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CHAPTER 48A. ENFORCEMENT OF FAMILY OBLIGATIONS.
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§48A-1-1. Short title.
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Family Obligations Enforcement Act."

§48A-1-2. Statement of purpose and intent.
It is the purpose of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to improve and facilitate support
enforcement efforts in this state, with the primary goal being to establish and enforce reasonable
child support orders and thereby improve opportunities for children. It is the intent of the
Legislature that to the extent practicable, the laws of this state should encourage and require a
child's parents to meet the obligation of providing that child with adequate food, shelter, clothing,
education, and health and child care.

§48A-1-3. Calculation of interest.
(a) If an obligation to pay interest arises under this chapter, the rate of interest is that specified
in section thirty-one, article six, chapter fifty-six of this code. Interest shall accrue only upon the
outstanding principal of such obligation. On and after the ninth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five, this section shall be construed to permit the accumulation of simple interest,
and may not be construed to permit the compounding of interest. Interest which accrued on
unpaid installments accruing before the ninth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five,
may not be modified by any court, irrespective of whether such installment accrued simple or
compound interest: Provided, That unpaid installments upon which interest was compounded
before the effective date of this section shall accrue only simple interest thereon on and after the
ninth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, prejudgment interest shall not be
awarded in a domestic relations action. The circuit court may only award prejudgment interest in
a domestic relations action against a party if the court finds, in writing, that the party engaged in
conduct that would violate subsection (b), rule eleven of the West Virginia rules of civil
procedure. If prejudgment interest is awarded, the court shall calculate prejudgment interest from
the date the offending representation was presented to the court.

§48A-1-3a.
Repealed.
Acts, 1996 Reg. Sess., Ch. 110.
§48A-1-4. Severability.
The provisions of every section or article of this chapter whether enacted before or
subsequent to the effective date of this section, shall be severable so that if any provision of any
such section or article is held unconstitutional or void, the remaining provisions of such section or
article shall remain valid, unless the court finds the valid provisions are so essentially and
inseparably connected with, and so dependent upon, the unconstitutional or void provision that
the court cannot presume the Legislature would have enacted the remaining valid provisions
without the unconstitutional or void one, or unless the court finds the remaining valid provisions,
standing alone, are incomplete and are incapable of being executed in accordance with the
legislative intent. The provisions of this section shall be fully applicable to all future amendments or
additions to this chapter with like effect as if the provisions of this section were set forth in
extenso in every such amendment or addition and were reenacted as a part thereof unless such
amendment or addition contains its own severability clause.
ARTICLE 1A. DEFINITIONS.
§48A-1A-1. Application of definitions.
For purposes of this chapter and chapter forty-eight of this code, unless the context clearly
requires otherwise, the words and phrases defined in the following sections of this article, and any
variations of those words and phrases required by the context, shall have the meanings ascribed
to them in this article.
§48A-1A-2. Adjusted gross income.
(a) "Adjusted gross income" means gross income less the payment of previously ordered
child support, spousal support or separate maintenance.
(b) A further deduction from gross income for additional dependents may be allowed by the
court or master if the parent has legal dependents other than those for whom support is being
determined. An adjustment may be used in the establishment of a child support order or in a
review of a child support order. However, in cases where a modification is sought, the
adjustment should not be used to the extent that it results in a support amount lower than the
previously existing order for the children who are the subject of the modification. The court or
master may elect to use the following adjustment because it allots equitable shares of support to
all of the support obligor’s legal dependents. Using the income of the support obligor only,
determine the basic child support obligation (from the table of basic child support obligations in
section three, article one-b of this chapter) for the number of additional legal dependents living
with the support obligor. Multiply this figure by 0.75 and subtract this amount from the support
obligor's gross income.
(c) As used in this section, the term "legal dependents" means:
(1) Minor natural or adopted children who live with the parent; and
(2) Natural or adopted adult children who are totally incapacitated because of physical or
emotional disabilities and for whom the parent owes a duty of support.
§48A-1A-3. Attributed income.
