Legal Separation Virginia Separation Agreement Virginia Lawyer Divorce Fairfax

There are two types of divorces in the state of Virginia: fault and no-fault. If a spouse is filing for divorce on fault grounds, they are accusing their spouse of doing something wrong like committing adultery or cruelty. Divorce that is filed under the grounds of misconduct can be filed at any time. In a no-fault divorce, spouses do not accuse each other of misconduct but have come to an agreement that their marriage must come to an end.

In the case of a no-fault divorce by agreement, a couple has to be legally separated for at least a year from the date of separation before being allowed to file for a divorce. This time may be reduced to 6 months from the date of separation under the following conditions:

• No minor children (under the age of 18) be involved in the marriage.

AND

• Both parties sign a written agreement that settles all issues that may arise with the dissolution of the marriage.

The date of separation is the date that a couple cease to martially cohabitate. A couple may be legally separated and still live under the same roof provided there is no marital component to the cohabitation in accordance to the state of Virginia.

At the end of the 12-month separation period, a couple can file for a dissolve bonds of matrimony. The time taken for a divorce to be finalized depends on the length of time it takes for a settlement to be agreed upon. In a no-fault divorce, this may take up to three months while a fault divorce can take anywhere from 3 to 18 months to be finalized due to major disagreements between the parties.

Legal separation is known as a divorce from “bed and board”. The difference between a divorce from bed and board and a permanent divorce is that in a divorce from bed and board, a person is not free to remarry until a permanent divorce is granted by the court in accordance with the laws of the state of Virginia.

To obtain a legal separation in the state of Virginia, a person must accuse their spouse on either of these two grounds:

Willful Desertion/ Abandonment

• • Requires proof that shows that the spouse deserted the home with the intention of separation i.e., does not plan to return

Cruelty

• • For separation to occur on the grounds of cruelty, physical or mental abuse has to rise to the level of bodily harm or cause reasonable harm to the victim. A judge may order a spouse to move out of the marital residence if cruelty is filed against them.

Dissolution of marriage is filed in the highest court (Circuit Court) of each county in the state of Virginia. In order to file for a dissolution of marriage in Virginia, a person must be a resident of a county in Virginia for at least six months.

If a person cannot file undergrounds of misconduct and cannot wait for the 12- month period of separation, he/she may reach out to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, a lower level court that deals with marital and family issues as per the laws of Virginia.

If you need a Virginia Divorce lawyer to help you with your divorce case in Virginia, call us at 888-437-7747. Our Virginia divorce attorneys can help you.

If you are seeking a legal separation in Virginia or need help with a separation agreement in Virginia, call the Law Office of SRIS, P.C. for help. We are your legal separation in Virginia and separation agreement in Virginia divorce lawyer in Fairfax County, Virginia, legal separation and separation agreement lawyer in Fairfax City, VA, legal separation and property settlement agreement lawyer in Herndon, VA, legal separation and property settlement agreement lawyer in Tysons, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Vienna, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in McLean, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Great Falls, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Loudoun County, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Leesburg, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Arlington County, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Falls Church, VA, legal separation and property settlement agreement divorce lawyer in Alexandria, Virginia, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Manassas, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Stafford, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Fredericksburg, VA, legal property settlement agreement lawyer in Spotsylvania, VA, legal separation and property settlement agreement divorce lawyer in Orange, VA and property settlement agreement lawyer in Culpeper, Virginia. C