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West Virginia judges are allowed to order “reimbursement support” as part of a child support or paternity case. Reimbursement support is child support for a period of time before the child support order began. The court can order reimbursement support for up to three years before the respondent was served with notice that a case for support or paternity had been filed.¹ 

However, if the child is more than three years old, reimbursement support can be ordered as far back as the date of the child’s birth if the petitioning parent can prove one of the following things:

• the respondent parent had actual knowledge that he was believed to be the child’s father;
• the respondent parent purposefully (deliberately) hid his/her location or avoided being served; or
• the respondent parent deliberately lied about important things that would have allowed the petitioning parent to move forward with his/her case.¹

Note: The supporting parent can also be ordered to pay medical expenses for things like pregnancy, childbirth, and genetic testing. The three-year limit for reimbursement support does not apply to these types of medical expenses.²

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-24-104(c), (g)
² W. Va. Code § 48-24-104(e), (f)