                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

MONEY JUDGMENTS (§ 16.1-278.18)

A. Each juvenile and domestic relations district court may enter judgment for
money in any amount for arrears of support and maintenance of any person in
cases in which (i) the court has previously acquired personal jurisdiction over
all necessary parties or a proceeding in which such jurisdiction has been
obtained has been referred or transferred to the court by a circuit court or
another juvenile and domestic relations district court and (ii) payment of such
money has been previously ordered by the court, a circuit court, or another
juvenile and domestic relations district court. Such judgment shall include
reasonable attorneys&#8217; fees in cases where the total arrearage for support
and maintenance, excluding interest, is equal to or greater than three months of
support and maintenance. However, no judgment shall be entered unless the motion
of a party, a probation officer, a local director of social services, or the
court&#8217;s own motion is duly served on the person against whom judgment is
sought, in accordance with the applicable provisions of law relating to notice
when proceedings are reopened. The motion shall contain a caption stating the
name of the court, the title of the action, the names of all parties and the
address of the party against whom judgment is sought, the amount of arrearage
for which judgment is sought, and the date and time when such judgment will be
sought. No support order may be retroactively modified. It may, however, be
modified with respect to any period during which there is a pending petition for
modification in any court, but only from the date that notice of such petition
has been given to the responding party.

B. The judge or clerk of the court shall, upon written request of the obligee
under a judgment entered pursuant to this section, certify and deliver an
abstract of that judgment to the obligee or Department of Social Services, who
may deliver the abstract to the clerk of the circuit court having jurisdiction
over appeals from juvenile and domestic relations district court. The clerk
shall issue executions of the judgment.

C. If the judgment amount does not exceed the jurisdictional limits of
subdivision (1) of &#xA7; 16.1-77, exclusive of interest and any
attorneys&#8217; fees, an abstract of any such judgment entered pursuant to this
section may be delivered to the clerk of the general district court of the same
judicial district. The clerk shall issue executions upon the judgment.

D. Arrearages accumulated prior to July 1, 1976, shall also be subject to the
provisions of this section.

HISTORY: 1991, c. 534; 2002, c. 747; 2004, c. 204; 2005, c. 880.