Veteran Fairfax Family Law Attorney Discusses Support Obligations When A Child Is Mentally Or Physically Challenged
In most cases, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the responsibility of a parent who is paying child support ends when the child turns eighteen or nineteen years of age, or graduates from high school. However, there are circumstances in which a child may still not be able to care for themselves after they've reached the age of adulthood. When a child is mentally or physically challenged, Fairfax County and other court venues may determine that child support may have to be extended past his or her eighteenth birthday—or even indefinitely.
Virginia Code § 20-124.2 states "The court may also order the continuation of support for any child over the age of 18 who is (i) severely and permanently mentally or physically disabled, (ii) unable to live independently and support himself, and (iii) resides in the home of the parent seeking or receiving child support."
Oftentimes, the child's mental or physical condition is known to the both parents at the time of the divorce or parting of ways. In these cases, the attorneys may have anticipated the need for extended support. However, there are instances when the parents negotiate a support agreement for their child and a condition develops at a later time. In cases like these, the child support agreement may have to be modified to account for the newly developed condition. Child support is modifiable based upon a significant unforeseeable circumstance.
For instance, if a sixteen-year-old girl from Fairfax is involved in a car accident in Alexandria and sustains long-term injuries (i.e. amputation, brain damage, et cetera), it's reasonable to assume that she will need care beyond her eighteenth birthday. An existing support agreement may have been in existence, but this development may require the non-custodial parent to pay support for an extended period of time.
As a Fairfax, VA family law attorney who handles child support agreements and modifications, I recommend that all parents seeking support retain the services of an experienced child support lawyer. Even when a child doesn't have any special needs, support payment calculations are based upon multiple factors and are complicated. When you include the additional medical expenses and care requirements of a special needs child or an adult who still requires the assistance of his or her parents, an experienced family law attorney becomes all the more crucial.
Regardless of whether you are in Fairfax or elsewhere in Virginia, if you are seeking child support, an extension of child support for a mentally or physically handicapped teenager, or need a modification of an existing child support agreement, you should contact an experienced family law attorney immediately.
Virginia Divorce and Family Law Attorney Claudia Zucker
Do you need a divorce attorney? Do you have questions about child support for the mentally and physically disabled? We invite you to contact us today at (703) 596-1005. We're always just a phone call away.
