Posted on March 20, 2023 in Divorce

Are you and your spouse thinking about getting a divorce? If so, you'll need to abide by 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 considering separation have questions about it. Here are three frequently asked questions surrounding separation.

Will our separation harm our children?

Separation will not hurt your kids as long as you . The best way to handle separation with children is to acknowledge the difficulties of the situation, seek emotional support elsewhere and provide comfort and security to your kids.

Can my spouse and I live in the same home while separated?

Even while finalizing a divorce, some couples live together to save money or because they have nowhere else to go. You and your spouse can stay in the same building as long as you sleep in different bedrooms, don't share bank accounts and don't behave as a couple. In other words, you basically must live like roommates.

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 Posted on March 07, 2023 in Divorce

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 well-prepared to fight for your rights.

Although you need not disclose every tiny detail of your life, you should provide all relevant and potentially relevant information. When your representative understands your circumstances, they have better odds of helping you resolve your in Virginia family courts.

Share sensitive information

You won't want to, but you should inform your divorce counsel if you committed adultery or abused your spouse. Otherwise, they will be genuinely surprised and less able to protect you if the topic arises. Telling them in advance allows your representative to prepare an appropriate response that won't harm your case.

Disclose financial misconduct

It will likely come out anyway, so if you have secret bank accounts or property your spouse doesn't know about, inform your counsel. Again, full disclosure ensures the professional in charge of your case is always ready to answer a complaint or allegation the other side raises.

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 Posted on February 27, 2023 in Divorce

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 equitable distribution state. This means that a judge can ultimately hand down any asset division order that they deem to be "fair" under the circumstances. Alternatively, if they are in a position to work collaboratively alongside their attorneys, spouses can mutually agree to divide their assets in any way they like.

If you're pursuing a divorce in Virginia, you'll need to examine whether the value of your marital estate should be divided in any way other than a 50-50 split in order to secure a fair and equitable divorce arrangement. For example, if you used a personal inheritance to start your family's business and you've done the lion's share of the work in running that enterprise, the value of that asset may need to be divided disproportionately in your favor.

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 Posted on February 17, 2023 in Child Custody

The internet is full of misinformation, which can create issues for parents creating a custody plan.

To ensure you understand your legal rights, make sure that any information you read is from reputable sources. Otherwise, myths like these could affect your situation for the worse.

Myth 1: Children always get to decide where they live

Truth: In most cases, children have little to no say in which parent they'll live with. If a child is old enough to talk to a judge, then the judge might consider what the child has to say. The child might have a preference, but, unless both parents are qualified for physical custody, then, again, the child may not have a choice.

Myth 2: Mothers always get the first choice

Truth: It's often believed that mothers always have the most rights during a child custody case. Courts mainly focus on what's best for the child.

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 Posted on February 09, 2023 in Divorce

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, you'll likely be dividing this plan along with your spouse's retirement plan. If you and/or your spouse have a TSP, you should know what a retirement benefits court order (RBCO) is.

An RBCO is similar to a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), which is used to divide divorcing spouses' private retirement plans. However, RBCOs and QDROs fall under different laws.RBCOs are governed by Title V of the U.S. Code, while QDROs fall under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

If you have a "mixed" marriage, can you use a QDRO?

If only one spouse has a TSP and the other has an ERISA plan, you may be able touse a QDRO to divide both. However, it must be drawn up in compliance with Title V requirements. If you're both federal employees, you would use an RBCO.

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 Posted on January 25, 2023 in Divorce

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 of you own as a couple. You are confident that you've made a complete inventory of all of the family assets, and nothing is being hidden.

It's good that you're wary of this issue, as it does come up in a lot of contentious divorce cases. But it's also wise to point out that some spouses will attempt to dissipate assets, rather than hide them. This is a slightly different tactic, but it is still designed around the same goal of keeping you from getting the assets that you deserve.

How does dissipation of the marital assets work?

Dissipating assets is the general practice of spending money in an unexpected or abnormal way, generally with the goal of reducing the total value of the couple's financial estate.

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 Posted on January 07, 2023 in Child Custody

Custody is a crucial aspect of a divorce involving children. You want to protect your parental rights to have a healthy relationship with your kids after a divorce.

Several laws are followed in Virginia when a court orders child custody and visitation. However, you and the other parent may also agree outside court. Regardless of the chosen approach, here are three factors to keep in mind.

1. Type of custody

A parent can have physical and/or legal custody. With physical custody, the parent will take care of the child daily. In most arrangements, one parent may receive primary custody, which means they live with the child. And the other gets visitation rights - they can visit, or the child can go to their home according to an agreed schedule. On the other hand, legal custody involves making major decisions concerning the child's upbringing.

Both parents generally retain legal custody rights unless there is a serious reason to take it away from one of them. Ensure the written agreement includes your rights as discussed before signing.

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 Posted on January 06, 2023 in Child Custody

Divorce, in and of itself, is tough for just about everyone. After all, no one gets married with the goal of divorcing at some point. Divorce becomes particularly difficult if children are involved.

One of the most difficult dilemmas parents face during the divorce is the child's post-divorce living arrangements. Ideally, the court would prefer that you and your spouse work out a post-divorce parenting plan that will work for everyone. If this is not possible, however, the court must step in and make a ruling based on the best interests of the child doctrine. But what exactly does this mean and how is it established?

Understanding the best interests of the child

There isn't a clear-cut definition for the best interest of the child. Rather, this term refers to the parameters the court takes into account when determining who is best fit to live with and care for the child as well as parenting actions that will benefit the child most.

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 Posted on December 13, 2022 in Divorce

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 their social media accounts. They may even write about their spouse, perhaps blaming them for the split.

As tempting as this is, it's generally wise to keep as much of the divorce process as you can off of your social media accounts. Do not post about it and remember that these posts could be used as evidence.

How could this impact your case?

Exactly how this impacts your case depends on the specific situation you're in, but there are a few ways that it can do so.

For example, you may be trying to argue that you should have joint custody of your children, while your ex is trying to say that you are irresponsible. Your ex could try to use social media to make you appear to be an unfit parent. For instance, they could find pictures of you out at the bar with your friends and use them to claim that you are simply too irresponsible to stay home and take care of the children. You know that this isn't true, but your situation would be a lot simpler if that picture wasn't on social media to begin with.

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 Posted on December 13, 2022 in Divorce

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 your own regarding how you divide your property or you ask a judge to apply the state's equitable distribution statute to your household. Both you and your spouse have an obligation to provide honest and thorough records to one another and the courts during the property division process.

What happens if you uncover hidden property that your spouse did not disclose as they should?

You can advise the courts of their misconduct

Intentionally hiding assets is a common form of misconduct during Virginia divorces. People think that they can lie about their financial accounts or physical property, or they intentionally undervalue assets so that their spouse doesn't receive their fair share of the marital property.

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