Petitioning for Custody when Child Support is Owed-VA

[ccs331]

My question involves child support in the State of: Virginia

I have physical custody of my daughter who is 6 yrs. old. Child support & visitation is court ordered.

Ex and I had a disagreement over the weekend and he threatened to petition the court for a change in physical custody of our daughter (he doesn't like the babysitter I use all of a sudden).

To date, he owes over $4,000.00 child support (from 06/2007 to 08/2008). Can he even petition the court for a custody change if he is behind on child support?

I haven't taken him back to court for failure to pay child support, because he's always made me feel bad about it, and I really don't rely on the child support.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Xena]

My question involves child support in the State of: Virginia

I have physical custody of my daughter who is 6 yrs. old. Child support & visitation is court ordered.

Ex and I had a disagreement over the weekend and he threatened to petition the court for a change in physical custody of our daughter (he doesn't like the babysitter I use all of a sudden).

To date, he owes over $4,000.00 child support (from 06/2007 to 08/2008). Can he even petition the court for a custody change if he is behind on child support?

I haven't taken him back to court for failure to pay child support, because he's always made me feel bad about it, and I really don't rely on the child support.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Yes, he can file to modifiy the custody even if he's in arrears in CS. Filing, and winning are 2 different things though. He'd have to prove to the court that he would be the best residential parent.

Now would be a good time for you to file to enforce the CS order.

[ccs331]

Thank you Xena for setting me straight!

I thought for sure I saw a box that had to be checked on the motion to amend custody that stated support was current...

Don't get me wrong, he does pay...but not weekly like he's suppose to. He'll pay for one week, then skip 3-4, then pay a partial week, skip 2-4...

I really don't see how he can prove to a judge that he's the better choice for physical custody when he can't even keep his support current.

Thanks again for your reply!