What are the reasons for a divorce?
In Virginia, you can get a divorce
for eight reasons. Four of these reasons
don’t require a waiting period:
-adultery, sodomy, or buggery:
These are very difficult to prove and cannot
be used as grounds for divorce if you
continue to live with your spouse after the
act is committed.
-your spouse’s conviction of a
felony and sentence to more than one
year in prison. This can only be used as
grounds for divorce if you do not live with
your spouse after they are released.
Four reasons require a waiting
period of one year:
-physical cruelty. There is no
mental cruelty divorce in Virginia.
-desertion. This means your spouse
left without a good reason.
-constructive desertion. This
means your spouse forced you to leave.
-an uncontested “no fault” divorce
based on one year’s separation. Separation
is simply not living together.
Virginia also has a procedure called a
“divorce from bed and board” which
means the parties remain legally married
but all their other rights including custody
and child support and equitable distribution
of property are settled. Most of the time
this is filed when one party wants to initiate
a divorce proceeding but the parties have
not been separated for a year yet.
Who can file for divorce in Virginia?
To file for a divorce your or your
spouse must live in Virginia for at least six
months before the divorce is filed.
A divorce is filed in the Circuit
Court, usually in the county or city in
which you and your spouse last lived
together, or where the defendant currently
lives. The defendant is the person against
whom the divorce is filed.
Can my spouse prevent me from getting
a divorce?
Your spouse cannot prevent you
from getting a divorce in the state of
Virginia. Your spouse can, however, delay
the divorce by disputing the grounds for the
marriage, property issues, custody, child
support, alimony, or marital debts.
If these things are disputed, you
may need a hearing in front of a Circuit
Court judge. If there is nothing to dispute,
then your divorce can be finalized without
having to go to court.
How long does a divorce take?
If there are no problems, it usually
takes at least three months from the time
the divorce is filed until it is granted. If
there are contested issues, the divorce
process can last much longer, sometimes
for several years.
What is an annulment?
An annulment is a legal decree that
a marriage is void. An annulment
proceeding can settle the same issues of
custody, child support, and alimony as a
divorce. Annulments are only granted if:
-either party was physically or
mentally incompetent
-either party consented to the
marriage under condition of fraud or
duress
-either party was a felon or
prostitute without the other’s knowledge
-impotence
-the wife was pregnant by another
man without the husband’s knowledge
-the husband, without knowledge of
the wife, fathered a child born to another
woman within 10 months of the marriage
-failure to have a marriage license
or to have the marriage solemnized
according to law
-one of the parties was married to
someone else at the time of this marriage
-incest
-either party was under the age of
18.
The court will not grant an
annulment of a voidable marriage if the
spouses continue to live together after any
of the above circumstances are discovered.
What are the steps to get a divorce?
Generally, there are five steps in a divorce:
First, divorce papers are filed with
the court. These papers are called a
Complaint and must be drafted in proper
legal format before it will be accepted by
the court. The court then issues a
Summons.
Second, the divorce papers are
served (legally delivered) on the defendant.
The rules of service are complicated and
simply giving a copy of the complaint to
your spouse does not count.
Third, if the case is uncontested,
evidence is taken by a deposition, usually
in a lawyer’s office. The deposition is
recorded and typed or printed out.
Sometimes evidence in an uncontested
divorce is taken before the judge in an oral
hearing. If the divorce is contested,
generally evidence will be taken in court.
Fourth, the deposition, a proposed
Final Decree of Divorce, and other
papers are sent to the judge for review.
Then, if everything is in order, the
judge signs the Final Decree of Divorce.
This brochure is intended for
information purposes only and
is NOT a suitable substitute
for legal advice from a
certified attorney.
If you have a specific question,
please consult Legal Aid
Works
SM
at:
500 Lafayette Boulevard
Suite 100
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Telephone: (540) 371-1105
Fax: (540) 371-1114
www.LegalAidWorks.org
Legal Aid
Works
SM
Fredericksburg Office
Know Your Rights:
Divorce
Working for Equal Justice Since 1973
Information provided by Legal Aid
Works
SM
.