(a) "Attributed income" means income not actually earned by a parent, but which may be
attributed to the parent because he or she is unemployed, is not working full time, or is working
below full earning capacity, or has nonperforming or under-performing assets. Income may be
attributed to a parent if the court or master evaluates the parent’s earning capacity in the local
economy (giving consideration to relevant evidence that pertains to the parent’s work history,
qualifications, education and physical or mental condition) and determines that the parent is
unemployed, is not working full time, or is working below full earning capacity. Income may also
be attributed to a parent if the court or master finds that the obligor has nonperforming or
under-performing assets.
(b) If an obligor: (1) Voluntarily leaves employment or voluntarily alters his or her pattern of
employment so as to be unemployed, underemployed or employed below full earning capacity;
(2) is able to work and is available for full-time work for which he or she is fitted by prior training
or experience; and (3) is not seeking employment in the manner that a reasonably prudent person
in his or her circumstances would do, then an alternative method for the court or master to
determine gross income is to attribute to the person an earning capacity based on his or her
previous income. If the obligor's work history, qualifications, education or physical or mental
condition cannot be determined, or if there is an inadequate record of the obligor's previous
income, the court or master may, as a minimum, base attributed income on full-time employment
(at forty hours per week) at the federal minimum wage in effect at the time the support obligation
is established.
(c) Income shall not be attributed to an obligor who is unemployed or underemployed or is
otherwise working below full earning capacity if any of the following conditions exist:
(1) The parent is providing care required by the children to whom the parties owe a joint
legal responsibility for support, and such children are of preschool age or are handicapped or
otherwise in a situation requiring particular care by the parent;
(2) The parent is pursuing a plan of economic self-improvement which will result, within a
reasonable time, in an economic benefit to the children to whom the support obligation is owed,
including, but not limited to, self-employment or education: Provided, That if the parent is
involved in an educational program, the court or master shall ascertain that the person is making
substantial progress toward completion of the program;
(3) The parent is, for valid medical reasons, earning an income in an amount less that
previously earned; or
(4) The court or master makes a written finding that other circumstances exist which would
make the attribution of income inequitable: Provided, That in such case, the court or master may
decrease the amount of attributed income to an extent required to remove such inequity.
(d) The court or master may attribute income to a parent’s nonperforming or
under-performing assets, other than the parent’s primary residence. Assets may be considered to
be nonperforming or under-performing to the extent that they do not produce income at a rate
equivalent to the current six-month certificate of deposit rate, or such other rate that the court or
master determines is reasonable.
§48A-1A-4. Automatic data processing and retrieval system.
"Automatic data processing and retrieval system" means a computerized data processing
system designed to do the following:
(1) To control, account for and monitor all of the factors in the support enforcement
collection and paternity determination process, including, but not limited to:
(A) Identifiable correlation factors (such as social security numbers, names, dates of birth,
home addresses and mailing addresses of any individual with respect to whom support
obligations are sought to be established or enforced and with respect to any person to whom
such support obligations are owing) to assure sufficient compatibility among the systems of
different jurisdictions to permit periodic screening to determine whether such individual is paying
or is obligated to pay support in more than one jurisdiction;
(B) Checking of records of such individuals on a periodic basis with federal, interstate,
intrastate and local agencies;
(C) Maintaining the data necessary to meet applicable federal reporting requirements on a
timely basis; and
(D) Delinquency and enforcement activities;
(2) To control, account for and monitor the collection and distribution of support payments
(both interstate and intrastate) the determination, collection and distribution of incentive payments
(both interstate and intrastate), and the maintenance of accounts receivable on all amounts owed,
collected and distributed;
(3) To control, account for and monitor the costs of all services rendered, either directly or
by exchanging information with state agencies responsible for maintaining financial management
and expenditure information;
(4) To provide access to the records of the department of health and human resources in
order to determine if a collection of a support payment causes a change affecting eligibility for or
the amount of aid under such program;
(5) To provide for security against unauthorized access to, or use of, the data in such system;
(6) To facilitate the development and improvement of the income withholding and other
procedures designed to improve the effectiveness of support enforcement through the monitoring
of support payments, the maintenance of accurate records regarding the payment of support and
the prompt provision of notice to appropriate officials with respect to any arrearage in support
payments which may occur; and
(7) To provide management information on all cases from initial referral or application through
collection and enforcement.
§48A-1A-5. Basic child support obligation.
