How retirement accounts are divided in Virginia divorce

As far as equitable distribution – the legal process where your assets and liabilities are divided during divorce – is concerned, division of the retirement accounts is pretty easy.  But, because retirement accounts represent a large portion of what most people have saved throughout their lives, they are also very emotionally complicated. The higher earning...

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I’m military. Can I even file my own divorce?

  In some ways, a divorce is a divorce.  Certainly, if we’re looking at things procedurally, one divorce doesn’t differ all that much from another, though there’s also no question that a military divorce involves considerations that civilian divorces don’t. Mostly, military divorces mean that there are categories of assets – BAH, SBP, TSP, the...

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What is the military Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)?

Specific military divorce information can be hard to come by – and, even worse, what you can find is often conflicting or confusing.  I’ve spent a lot of time lately writing about military divorce because I seem to keep meeting up with women who are confused about one part of military divorce or another. I...

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The military has all sorts of policies which can make separation, divorce, and child custody especially confusing as a military spouse.  On top of the military policies, too, there are many laws at the state level that will impact how your separation, divorce, and/or custody case will proceed, some of which supersede the military policies. ...

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Understanding Military 20/20/20 Entitlement

Military 20/20/20 status is an incredible benefit for qualifying spouses, because it entitles you to permanent military healthcare.  For many women, health care is one of the most important issues in a divorce – in no large part because, for non-20/20/20 spouses and literally any civilian, there is no way to qualify for permanent, lifetime...

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Divorce is a scary – and potentially expensive – process, so it’s no wonder that you want to explore all of your alternatives before you commit to a specific course of action.  Is there any way at all that you can avoid hiring an attorney?  Can you use one of the online do it yourself...

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In Virginia, there is no requirement that you hire an attorney to represent you in a divorce or custody case, whether at the juvenile or circuit court level (or even beyond, if your case merits an appeal). If you choose not to hire an attorney, you represent yourself.  We call people who represent themselves pro...

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Divorcing Virginia Women in the Military

If you’re a woman in the military and you’re getting a divorce, you’re not alone.  Though the reverse dynamic – a man as the active duty military service member and a woman as the dependent spouse – is more common, that doesn’t mean that the reverse doesn’t also occur. Plenty of women are active duty...

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