The Legislature recognizes that children have a right to share in their natural parents' level of living. Expenditures in families are not made in accordance with subsistence level standards, but are made in proportion to household income, and as parental incomes increase or decrease, the actual dollar expenditures for children also increase or decrease correspondingly. In order to ensure that children properly share in their parents' resources, regardless of family structure, these guidelines are structured so as to provide that after a consideration of respective parental incomes, child support will be related, to the extent practicable, to the standard of living that children would enjoy if they were living in a household with both parents present.
Structure West Virginia Code
Chapter 48. Domestic Relations
Article 13. Guidelines for Child Support Awards
§48-13-101. Guidelines to Ensure Uniformity and Increase Predictability; Presumption of Correctness
§48-13-102. Right of Children to Share in Parents' Level of Living
§48-13-103. Financial Contributions of Both Parents to Be Considered
§48-13-201. Use of Both Parents' Income in Determining Child Support
§48-13-202. Application of Expenses and Credits in Determining Child Support
§48-13-203. Amount Determined by Guidelines Presumed to Be Correct
§48-13-205. Present Income as Monthly Amounts
§48-13-301. Determining the Basic Child Support Obligation
§48-13-302. Incomes Below the Table for Determining Basic Child Support Obligations
§48-13-303. Incomes Above the Table for Determining Basic Child Support Obligations
§48-13-401. Basic Child Support Obligation in Basic Shared Parenting
§48-13-402. Division of Basic Child Support Obligation in Basic Shared Parenting
§48-13-403. Worksheet for Calculating Basic Child Support Obligation in Basic Shared Parenting Cases
§48-13-404. Additional Calculation to Be Made in Basic Shared Parenting Cases
§48-13-501. Extended Shared Parenting Adjustment
§48-13-502. Extended Shared Parenting Worksheet
§48-13-503. Split Physical Custody Adjustment
§48-13-601. Adjustment for Child Care Tax Credit
§48-13-602. Adjustment for Child Health Care
§48-13-701. Rebuttable Presumption That Child Support Award Is Correct
§48-13-702. Disregard of Formula
§48-13-703. Restructuring of Payments Upon Release of Inmate
§48-13-801. Tax Exemption for Child Due Support
§48-13-802. Investment of Child Support