Agreement to Pay Mortgage Instead of Child Support Unenforceable

In the case of Wykle v. Wykle, the Circuit Court for the City of Roanoke, refused to allow a mother and father to agree that father would pay the mortgages on a home and allow daugther and mother to live there until daugther turned 21.  Such an agreement did not give the trial court a fixed support amount that could be modified or enforced in the future.  These “in lieu of” provisions deprive the court of jurisidiction to modify or enforce.  Child support contracts must have three elements.  One, they must be consistent with child’s best interests.  Two, they cannot prevent the court from exercising its pwoer to modify or enforce the amount.  Lastly, it may not ermate parents’ duty to pay support.  In this case, the agreement violated the second requirement and was not enforceable.