Custody & Visitation

Parents, relatives and other interested parties may file a Custody and visitation petition. Physical custody determines where the child will live most of the time. Legal custody determines who can sign legal documents for the child.

Visitation establishes a schedule for non-custodial parents or relatives to visit the child.

Custody

A custody and/or visitation petition can be filed in Arlington if:

The child lives in Arlington and has lived in Virginia for the past 6 months.
The child has a previous court order from this court, and you were not a party in the previous proceeding.

Filing fee is $25, no additional fee for visitation if it's filed at the same time.

If an address for a party is unavailable at time of filing, an order of publication is required. This will be an additional fee of $55.

Paternity

According to the section § 63.2-1913 of the Code of Virginia, a paternity petition can be filed before a child turns 18 years old upon request, to be verified by oath or by a court-ordered DNA test. Contact the Intake Office to discuss these options

Paternity filing fee is $12 per person involved.

Visitation

Establishes a schedule for non-custodial parents or relatives to visit the child.

Filing Fee for visitation is $25, if custody is done at the same time both are $25.

Child Support

A petition can be filed for Child Support in Arlington if the child lives in the county of is the parent responsible to pay child support lives or works in Arlington County. There are three ways to claim child support:

Via Court order, starting a petition at the Intake Office. The respondent will be order the respondent or non-custodial parent to pay a child support amount directly to the petitioner, custodia parent or child guardian.
Via Administrative order, by applying to the Virginia Department of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE). DCSE calculates the amount based on the guidelines for the State and collects the payment from the payor to deposit into an account owned by the child custodian.
Combined option. A complaint placed in court and an application submitted to DCSE for collection of the court-ordered amount.

There is no fee to file for Child Support.

Child-Custody-Support-and-Visitation-Brochure-2-1.pdf(PDF, 152KB)

Spousal Support

Spousal support may be filed in this court if the couple are married and separated, and the petitioner lives in Arlington or the respondent lives or works in Arlington.

Documents

To start any petition at the Intake Office, a complete Intake Sheet is required. Please find the form below and submit it to: JDRC-INTAKE@Arlingtonva.us

INTAKE-SHEET-English.pdf(PDF, 136KB)

INTAKE-SHEET-Espanol.pdf(PDF, 130KB)

Have an existing custody or visitation order?, To modify or to file a motion when the other party fails to comply with a court order, contact the Clerk’s Office.

Contact Us

Phone

703-228-4500

Location

Arlington Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court Intake

1425 N. Courthouse Rd, Ste. 4300

Arlington, VA

22201

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