You and your spouse must agree on all divorce-related issues when you want to pursue an uncontested divorce. Otherwise, you would have to go to trial and have a judge make the decisions. A crucial requirement for a non-contested divorce is a marital settlement...
Divorce
Military members have unique considerations in divorce
A divorce is a challenging process, laden with emotional turbulence and practical complexities. For military members, it may come with additional considerations due to the unique lifestyle and regulations associated with military service. Understanding these specific...
Is divorce becoming more or less common?
People’s perceptions of divorce can vary dramatically. For instance, some people will say that half of all marriages end in divorce. Others will say that this is a myth. Some may say that divorce is constantly growing more common. Others will note that they believe...
3 common questions and answers about separation in Virginia
Are you and your spouse thinking about getting a divorce? If so, you’ll need to abide by Virginia law which states that you and your spouse have to live separately for a year (six months without minor children) before seeking a no-fault divorce. Many couples...
How honest should you really be with your divorce representative?
As if getting divorced isn’t hard enough, you learn you must share many possibly intimate details with a virtual stranger—your divorce representative. Disclosing private information about life and marriage is undesirable for most, yet doing so ensures your counsel is...
Pursuing an equitable distribution of your marital assets
The state of Virginia is not a community property state. As such, spouses who find themselves arguing a divorce case in front of a judge are not facing the inevitability that the value of their marital estate will be divided 50-50 between them. Virginia is an...
What divorcing federal employees need to know about RBCOs
If you’re a federal employee, you likely have a tidy sum building up in your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), even if you don’t think about it much. That’s the federal government’s version of the 401(k) retirement plan that private employers offer. If you’re divorcing,...
If your spouse isn’t hiding assets, are they dissipating them?
You’re probably well aware that some people will attempt to hide assets during divorce. You know that you don’t want your spouse to hide these assets from you so that you don’t get a portion of them, and you’ve taken the time to really consider everything that the two...
Keep your divorce process off of social media
It’s very tempting to use social media to tell everyone about everything that is happening in your life, especially when things are going poorly and you just want to vent. People who are going through a divorce sometimes feel a compulsion to write about the process on...
What happens if you discover your spouse has hidden assets?
The longer you stay married, the more property and debts you share with your spouse. Under Virginia's marital property laws, everything that you earn or acquire while married is usually marital property. In the event of a divorce, you and your spouse either agree on...