"Basic child support obligation" means the base amount of child support due by both parents
as determined by the table of basic child support obligations set forth in section three, article
one-b of this chapter, based upon the combined adjusted gross income of the parents and the
number of children to whom support is due.
§48A-1A-6. Chief judge.
"Chief judge" means the circuit judge in a judicial circuit that has only one circuit judge, or the
chief judge of the circuit court in a judicial circuit that has two or more circuit judges.
48A-1A-7. Child support enforcement division.
"Child support enforcement division" means the agency created under the provisions of article
two of this chapter, or any public or private entity or agency contracting to provide a service. The
"child advocate office" or" child support enforcement division" is that agency intended by the
Legislature to be the single and separate organizational unit of state government administering
programs of child and spousal support enforcement and meeting the staffing and organizational
requirements of the secretary of the federal department of health and human services. A reference
in this chapter and elsewhere in this code to the "child advocate office" shall be interpreted to
refer to the child support enforcement division.
§48A-1A-8. Children's advocate.
"Children's advocate" or "advocate" means any public or private agency, entity or person
providing child support enforcement services required by this chapter. The term includes those
persons or agencies or entities providing services under the direction of or pursuant to a contract
with the child support enforcement division as provided for in article two of this chapter and in
any such contract.
§48A-1A-9. Combined adjusted gross income.
"Combined adjusted gross income" means the combined monthly adjusted gross incomes of
both parents.
§48A-1A-10. Contingent fee agreement.
(a) "Contingent fee agreement" means a contract under which an attorney may be
compensated for work in progress, dependent on the occurrence of some future event which is
not certain and absolute. As such, a contingent fee agreement is not an asset, but is potential
income or income capacity. This potential income may have current value, and a portion of that
current value, if any, may be considered to be a marital asset. In the event a party seeks to
quantify the current value of a particular contingent fee agreement for the purpose of establishing
the value of the agreement as marital property, the court must find that the party has proved such
value by a preponderance of the evidence. Factors to be considered by the court include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(1) The nature of the particular case or claim which underlies the agreement;
(2) The jurisdiction or venue of any projected trial or proceeding;
(3) Any historical data relevant to verdicts or settlements within the jurisdiction where the
case or claim is pending or may be brought;
(4) The terms and particulars of the agreement;
(5) The status of the case or claim at valuation date;
(6) The amount of time spent working on the case or claim prior to the valuation date, and an
analysis of the nature of how that time was spent, including, but not limited to, such activities such
as investigation, research, discovery, trial or appellate practice;
(7) The extent of the person's active role in the work in process, whether as an actual
participant or as an indirect participant such as a partner, local counsel or other ancillary role;
(8) The age of the case or claim;
(9) The expenses accrued or projected to bring the case or claim to resolution, including any
office overhead attributable to case or claim; and
(10) The probable tax consequences attendant to a successful resolution of the case or claim.
(b) The provisions of this section as enacted during the regular session of the Legislature, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, are to be applied prospectively and shall have no application to
any action for annulment, divorce or separate maintenance that was commenced on or before the
effective date of this section.
§48A-1A-11. Court.
"Court" means a circuit court of this state, unless the context in which such term is used
clearly indicates that reference to some other court is intended.
§48A-1A-12. Court of competent jurisdiction.
"Court of competent jurisdiction" means a circuit court within this state or a court or
administrative agency of another state having jurisdiction and due legal authority to deal with the
subject matter of the establishment and enforcement of support obligations. Whenever in this
chapter reference is made to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or similar wording,
such language shall be interpreted so as to include orders of an administrative agency entered in a
state where enforceable orders may by law be properly made and entered by such administrative
agency.
§48A-1A-13. Custodial parent.
"Custodial parent" or "custodial parent of a child" means a parent who has been granted
custody of a child by a court of competent jurisdiction. "Noncustodial parent" means a parent of
a child with respect to whom custody has been adjudicated with the result that such parent has
not been granted custody of the child.
§48A-1A-14. Director.
"Director" means any person appointed pursuant to section thirteen, article two of this
chapter, who directs all child support establishment and enforcement services for the child
support enforcement division.
§48A-1A-15. Domestic relations matter.
