On July 1, 2026, the law is changing. To be fair, almost every single year on July 1, the law changes in some way and, usually, there is some impact to family law. Sometimes, the effect is negligible – like, last year, when guideline child support was raised. Don’t get me wrong. We celebrated. But it also didn’t have much impact on the day to day. When we ran guideline calculations, child support was just more. It’s still not enough, but it was more, and we talked about it.
In other years, though, the changes are more pronounced. Take this year, 2026, for example. There are two big changes as it relates to family law.
- Even in cases where no fault grounds have been alleged, parties can file for a “divorce from bed and board” immediately after separation.
- Post-separation adultery is no longer a cause of action.
Today, I’m talking about the first change – the bed and board one. Both because I think it has the potential to have the biggest impact on the way family law is practiced in Virginia and also because I think it is likely the most confusing.
Let’s talk about it.
Virginia has always had a divorce from bed and board, but it was reserved specifically for fault-based cases. In cases where no fault was alleged, the parties had to wait a year before they could even file for divorce. That’s … not ideal, to say the least, especially in cases involving domestic violence, post-separation abuse, or coercive control. Sure, if it’s a particular kind of domestic violence, you could maybe elect to use fault-based grounds, just to move things into court more quickly. But, also, alleging fault-based grounds is a one-way ticket to a much more complicated, stressful, and (probably) expensive divorce.
You probably don’t want to do that, though people HAVE been doing that, for years and years on end, because it was the only way to access the court earlier than the one year time frame.
You could also work on negotiating a separation agreement during that one year period without filing with the court, but if (1) he’s not cooperative, (2) he’s cut you off from access to marital money, and/or (3) you don’t know the extent of the assets and liabilities, you can’t do much negotiating.
Without being able to file for divorce, you can’t have a pendente lite hearing or conduct discovery. You could still file for a protective order or take other steps like that, but, in terms of moving your divorce forward, there wasn’t much you could do.
In short, not an ideal environment for many Virginia women.
Opening up a divorce from bed and board to petitioners in no fault cases means that no one HAS to file on fault to avail themselves of the resources the court provides – and that’s a good thing. We don’t have to take a WWIII-level stance in order to keep the divorce moving forward or take proactive steps to increase everyone’s relative levels of safety and stability.
But what IS a divorce from bed and board?
See, I think that’s what’s so confusing. It’s not really a divorce, because you won’t be divorced. There’s no provisional divorce from bed and board status that means you’re, like, pre-divorced. No, you are either divorced or you are married. It’s probably best to think of it like a fancy court-ordered legal separation.
A divorce from bed and board is not a final divorce. It does not take away the legal separation requirement. You will STILL have to be separated for one year (or six months, if you don’t have minor children and you have a signed separation agreement) before your divorce will be finalized.
It’s not a divorce. I’m sorry. Not yet, anyway. But it does get things started!
You can file for divorce, schedule a pendente lite hearing, and begin discovery. You can keep moving forward with the divorce while the clock is ticking on your one year of required legal separation. So that’s good – and way better than the alternative, which would have had you waiting a year to even begin if you couldn’t negotiate an agreement before.
What is a divorce from the bond of matrimony?
A divorce from the bond of matrimony is your full and final divorce. After your final divorce decree is entered with the court, you have been granted a divorce from the bond of matrimony. You and your former husband are now legal strangers. You are single. You can date – it’s not adultery – or even remarry, if you want. You can file your taxes as “single,” rather than “married” or “married filing separately.”
You’re fully and finally divorced.
There may still be work to be done. A house to be sold or refinanced, parenting time to be shared, QDROs to be entered, beneficiary designations to change, and estate plans to update – all of those things may still need to be done. But you’re also divorced and free.
From the bond of matrimony. Imagine this moment as the moment that the handcuffs break free.
Totally different from a “divorce” from bed and board.
For more information on what the new legal changes mean for you or to schedule an appointment, give our office a call at 757-425-5200.