I drafted a Separation Agreement, but he won’t sign. What next? You’ve agonized over the decision for months – sometimes, even years. After reflection and prayer and therapy and everything else you could think of to try, you’re ready to move forward with your divorce. I’ve seen it so many times! The initial consultation is often filled with tears, but, by the end, the woman walks out of our office a little taller, a little straighter, a little bit more confident. By the end of the process? … [Read more...]
When do I serve my husband with divorce papers?
When do I serve my husband with divorce papers? I find there’s often a lot of confusion about what it means to serve someone and at what point you have someone served in a divorce case. There’s so much confusion, and it’s really almost nearly universal, that I feel like service of process is something worthy of the devotion of an entire article. What does it mean to serve someone? When someone is served, a process server (a private person from a company hired to serve process, who must be … [Read more...]
Separation Before Divorce in Virginia
Separation before divorce in Virginia You’re probably familiar with the idea that you have to separate from your husband before divorce – not just in Virginia, but in most places. Every state (and indeed every country!) handles this a little bit differently, and the required period of separation differs from one to the next. Sometimes, separation of longer duration is required in instances where minor children are involved. Divorce is one of those areas of law that is regulated on a state … [Read more...]
Cruelty in Virginia Divorce
It’s not one that we see all the time (in fact, we prefer not to have cruelty come up!), but, in Virginia, cruelty is grounds for divorce. It’s not one that we see all the time (in fact, we prefer not to have cruelty come up!), but, in Virginia, cruelty is grounds for divorce. Cruelty can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people; in fact, I think most of us can agree that to verbally or emotionally abuse your spouse is pretty cruel. Rude comments and hateful or spiteful behavior is … [Read more...]
Virginia Divorce and Custody: How long does it take?
If you have never been through a divorce or custody case before (and, for your sake, I hope you haven’t), you probably have a lot of questions about family law. When we take on a new case, it seems like every client asks the same question: how long is this going to take? I understand! You’re living through what is probably one of the biggest periods of uncertainty in your life, and you’d like to know when everything is going to be finished so that you can get back on track. You’d like to put … [Read more...]
File a Divorce
In Virginia (and, I’m pretty sure, just about everywhere else) the divorce process formally begins with the court when a complaint is filed. That doesn’t mean, though, that the first thing you need to do is march down to the courthouse and file a divorce. In fact, in many cases, you don’t file anything until the end of the divorce, and not the beginning. So, if you’re at the very beginning of the process, you may be getting a little bit ahead of yourself. Let’s take a step back and talk about … [Read more...]
Divorce during the holidays: part one
It’s not easy to think about divorce at any time during the year, but it’s especially difficult during the holiday season. The urge to be one big happy family, at least for the kid’s sake, is stronger than ever. It feels selfish to admit out loud, or even just to yourself, that things just aren’t right between you and your husband. At no other time in the year do we hear as many women telling us that they want to just try to ride it out for a little while longer. It’s understandable. The … [Read more...]
He Cheated–What Do I do?
You just found out your husband cheated on you. What should you do next? It’s a great question, and one we get asked all the time. No, really. All. The. Time. It’s pretty common, and you’re right to be asking questions. After all, you know that a lot of divorce is time sensitive, and you don’t want to risk losing anything you might be entitled to receive under the law. Adultery cases are difficult. But, of course, you need to know more about how adultery works in the law before you make any … [Read more...]
What’s a separation agreement? (And why do I want one?)
When most attorneys talk about divorce, they give the impression that there are all sorts of different “types” of divorce—negotiation, collaboration, mediation, litigation—but the reality is that there are really only three real choices. You either (1) negotiate your divorce by signing a separation agreement and decide for yourself how your things will be divided, (2) litigate your divorce and let the judge decide, or (3) you agree on what you can and let the judge decide the rest. What … [Read more...]
