                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PARENTAL DUTY OF SUPPORT (§ 64.2-1801)

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of &#xA7; 64.2-1800, a guardian of a
minor&#8217;s estate shall not make any distribution of income or corpus of the
minor&#8217;s estate to or for the benefit of a ward who has a living parent,
whether or not the guardian is such parent, except to the extent that the
distribution is authorized by (i) the deed, will, or other instrument under
which the estate is derived or (ii) the circuit court, upon a finding that (a)
the parent is unable to completely fulfill the parental duty of supporting the
minor, (b) the parent cannot for some reason be required to provide such
support, or (c) a proposed distribution is beyond the scope of parental duty of
support in the circumstances of a specific case. The existence of a parent-child
relationship shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of &#xA7;
64.2-102. The circuit court&#8217;s authorization may be contained in the order
appointing the guardian or it may be obtained at any time prior to the
distribution in question; however, in extenuating circumstances where the
interests of equity so require, the court&#8217;s authorization may be obtained
after the distribution in question.

B. A guardian who desires to make any distribution specified in subsection A
that is not authorized by an existing court order or a deed, will, or other
instrument under which the estate is derived shall file a petition in the
circuit court wherein his accounts may be settled. The petition shall name the
ward as a defendant and set forth the reasons why such distribution is
appropriate. If the ward is 14 years of age or older, the guardian shall give
notice of the petition to the ward at least five days before filing the
petition. The court or clerk shall appoint an attorney-at-law as guardian ad
litem to represent the ward. Proceedings on the petition shall conform to the
procedures governing a civil action and the evidence may be taken orally. No
attorney fees shall be taxed in the costs and no writ tax shall be required upon
the petition. The court may fix reasonable attorney fees for services in
connection with the filing of the petition, and the court shall fix the guardian
ad litem&#8217;s fee. Such fees shall be paid out of the estate unless the court
directs that they be paid personally by the guardian. The clerk shall receive a
fee as provided in subdivision A 18 of &#xA7; 17.1-275 for all services rendered
thereon, to be paid by the guardian out of the estate. Any notice required to be
served under this section may be served by any person other than the guardian.

C. Notwithstanding subsection B, if the court determines that an emergency
exists, an order authorizing a distribution may be entered without the
appointment of a guardian ad litem, provided that the court makes such further
provisions in its order for the protection of the ward&#8217;s estate as it may
deem proper in each case.

HISTORY: 1999, c. 16, § 31-8.1; 2002, c. 832; 2005, c. 681; 2012, c. 614.