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Laws & Courts:
Virginia Law - state statutes. Title 20, Chapters 6, 6.1, and 7. Judicial System Homepage - downloadable forms, database searches for court opinions, and info on the various branches of the Virginia Judiciary.
Legal Divorce Information for Men in Virginia Child Support
Child Support Profile - profile the state's child support laws. Easy to use table layout includes information on UIFSA, reciprocity, age of majority (emancipation), statute of limitations, income withholding,
paternity, support order establishment, support enforcement, modification and review/adjustment. From the the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement's "Interstate Roster and Referral Guide." Child Support Guidelines - as defined in the official state statutes. Page includes a child support table for calculating amounts. Division of Child Support Enforcement - overview of Virginia's child support system from the agency in charge of enforcement. This site includes statistical data and a directory listing of agency locations. Critique of the Virginia CS System - from
Roger F. Gay, PICSLT Project Leader and
Barry Koplen, member of the Virginia Quadrennial
Child Support Guideline Review Panel.
Additional Resources:
Virginia State Bar - court news and legal information for the public and attorneys, from the VSB. Fairfax Bar Association - helpful links to Fairfax and state legal information are available from this voluntary bar association. Virginia Law Research Center - good site for legal research. Searchable court opinion database, and statute listings for Virginia are available. Children's Rights Council - national nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that works to assure children meaningful and continuing contact with both their parents and extended family regardless of the parents' marital status.
Legal overview Divorce in Virginia requires that you have been resident for at least 6 months. There are two grounds upon which to obtain a divorce in Virginia, a bed and board decree and a divorce from the bond of matrimony. Read our detailed legal summary of Virginia including grounds, residency, child custody, child support, alimony, property, settlement agreements, and annulments.
Residency
If you seek to file a divorce in Virginia, it is important to be aware of the residency requirements prior to filing for your divorce. In order to file for divorce in Virginia you must have be a resident of Virginia for at least 6 months. The papers for dissolution of marriage must also be filed in a county where either of the spouses resides.
Grounds
There are two types of divorce in Virginia. A bed and board decree is a partial or qualified divorce under which a husband and wife are legally separated from each other but are not permitted to marry another person. A divorce from the bond of matrimony is an absolute divorce that ends the marriage. Either party to a bed and board decree can ask the court to have that decree "merged" into a divorce from the bond of matrimony after one year from the time the separation commenced. Even if the husband and wife agree that a marriage should be ended, "grounds" (valid reasons for divorce prescribed by law) must exist and be proved to the court.
The bed and board grounds are: Willful desertion or abandonment and Cruelty and reasonable apprehension of bodily harm. Desertion or abandonment is a breaking off of cohabitation with an intent to desert in the mind of the offender. Both must combine to make the desertion complete. Cruelty and reasonable apprehension of bodily harm is defined as acts that tend to cause bodily harm and thus render living together unsafe amount to the cruelty that is grounds for divorce. Mental cruelty alone is not normally a ground for divorce in Virginia, but if the conduct is such that it affects and endangers the mental or physical health of the divorce-seeking spouse, this can amount to cruelty sufficient to establish grounds for divorce.
A divorce from the bond of matrimony includes adultery or sodomy, conviction of a felony, one year after desertion or cruelty, and a separation divorce. In order to get a divorce by separation the parties must have lived separately for over one year. A divorce for desertion or cruelty may be awarded after a year has passed from the date of separation. If the husband or wife has been convicted of a felony and sentenced to confinement for more than one year and is in fact confined, the other has grounds for a divorce from the bond of matrimony as long as he or she does not resume cohabitation with the guilty spouse after knowledge of the confinement. Proving adultery is very fact specific. As in all grounds for divorce in Virginia, there must be some corroboration of the testimony of a spouse in proving adultery, and the evidence should be strict, satisfactory and conclusive that the other spouse did in fact engage in sexual relations with another person although "eye witness" testimony to the acts is not required, in most cases circumstantial evidence may be sufficient.
