There’s an easy answer to this question. There’s also a harder answer. Let’s get into it, though, and talk more about dating after separation and divorce. Dating after separation: the easy answer The easy answer is that life is messy. That marriages often end long before divorces are finalized. That, for many separated and separating...
When can I start dating after separation?
In Virginia, you are married until you are divorced. While Virginia requires a fairly lengthy period of separation before you are legally permitted to finalize your divorce, being legally separated is not the same as being actually divorced. Separated is still married. In fact, the entire point of requiring a period of separation is so...
One disservice that I think fault-based divorce does for people who live in states – like Virginia – that allow for fault-based divorce is that it puts them in a frame of mind where proving that someone is to blame for the marriage ending is somehow important. I’ll be clear, right up front: divorce is...
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...
When a marriage starts to fall apart, it’s definitely not the most comfortable experience – especially if you and your soon-to-be ex are still living under the same roof. In most family law cases, the facts really, really matter, so its hard to make generalized, one-size-fits-all type statements. If you’re living in the same home,...
We talked the other day about how dating might impact an award of spousal support. I had originally intended to write about both child and spousal support in the same article, but it just ended up being too complicated, so I split into the two articles. You can check out the spousal support article here....
They say that marriages fall apart in increments of 7 – 7 years, 14 years, 21 years, and so on. It’s where the whole “Seven Year Itch” thing came from. In a lot of ways, I see it. Even though the first year of marriage is sometimes tumultuous, people tend to settle into a groove...
In the law, we like to use terms that other people don’t understand. “Manifest injustice,” “best interests of the child,” “continued cohabitation in a relationship analogous to marriage,” “material change of circumstances,” on and on, ad nauseum. Oh, right – and the Latin! Pendente lite, habeas corpus, pro bono, a mensa et thoro, ad litem,...