• Home
• Virginia Divorce

Divorce Residency Essentials to Get Divorce in Virginia

One of the spouses must have been a resident of Virginia for at least six months prior to filing for divorce. The divorce may be filed for in:

• The county or city in which the spouses last lived together or
• At the option of the plaintiff:
  • The county or city where the defendant resides, if the defendant is a resident of Virginia or
  • If the defendant is a non-resident of Virginia, the county or city where the plaintiff resides. [Code of Virginia; Title 8.01, Chapter 5, Section 261 and Title 20, Chapter 6, Sections 96 and 97].

Reasons for Divorce in Virginia

There are mainly two reasons of divorce in Virginia those are fault and general.In order to file for divorce in Virginia, the proper grounds must be established. Both spouses are involved in establishing these grounds, and both must substantiate and agree upon these, unless the divorcing spouse is trying to prove otherwise to the court.

No-fault grounds for a divorce in Virginiainclude:

• Living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year or
• Living separate and apart without cohabitation for six months if there are no minor children and the spouses have entered into a separation agreement. [Code of Virginia; Title 20, Chapter 6, Section 91].

General reasons fordivorce in Virginiainclude:

• Adultery (including homosexual acts);
• Abandonment;
• Conviction of a felony and imprisonment for one year;
• Cruelty; and
• Willful desertion. [Code of Virginia; Title 20, Chapter 6, Section 91].

Custody of the Children in Virginia

Joint or sole child custody will be awarded based on the welfare of the child, and upon a consideration of the following factors:

• The age of the child;
• The child’s preference;
• The needs of the child;
• The love and affection existing between the child and each parent;
• The mental and physical health of all individuals involved;
• The material needs of the child;
• The role each parent has played in the care of the child; and
• 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, Chapter 6, Section 107.2].

Property Distribution in Virginia

Virginia is an “equitable distribution” state. The separate property of each spouse, consisting of:

• Property acquired prior to the marriage;
• Any gifts and inheritances;
• Any increase in the value of separate property, unless marital property or significant personal efforts contributed to such increases; and
• Any property acquired in exchange for separate property; will be retained by the spouse who owns it.

The marital property, consisting of:

• All property acquired during the marriage that is not separate property;
• All property titled in the names of both spouses, whether as joint tenants or ten­ants-by-the entireties;
• Income from or increase in value of separate property during the marriage if the income or increase arose from significant personal efforts;
• Any separate property which is commingled with marital property and cannot be clearly traced; will be divided equitably by the court.

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 factors for consideration are:

• The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition, care, and maintenance of the marital property;
• The liquid or non-liquid character of the property;
• The length of the marriage;
• The age and health of the spouses;
• The tax consequences;
• 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;
• How and by whom the property was acquired;
• The circumstances that contributed to the divorce;
• The contributions, monetary and non-monetary, of each spouse to the well-being of the family; and
• Any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the spouses. [Code of Virginia; Title 20, Chapter 6, Section 107.3].

Virginia Spousal Support Guidelines

Either spouse may be awarded maintenance, to be paid in either a lump sum, periodic payments, or both. The factors for consideration are:

• The opportunity, 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;
• The standard of living established during the mar­riage;
• The duration of the marriage;
• The financial resources of the spouses, including marital property apportioned to such spouse;
• The contribution of each spouse to the marriage, including services rendered in homemaking, childcare, education, and career-building of the other spouse;
• The tax consequences to each spouse;
• The age of the spouses;
• The physical and emotional conditions of the spouses;
• The educational level of each spouse at the time of the marriage and at the time the action for support is com­menced;
• The property of the spouses;
• The circumstances which contributed to the divorce;
• The extent to which the age, condition, or circumstances of any child of the spouses makes it appropriate that the custodial spouse not seek outside employment;
• Any income from pension, profit-sharing, or retirement plans;
• Any contributions by either spouse to the well-being of the family;
• The earning capacity of the spouses, including the skills, education, and training of the spouses and their employment opportunities;
• Any decisions made during the marriage regarding employment, career, education, and parenting that affected a spouse’s earning potential, including the length of time absent from the job market; and
• 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, Chapter 6, Sections 95, 107.1 and 108.1].

Virginia Child Support Guidelines

Official child support 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 under the particular circumstances of the case based on the factors below. Child support may be ordered to be paid by either parent, and is based on a consideration of the following factors:

• The financial resources of the child;
• The standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the marriage had not been dissolved;
• The physi­cal and emotional conditions and educational needs of the child;
• The earning capacity of each parent;
• The age and health of the child;
• The division of marital property;
• The monetary or non-monetary contributions of the parents to the family’s well-being;
• The education of the parents;
• The ability of the parents to secure education and training;
• The income tax consequences of child support;
• Any special medical, dental, or childcare expenses;
• The obligations, needs, and financial resources of the parents; and
• Any other relevant factors.

And the following additional factors:

• Support provided for other children or family members;
• Custody arrangements;
• Voluntary unemployment or under-employment, unless it is the custodial parent and the child is not in school, childcare services are not available, and the cost of childcare services are not included in the computations for child support;
• Debts incurred during the marriage for the benefit of the child;
• Debts incurred for the purpose of producing income;
• Direct court-ordered payments for health insurance or educational expenses of the child; and
• Any extraordinary capital gains, such as gains from the sale of the marital home. [Code of Virginia; Title 20, Chapter 6, Sec­tions 107.2, 108.1, and 108.2].

Divorce Mediation

There are no legal provisions in Virginia for divorce mediation.