Annulments
Unlike a divorce that dissolves a valid marriage, an annulment is a legal decree that a marriage is void. In addition, an annulment proceeding can resolve some of the same issues that would be the subject of a divorce proceeding, such as child custody and support and alimony. Annulments are granted only in limited situations and cannot be granted merely because the marriage is of short duration. They are normally not granted for "religious" reasons.
Property
Virginia statutes now provide for the "equitable" distribution of the marital property of the marriage at the time of the final divorce between the parties. "Marital Property" is defined as all jointly owned property and all other property, other than separate property, acquired by either or both of the parties during the marriage and up to the time of the final separation of the parties. "Separate Property" is property owned by one party at the time of the marriage or inherited property or gifts to one party from a third person and maintained as separate property. Where "Marital Property" and "Separate Property" are mixed together or where "Separate Property" is increased through the active efforts of either party during the marriage, then such property may be classified as "Part Marital" and "Part Separate" property.
In making its equitable distribution awards the courts are not only authorized to make monetary awards to one of the parties, but may also divide or order sold or transfer jointly owned marital property to one of the parties. The court in making its equitable distribution awards is not required to divide the marital property on an equal basis but rather, in deciding what an equitable division of marital property should be, will consider various factors listed in the Virginia Equitable Distribution Statute, including the relative monetary and non-monetary contributions of each of the parties to the well being of the family and to the acquisition and care of the marital property. Pensions and retirement plans are subject to the Virginia Equitable Distribution Statute to the extent that the same were accumulated during the course of the marriage of the parties.
Alimony
Due to increasing changes in the law and in society, including changes in sexual equality, this area of the law of divorce is in the process of great change. Under recent changes in the Virginia law, the fault of a spouse in causing a divorce may not be a complete bar to obtaining spousal support, but the cause of separation will be a factor that the court will consider in determining whether or not to award spousal support. Where the grounds of divorce are adultery or sodomy and a spouse is found guilty of adultery or sodomy, said spouse will be barred from obtaining spousal support except in cases of manifest injustice. Spousal support, when awarded, may be periodic and/or in a lump sum, the amount of which depends upon such factors as the respective ages, assets and earning potential of the parties and the duration and history during the marriage. Spouse support is not awarded to punish a guilty spouse but rather is to lessen the financial impact of divorce on the other spouse.
Child Custody
This is the most crucial issue in most divorces. In determining the custody of minor (under eighteen) children, the court is guided by one standard--the best interests of the child. Custody will not be given to a parent as a reward or as punishment to the guilty parent but rather to the one most adaptable to the task of caring for the child and able to control and direct the child.
Other factors considered may include the age of the parent and child, the physical and mental condition of the parent and child, the relationship existing between each parent and each child, the needs of the child, the role played by each parent in the upbringing and caring for the child, the home where the child will live and the child's wishes if the child is of sufficient age, intelligence and maturity to make such a decision. Custody may be changed if there is a marital change in circumstances.
The court will normally set visitation rights if the parents cannot voluntarily agree upon satisfactory arrangements. An important factor to the court in most custody cases is which parent will be the most likely to see to it that the non-custodial parent remains a strong part of the child or children's lives.
Child Support
Normally the party not having custody will be called upon to contribute to the support of the minor child. This could be an obligation of the mother as well as the father, or both, if a third person has custody of the child. The court is guided by the needs of the child and the ability of the supporting parent or parents to pay. The use of the state Child Support Guidelines provides an amount of child support that is presumed to be correct, but the court may deviate from these guidelines in appropriate circumstances. The award is subject to change so long as the obligation to support remains. It may be increased or decreased if a material change occurs in the circumstances of either or both of the parents of the child. Non-custodial parents who have their children for more than 110 days per year for visitation have their child support calculated using a different formula that is likely to make that support lower.
Settlement Agreement
A settlement agreement is a written contract between the parties that sets forth their rights, duties and obligations that arise out of their separation and divorce and may include such things as the division of their property, spousal support, attorney's fees, custody of their children and child support. Such agreements are encouraged since they may amicably settle the rights of the husband and wife in the estate and property of the other.
