The entry of an order or decree of support for a spouse or for support and maintenance of a child under the provisions of this chapter or §§ 20-107.1 through 20-109 shall constitute a final judgment for any sum or sums in arrears. This order shall also include an amount for interest on the arrearage including from the date support is established or retroactively modified at the judgment interest rate as established by § 6.2-302 unless the obligee, in a writing submitted to the court, waives the collection of interest; and may include reasonable attorney fees if the total arrearage for support and maintenance, excluding interest, is equal to or greater than three months of support and maintenance.
Va. Code Ann. § 20-78.2
Attorney fees and interest on support arrearage
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Arthur G. Kahn v. Eileen McNicholas (2017)
Most recently applied in Arthur G. Kahn v. Eileen McNicholas (January 2017)
1983, c. 488; 1987, c. 190; 1995, c. 483; 2005, c. 880; 2022, c. 527.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Virginia Law Portal (LIS). Reproduced from public-domain Virginia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.