i) the nature, extent, amount, and duration of current payments under a registered support order; (ii) the computation and payment of arrearages and accrual of interest on th…

A. When a support order or income-withholding order issued in another state or a foreign support order is registered, the registering tribunal of the Commonwealth shall notify the nonregistering party. The notice shall be accompanied by a copy of the registered order and the docu…

A. A nonregistering party seeking to contest the validity or enforcement of a registered support order in the Commonwealth shall request a hearing within the time required by § 20-88.70. The nonregistering party may seek to vacate the registration, to assert any defense to an all…

A. A party contesting the validity or enforcement of a registered support order or seeking to vacate the registration has the burden of proving one or more of the following defenses: 1. The issuing tribunal lacked personal jurisdiction over the contesting party; 2. The order was …

Confirmation of a registered support order, whether by operation of law or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the support order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted at the time of registration.

A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child support order issued in another state shall register that order in this Commonwealth in the same manner as provided in Article 8 (§ 20-88.66 et seq.) if the order has not been registered. A…

A tribunal of the Commonwealth may enforce a child support order of another state, registered for purposes of modification, in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of the Commonwealth, but the registered support order may be modified only if the requireme…

A. If § 20-88.77:1 does not apply, upon petition a tribunal of the Commonwealth may modify a child support order, issued in another state, that is registered in the Commonwealth if, after notice and hearing, the tribunal finds that: 1. The following requirements are met: a. Neith…

If a child support order issued by a tribunal of the Commonwealth is modified by a tribunal of another state that assumed jurisdiction pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, a tribunal of the Commonwealth: 1. May enforce its order that was modified only as to arre…

A. If all of the parties who are individuals reside in this Commonwealth and the child does not reside in the issuing state, a tribunal of this Commonwealth has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing state's child support order in a proceeding to register that order. B…

Within thirty days after issuance of a modified child support order, the party obtaining the modification shall file a certified copy of the order with the issuing tribunal that had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the earlier order, and in each tribunal in which the party…

A. Except as provided in § 20-88.93, if a foreign country lacks or refuses to exercise jurisdiction to modify its child support order pursuant to its laws, a tribunal of the Commonwealth may assume jurisdiction, for good cause shown as ordered, to modify the child support order a…

A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a foreign child support order not under the Convention may register that order in the Commonwealth under Article 8 (§ 20-88.66 et seq.) if the order has not been registered. A petition for modifica…

A. For purposes of this article, "governor" includes an individual performing the functions of governor or the executive authority of a state covered by this chapter. B. The Governor of this Commonwealth may: 1. Demand that the governor of another state surrender an individual fo…

A. Before making a demand that the governor of another state surrender an individual charged criminally in the Commonwealth with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, the Governor of the Commonwealth may require a prosecutor of the Commonwealth to demonstrate th…

As used in this article: "Application" means a request under the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance by an obligee or obligor, or on behalf of a child, made through a central authority for assistance from another c…

This article applies only to a support proceeding under the Convention. In such a proceeding, if a provision of this article is inconsistent with Articles 1 through 9 (§ 20-88.32 et seq.), this article controls.

The Department of Social Services of the Commonwealth is recognized as the agency designated by the United States central authority to perform specific functions under the Convention.

A. In a support proceeding under this chapter, the Department of Social Services of the Commonwealth shall: 1. Transmit and receive applications; and 2. Initiate or facilitate the institution of a proceeding regarding an application in a tribunal of the Commonwealth. B. The follo…

A. A petitioner may file a direct request seeking establishment or modification of a support order or determination of parentage of a child. In the proceeding, the law of the Commonwealth applies. B. A petitioner may file a direct request seeking recognition and enforcement of a …

A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a party who is an individual or a support enforcement agency seeking recognition of a Convention support order shall register the order in the Commonwealth as provided in Article 9 (§ 20-88.74 et seq.). B. Notwithstanding § 20-88.5…

A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, §§ 20-88.71, 20-88.72, and 20-88.73 apply to a contest of a registered Convention support order. B. A party contesting a registered Convention support order shall file a contest not later than 30 days after notice of the registrati…

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B, a tribunal of the Commonwealth shall recognize and enforce a registered Convention support order. B. The following grounds are the only grounds on which a tribunal of the Commonwealth may refuse recognition and enforcement of a reg…

If a tribunal of the Commonwealth does not recognize and enforce a Convention support order in its entirety, it shall enforce any severable part of the order. An application or direct request may seek recognition and partial enforcement of a Convention support order.

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsections C and D, a tribunal of the Commonwealth shall recognize and enforce a foreign support agreement registered in the Commonwealth. B. An application or direct request for recognition and enforcement of a foreign support agreement must b…

A. A tribunal of the Commonwealth may not modify a Convention child support order if the obligee remains a resident of the foreign country where the support order was issued unless: 1. The obligee submits to the jurisdiction of a tribunal of the Commonwealth, either expressly or …

Personal information gathered or transmitted under this article may be used only for the purposes for which it was gathered or transmitted.

A record filed with a tribunal of the Commonwealth under this article must be in the original language and, if not in English, must be accompanied by an English translation.

As used in this chapter: "Joint custody" means (i) joint legal custody where both parents retain joint responsibility for the care and control of the child and joint authority to make decisions concerning the child even though the child's primary residence may be with only one pa…

A. In any case in which custody or visitation of minor children is at issue, whether in a circuit or district court, the court shall provide prompt adjudication, upon due consideration of all the facts, of custody and visitation arrangements, including support and maintenance for…

In any proceeding in a court of record to determine custody or visitation, when the court conducts an in camera interview of a minor child whose custody or visitation is at issue without the presence of the parties or their counsel, a record of the interview shall be prepared, un…

In determining best interests of a child for purposes of determining custody or visitation arrangements, including any pendente lite orders pursuant to § 20-103, the court shall consider the following: 1. The age and physical and mental condition of the child, giving due consider…

A. In any appropriate case the court shall refer the parents or persons with a legitimate interest to a dispute resolution orientation session to be conducted by a mediator certified pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the Judicial Council at no cost and in accordance with the …

In any proceeding involving custody or visitation, the court shall include as a condition of any custody or visitation order a requirement that thirty days' advance written notice be given to the court and the other party by any party intending to relocate and of any intended cha…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither parent, regardless of whether such parent has custody, shall be denied access to the academic or health records or records of a child day center or home-based child care of that parent's minor child, including any such record…

Any order entered pursuant to § 20-124.8 shall provide that (i) the nondeploying parent or guardian shall reasonably accommodate the leave schedule of the deploying parent or guardian, (ii) the nondeploying parent shall facilitate opportunities for telephonic and electronic mail …