In the wake of the murder of Cerina Fairfax, I’ve been talking a lot about the state of Virginia law – including the new updates on July 1, 2026 that allow separating couples to immediately get a “divorce” from bed and board – including separation under the same roof. There have been a number of...
Should Virginia disallow separation under the same roof?
The murder of Cerina Fairfax – who was in the midst of a divorce in Northern Virginia at the time that her husband, a former Virginia lieutenant governor, killed her and then himself in the family home while the children were home – has made waves over the last few months, sparking renewed attention on...
Sometimes, divorce comes about gradually, over time, as people outgrow relationships that once served them. In other cases, though, there was one triggering event that set events in motion, so to speak. These cases are the most difficult, I think, because it wasn’t a gradual thing that you could adjust to over time. It was...
Some things are easier to determine than others when it comes to resolving your divorce case and, unfortunately, spousal support is one of the trickier areas. Not only has the landscape changed dramatically in recent years – even in just the thirteen years I’ve been practicing, as of the date of this writing –...
Though the laws vary (sometimes dramatically!) from state-to-state, the law in Virginia is that spousal support terminates in three specific circumstances: (1) the death of either party, (2) the remarriage of the recipient party, and (3) the continued cohabitation of the recipient party in a relationship analogous to marriage for a period of one year...
In virtually every case I’ve seen, spousal support is a specific amount of money paid each month from the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse. In virtually every case I’ve seen, the higher earning spouse hates this. Like, really, really hates this. In virtually every case I’ve seen, he (it’s usually a he)...
A lot of people have questions about legal separation, what it means, and when it actually begins. Oh, and also – why does it even matter? Being separated is important, because for most grounds for divorce (except for adultery, which technically qualifies you for an ‘immediate divorce’ – but don’t get excited, it won’t...
Spousal support cases are some of the trickiest. Even though the law has changed recently to allow Fairfax guidelines to be applied in temporary support cases, permanent support cases are a little more tricky. The law also changed in terms of the taxability and deductibility of awards of spousal support; under the current laws, spousal...