"Domestic relations matter" means any circuit court proceeding involving child custody, child
visitation, child support or alimony.
§48A-1A-16. Employer.
"Employer" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, association, public or
private corporation, the United States or any federal agency, this state or any political subdivision
of this state, any other state or a political subdivision of another state and any other legal entity
which hires and pays an individual for his services.
§48A-1A-17. Extraordinary medical expenses.
"Extraordinary medical expenses" means uninsured medical expenses in excess of two
hundred fifty dollars per year per child which are recurring and can reasonably be predicted by
the court or master at the time of establishment or modification of a child support order. Such
expenses shall include, but not be limited to, insurance copayments and deductibles, reasonable
costs for necessary orthodontia, dental treatment, asthma treatments, physical therapy, vision
therapy and eye care, and any uninsured chronic health problem. Nonrecurring or subsequently
occurring uninsured medical expenses in excess of two hundred fifty dollars per year per child
shall be separately divided between the parties in proportion to their adjusted gross incomes.
§48A-1A-18. Family law master.
"Family law master" or "master" means a person appointed to such position under the
provisions of section one, article four of this chapter.
§48A-1A-19. Gross income.
(a) "Gross income" means all earned and unearned income. The word "income" means gross
income unless the word is otherwise qualified or unless a different meaning clearly appears from
the context. When determining whether an income source should be included in the child support
calculation, the court shall consider the income source if it would have been available to pay
child-rearing expenses had the family remained intact or, in cases involving a nonmarital birth, if a
household had been formed.
(b) "Gross income" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Earnings in the form of salaries, wages, commissions, fees, bonuses, profit sharing, tips
and other income;
(2) Any payment from a pension plan, an insurance contract, an annuity, social security
benefits, unemployment compensation, supplemental employment benefits, workers'
compensation benefits and state lottery winnings and prizes;
(3) Interest, dividends or royalties;
(4) In kind payments such as business expense accounts, business credit accounts and
tangible property such as automobiles and meals, to the extent that they provide the parent with
property or services he or she would otherwise have to provide: Provided, That reimbursement
of actual expenses incurred and documented shall not be included as gross income;
(5) Attributed income of the parent, calculated in accordance with the provisions of section
three, article one-a of this chapter;
(6) An amount equal to fifty percent of the average compensation paid for personal services
as overtime compensation during the preceding thirty-six months: Provided, That overtime
compensation may be excluded from gross income if the parent with the overtime income
demonstrates to the court that the overtime work is voluntarily performed and that he or she did
not have a previous pattern of working overtime hours prior to separation or the birth of a
nonmarital child;
(7) Income from self-employment or the operation of a business, minus ordinary and
necessary expenses which are not reimbursable, and which are lawfully deductible in computing
taxable income under applicable income tax laws, and minus FICA and medicare contributions
made in excess of the amount that would be paid on an equal amount of income if the parent was
not self-employed: Provided, That the amount of monthly income to be included in gross income
shall be determined by averaging the income from such employment during the previous
thirty-six-month period or during a period beginning with the month in which the parent first
received such income, whichever period is shorter;
(8) Income from seasonal employment or other sporadic sources: Provided, That the amount
of monthly income to be included in gross income shall be determined by averaging the income
from seasonal employment or other sporadic sources received during the previous
thirty-six-month period or during a period beginning with the month in which the parent first
received such compensation, whichever period is shorter; and
(9) Alimony and separate maintenance receipts.
(c) Depending on the circumstances of the particular case, the court may also include
severance pay, capital gains and net gambling, gifts or prizes as gross income.
(d) "Gross income" does not include:
(1) Income received by other household members such as a new spouse;
(2) Child support received for the children of another relationship;
(3) Means-tested assistance such as temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental
security income and food stamps; and
(4) A child’s income unless the court determines that the child’s income substantially reduces
the family’s living expenses.
§48A-1A-20. Guardian of the property of a child.
"Guardian of the property of a child" means a person lawfully invested with the power, and
charged with the duty, of managing and controlling the estate of a child.
§48A-1A-21. Individual entitled to support enforcement services under the
provisions of this chapter and the provisions of Title IV-D of the federal Social
Security Act.
