Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-278.17:1 — Formula for determination of pendente lite spousal support
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 9: Disposition, Code of Virginia.
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-278.17:1
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
A. There shall be a presumption in any judicial proceeding for pendente lite spousal support and maintenance under this title that the amount of the award that would result from the application of the formula set forth in this section is the correct amount of spousal support to be awarded. The court may deviate from the presumptive amount as provided in subsection D.
B. If the court is determining both an award of pendente lite spousal support and maintenance and an award of child support, the court shall first make a determination of the amount of the award of pendente lite spousal support, if any, owed by one party to the other under this section.
C. If the parties have minor children in common, the presumptive amount of an award of pendente lite spousal support and maintenance shall be the difference between 26 percent of the payor spouse's monthly gross income and 58 percent of the payee spouse's monthly gross income. If the parties have no minor children in common, the presumptive amount of the award shall be the difference between 27 percent of the payor spouse's monthly gross income and 50 percent of the payee spouse's monthly gross income. For the purposes of this section, monthly gross income shall have the same meaning as it does in § 20-108.2 .
D. The court may deviate from the presumptive amount for good cause shown, including any relevant evidence relating to the parties' current financial circumstances or the impact of any tax exemption and any credits resulting from such exemption that indicates the presumptive amount is inappropriate.
E. The presumptive formula set forth in this section shall only apply to cases where the parties' combined monthly gross income does not exceed $10,000.
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