Before I spend the money to consult with a lawyer to find out exactly how much support is owed, will my husband receive the same dollar figure, all saying we present the same facts and information. This way, I can just tell him the figure given by my lawyer and he pays it. Or can he fight me on this? How can I enforce payment?
Child support guideline calculations are based on a very specific formula. IF you and your spouse each provided identical data as to the relevant factors that go into the child support calculation (which includes the gross income of each party, reasonable work-related child care, cost of health insurance, number of children to whom a duty of support is owed, whether there are any children not of the marriage to support, and how many 24 periods the children are with each parent during the calendar year), then theoretically both of your attorneys should arrive at the same guideline child support number. However, this does not take into account any factors that might warrant deviation from the guidelines (such as special needs of the children, extraordinary medical, private tuition, counseling costs, and other factors that might warrant deviating upward or downward from the guideline amount in particular cases). Another variable might be if one party believes that imputation of income is appropriate (such as where one parent has voluntarily left a higher paying job, quit their job, or has been a "stay-at-home" parent for children who are not extremely young or severely disabled).
So, in short, two attorneys running the exact same calculation based on exactly the same data should mathmatically arrive at the same guideline number. Yes he could fight you on what the data is that goes into the calculation and/or whether a deviation from the guideline figure is appropriate or warranted. To enforce payment, you will first need one of the following: (1) a written contract where he agrees to a specific payment amount and arrangement, (2) an administrative support order from the Division of Child Support Enforcement (the Fairfax District Office is located on Pender Drive), or need a court order for child support (3) a court order for child support (which you can pursue as part of a divorce case or suit for separate maintenance in Circuit Court or as a separate petition in the Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court). If you have concerns that he will not pay support on time or at all, then pursuing a court order for child support with income deduction through DCSE would probably be the preferred course of action.
