Do I need grounds for divorce? What if I don’t have any?

Though I’ve only ever practiced family law in Virginia, I’m pretty sure that everywhere – Virginia included – requires grounds in order to finalize a divorce. In Virginia, those grounds can be either fault based or no fault based. Whether you choose to file on fault or no fault depends, of course, on the facts;...

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Grounds for Virginia Divorce

My college roommate/best friend texted me this morning to ask whether, in my professional opinion, a recent transgression of her husband’s was grounds for divorce. She included a picture, of a bottle of syrup, with the name “Vermont Maid” proudly displayed across the bottle. I should probably also mention: my friend, Erin, is from Vermont....

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Abandonment and Custody

A woman I met with the other day asked me a good question, “If he abandons us, will that hurt his chances for custody?” She went on to tell me that, thirty some odd years ago, when her mom got divorced, her attorney gave her that advice. Now, facing divorce herself and with a small...

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Fault Based Grounds for Divorce

Most people, at some point or other, really want to explore all of their options when it comes to divorce. For most people, too, that starts with carefully considering fault based grounds. They’re definitely appealing. For a lot of people, selecting from among the fault based grounds of divorce feels almost compulsory, if those grounds...

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