(a) "Individual entitled to support enforcement services under the provisions of this chapter
and the provisions of Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act" means:
(1) An individual who has applied for or is receiving services from the child support
enforcement division and who is the custodial parent of a child, or the primary caretaker of a
child, or the guardian of the property of a child when:
(A) Such child has a parent and child relationship with an obligor who is not such custodial
parent, primary caretaker or guardian; and
(B) The obligor with whom the child has a parent and child relationship is not meeting an
obligation to support the child, or has not met such obligation in the past; or
(2) An individual who has applied for or is receiving services from the child support
enforcement division and who is an adult or an emancipated minor whose spouse or former
spouse has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction to pay spousal support to the
individual, whether such support is denominated alimony or separate maintenance, or is identified
by some other terminology, thus establishing a support obligation with respect to such spouse,
when the obligor required to pay such spousal support is not meeting the obligation, or has not
met such obligation in the past; or
(3) Any individual who is an obligee in a support order, entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction after the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three.
(b) The filing of an action wherein the establishment or enforcement of child support is an
issue constitutes an application to receive services from the child support enforcement division, if
the individual filing the action is otherwise eligible for such services: Provided, That any such
individual has the option to decline the receipt of such services.
§48A-1A-22. Obligee.
"Obligee" means:
(1) An individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a
support order has been issued or a judgment determining parentage has been rendered;
(2) A state or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty of support or support
order have been assigned or which has independent claims based on financial assistance provided
to an individual obligee; or
(3) An individual seeking a judgment determining parentage of the individual's child.
§48A-1A-23. Obligor.
"Obligor" means an individual or the estate of a decedent:
(1) Who owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support;
(2) Who is alleged, but has not been adjudicated, to be a parent of a child; or
(3) Who is liable under a support order.
§48A-1A-24. Primary caretaker of a child.
"Primary caretaker of a child" means a parent or other person having actual physical custody
of a child without a court order granting such custody and who has been primarily responsible for
exercising parental rights and responsibilities with regard to such child.
§48A-1A-25. Secretary.
"Secretary" means the secretary of the department of health and human resources.
§48A-1A-26. Shared physical custody.
"Shared physical custody" means an arrangement under which each parent keeps a child or
children overnight for more than thirty-five percent of the year and under which both parents
contribute to the expenses of the child or children in addition to the payment of child support.
§48A-1A-27. Source of income.
"Source of income" means an employer or successor employer or any other person who
owes or will owe income to an obligor.
§48A-1A-28. Split physical custody.
"Split physical custody" means a situation where there is more than one child and where each
parent has physical custody of at least one child.
§48A-1A-29. Support.
"Support" means the payment of money including interest:
(a) For a child or spouse, ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, whether the payment
is ordered in an emergency, temporary, permanent or modified order, decree or judgment of
such court, and the amount of unpaid support shall bear simple interest from the date it accrued,
at a rate of ten dollars upon one hundred dollars per annum, and proportionately for a greater or
lesser sum, or for a longer or shorter time;
(b) To third parties on behalf of a child or spouse, including, but not limited to, payments to
medical, dental or educational providers, payments to insurers for health and hospitalization
insurance, payments of residential rent or mortgage payments, payments on an automobile or
payments for day care; and/or
(c) For a mother, ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, for the necessary expenses
incurred by or for the mother in connection with her confinement or of other expenses in
connection with the pregnancy of the mother.
§48A-1A-30. Support order.
(a) For cases being enforced pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, "support
order" means a judgment, decree or order, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification,
issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, for the support and
maintenance of a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the
issuing state, or a child and the parent with whom the child is living, which provides for monetary
support, health care, arrearage or reimbursements, and which may include related costs and fees,
interest and penalties, income withholding, attorneys' fees and other relief.
(b) For all other cases, "support order" means an order as defined in subsection (a) of this
section and, in addition, an order for the support and maintenance of a spouse or former spouse.
§48A-1A-31. Unreimbursed health care expenses.
"Unreimbursed health care expenses" means the child’s portion of health insurance premiums
and extraordinary medical expenses.
§48A-1A-32. Work-related child care costs.
"Work-related child care costs" shall mean the cost of child care the parent incurs due to
employment or the search for employment.

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