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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>60021</law_id><section_number>20-88.56</section_number><catch_line>Costs and fees</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="20">Domestic Relations</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="5.3">Uniform Interstate Family Support Act</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="5">Civil Provisions of General Application</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> The petitioner may not be required to pay a filing fee or other costs. <a id="paragraph-219718" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/20-88.56/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> If an <span class="dictionary">obligee</span> prevails, a <span class="dictionary">responding tribunal</span> of the Commonwealth may assess against an <span class="dictionary">obligor</span> filing fees, reasonable attorney&#x2019;s fees, other costs, and necessary travel and other reasonable expenses incurred by the <span class="dictionary">obligee</span> and the <span class="dictionary">obligee</span>&#x2019;s witnesses. The tribunal may not assess fees, costs, or expenses against the <span class="dictionary">obligee</span> or the <span class="dictionary">support enforcement agency</span> of either the initiating or the <span class="dictionary">responding state</span> or <span class="dictionary">foreign country</span>, except as provided by other <span class="dictionary">law</span>. Attorney&#x2019;s fees may be taxed as costs, and may be ordered paid directly to the attorney, who may enforce the <span class="dictionary">order</span> in the attorney&#x2019;s own name. Payment of support owed to the <span class="dictionary">obligee</span> has priority over fees, costs and expenses. <a id="paragraph-219719" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/20-88.56/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="C"><p><span class="prefix-number">C.</span> The tribunal shall order the payment of costs and reasonable attorney&#x2019;s fees if it determines that a <span class="dictionary">hearing</span> was requested primarily for delay. In a proceeding under Articles 8 (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Registration of order for enforcement" href="/20-88.66/">20-88.66</a> et seq.) and 9 (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Procedure to register child support order of another state for modification" href="/20-88.74/">20-88.74</a> et seq.), a <span class="dictionary">hearing</span> is presumed to have been requested primarily for delay if a registered <span class="dictionary">support order</span> is confirmed or enforced without change. <a id="paragraph-219720" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/20-88.56/#C"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>1994, c. 673; 2005, c. 754; 2015, c. 727.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
