Virginia Divorce Law

1. FILING.
(a) The Complaint is filed in "Virginia: In the Circuit Court of __________"; (b) it is titled a “Bill of Complaint for Divorce” or “Bill of Complaint for Limited Divorce”; (c) it is filed by the “Complainant”; (d) the other spouse is the “Defendant”; (e) The divorce may be filed for in (i) the county or city in which the spouses last lived together; or at the option of the plaintiff; (ii) the county or city where the defendant resides, if the defendant is a resident of Virginia; or (iii) if the defendant is a non-resident of Virginia, the county or city where the plaintiff resides; and (f) the final papers are called the “Final Decree of Divorce”. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Sections 20-96 and 20-97.

2. RESIDENCY.
One of the spouses must have been a resident of Virginia for at least six months prior to filing for divorce. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-97.

3. GROUNDS FOR ABSOLUTE DIVORCE.
(a) living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year; or (b) living separate and apart without cohabitation for six months if there are no minor children and the spouses have entered into a separation agreement; (c) adultery (including homosexual acts); (d) conviction of a felony and imprisonment for one year; (e) cruelty, one year of the act complained of; and (f) willful desertion or abandonment continuing for one year. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-91.

4. GROUNDS FOR LIMITED DIVORCE.
The grounds for limited divorce are: (a) cruelty; (b) willful desertion or abandonment; and (c) reasonable apprehension of bodily injury. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-95.

5. MEDIATION AND PARENTING CLASSES.
The courts can order mediation of child custody disputes and parenting classes. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-124.4.

6. UNCONTESTED DIVORCE.
Written separation agreements are specifically authorized by statute. A party may waive service of process, but the waiver of service of process form must be signed in front of the clerk of the court or a notary. The testimony of either spouse must be corroborated by a witness. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Sections 20-99(1), 20-99.1:1, and 20-109.1.

7. CHILD CUSTODY.
Joint or sole child custody will be awarded based on the best interests of the child, taking into account the following factors: (a) the age of the child; (b) the child's preference; (c) the needs of the child; (d) the love and affection existing between the child and each parent; (e) the mental and physical health of all individuals involved; (f) the material needs of the child; (g) the role each parent has played in the care of the child; (h) any history of family abuse; and (i) any other factors necessary for the best interests of the child. No preference is to be given to either parent. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Sections 20-124.2 and 20-124.3.

8. CHILD SUPPORT.
Child support is determined based on guidelines are provided in the statute, which are presumed to be correct unless there is a showing that the amount would be unjust or inappropriate and the following: (a) support provided for other children or family members; (b) custody arrangements; (c) voluntary unemployment or under-employment, unless it is the custodial parent and the child is not in school and child care services are not available and the cost of child care services are not included in the computations for child support; (d) debts incurred during the marriage for the benefit of the child; (e) debts incurred for the purpose of producing income; (f) direct court-ordered payments for health insurance or educational expenses of the child; and (g) any extraordinary capital gains, such as gains from the sale of the marital home. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Sections 20-107.2, 20-108.1, and 20-108.2.

9. ALIMONY.
Either spouse may be awarded maintenance, to be paid in either a lump sum, periodic payments, or both. The factors for consideration are: (a) the ability and time necessary to acquire sufficient education and training to enable the spouse to find appropriate employment, and that spouse's future earning capacity; (b) the standard of living established during the marriage; (c) the duration of the marriage; (d) the financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including marital property apportioned to such spouse and such spouse's ability to meet his or her needs independently; (e) the contribution of each spouse to the marriage, including services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other spouse; (f) the tax consequences to each spouse; (g) the age of the spouses; (h) the physical and emotional conditions of the spouses; (i) the educational level of each spouse at the time of the marriage and at the time the action for support is commenced; (j) the property of the spouses; (k) the circumstances which contributed to the divorce; and (l) any other factor the court deems just and equitable. However, permanent maintenance will not be awarded to a spouse who was at fault in a divorce granted on the grounds of adultery, unless such a denial of support would be unjust. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Sections 20-95, 20-107.1 and 20-108.1.

10. EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY:
Each party will keep his or her separate property consisting of property (a) acquired prior to the marriage; (b) any gifts from third parties and inheritances; (c) any increase in the value of separate property, unless marital property or significant personal efforts contributed to such increases; and (d) any property acquired in exchange for separate property. The court will equitably divide marital property, consisting of (a) all property acquired during the marriage that is not separate property; (b) all property titled in the names of both spouses, whether as joint tenants or tenants-by-the entireties; (c) income from or increase in value of separate property during the marriage if the income or increase arose from significant personal efforts; (d) any separate property which is commingled with marital property and can not be clearly traced. The court may also order a payment from one spouse's retirement benefits, profit-sharing benefits, personal injury award, or worker's compensation award, to the other spouse. The court may order the division or transfer of jointly owned marital property or permit one party to purchase the other’s interest. The court may also grant a monetary award payable by one spouse to the other. In distributing property or granting a monetary award, the court considers the following factors: (a) the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition, care, and maintenance of the marital property; (b) the liquid or non-liquid character of the property; (c) the length of the marriage; (d) the age and health of the spouses; (e) the tax consequences; (f) any debts and liabilities of the spouses, the basis for such debts and liabilities, and the property which serves as security for such debts and liabilities; (g) how and when the property was acquired; (h) the circumstances that contributed to the divorce; (i) the contributions, monetary and non-monetary of each spouse to the well-being of the family; and (j) any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the spouses. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-107.3.

11. NAME CHANGE:
Upon request, a spouse may have his or her former name restored. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-121.4.

12. PREMARITAL AGREEMENTS.
The agreement shall be in writing and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration. The agreement is not enforceable if it is proven that (1) the agreement was not executed voluntarily; (2) the agreement was unconscionable when executed and before execution the party was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party and did not waive the right to the disclosure of this information. If the marriage is determined to be void, the agreement is enforceable only to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result. Code of Virginia; Title 20, Sections 20-149 and 20-151.