31-8.1 - Parental duty of support.
§ 31-8.1. Parental duty of support.
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 31-8, a guardian of a minor's estateshall not make any distribution of income or corpus to or for the benefit ofa 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) thecourt, upon a finding that (a) the parent is unable to completely fulfill theparental duty of supporting the child, (b) the parent cannot for some reasonbe required to provide such support, or (c) a proposed distribution is beyondthe scope of parental duty of support in the circumstances of a specificcase. The existence of a parent-child relationship shall be determined inaccordance with the provisions of § 64.1-5.1. The court's authorization maybe contained in the order appointing the guardian or it may be obtained atany time prior to the disbursement in question; however, in extenuatingcircumstances where the interests of equity so require, the court'sauthorization may be obtained after the disbursement in question.
B. A guardian who desires to make any distribution specified in subsection Awhen neither (i) an existing court order nor (ii) the deed, will or otherinstrument under which the estate is derived authorizes it, shall file apetition in the court wherein his accounts may be settled, naming the ward asa defendant and setting forth the reasons why such distribution isappropriate. The court or clerk shall appoint an attorney-at-law as guardianad litem to represent the ward. Proceedings on the petition shall otherwiseconform in all respects to the procedures governing a civil action; theevidence may be taken orally and the petition may be filed in court upon fivedays' notice to the ward, unless it is shown that he is under the age of 14.No attorneys' fees shall be taxed in the costs, nor shall there be any writtax upon the petition. The court may fix reasonable attorneys' fees forservices in connection with the filing of the petition, and the court shallfix the guardian ad litem's fee. Such fees shall be paid out of the estateunless the court directs that they be paid by the petitioner. The clerk shallreceive a fee as provided in subdivision A 18 of § 17.1-275 for all servicesrendered thereon, to be paid by the guardian, out of the estate. Any noticerequired to be served under this section may be served by any person otherthan the guardian. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of thissubsection, if the court determines that an emergency exists, an orderauthorizing a distribution may be entered without the appointment of aguardian ad litem, with the court making such further provisions in its orderfor the protection of the ward's estate as it may deem proper in each case.
(1999, c. 16; 2002, c. 832; 2005, c. 681.)