Everyone, once they’ve decided their marriage is over, wants the marriage to be over as soon as possible. Absolutely no one enjoys lingering overlong in the awkward period in between separation and divorce.
So, how do you get it done faster?
It’s hard to get a fast divorce, especially in Virginia. Virginia is – as far as divorce is concerned – one of the more conservative states. In Virginia, we allow for both fault based and no fault divorce, but – with very few exceptions – a one year waiting period is required.
Yes, it’s true – by national standards, a one year waiting period is pretty long. Many other states don’t require that you are separated for so long before your divorce is finalized. But, if you find yourself in Virginia, that may be very little consolation.
There are two exceptions to the one year waiting period:
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In cases where adultery is proven, you can qualify for an immediate divorce.
Full disclosure: In my now almost thirteen years of experience, I have never seen anything that comes anywhere close to an “immediate” divorce, even though I have seen adultery alleged more times than I can count.
The problem is that, in many cases, the time and expense involved in proving adultery is so great that the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. It can be cheaper, easier, and more time efficient to just negotiate a separation agreement and let a no fault divorce be entered later, whether after a one year or – if you qualify – six month separation. Let’s discuss.
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If you (1) do not have minor children, and (2) you have negotiated a signed separation agreement, you can finalize your divorce after just six months.
For most people, a six month separation – assuming you do not have minor children (whether born or adopted to you during the marriage; minor children from other relationships do not count) and you have a signed separation agreement – is, at least for Virginia, a divorce granted at lightning speed.
Of course, if you don’t qualify based off of both of these criteria, you’ll have to wait the full year before your divorce can be finalized.
If you DO have minor children and/or if you aren’t able to negotiate a signed separation agreement, you’ll have no choice but to separate for the full calendar year before you can finalize your divorce.
But, then again, being separated for a year isn’t necessarily all bad. For many couples, a separation agreement will work itself out at some point during the course of that year and, even though you’re not divorced until you’re divorced (and a signed separation agreement is not the same as divorced), it can sort of feel like the beginning of the anticlimax. Most separation agreements have a provision allowing both parties to live as though single and unmarried (with the exception of being able to remarry, of course), so it feels pretty much done anyway. Sure, you want that final decree of divorce entered – who doesn’t? – but when life settles down and things go, more or less, back to normal, the actual final divorce can feel anticlimactic.
At that point, too, many of the things we worry about – like spousal support and child custody – have already resolved. The choices you make now are less likely to have a dramatic impact on how your divorce will be resolved, so that gives you a bit of freedom, too.
A six month divorce is, in Virginia, about the quickest you’ll ever see a divorce granted. Though adultery technically allows for an immediate divorce, this almost never happens.
For more information or to request a copy of our divorce book for Virginia women, give our office a call at 757-425-5200 or visit our website at hoflaw.com.