If you are considering a divorce, talk to your partner to find common ground and begin an undisputed filing process. After filing your papers, your spouse has 21 days (if your spouse lives in Virginia), 60 days (if your spouse lives outside of Virginia but in the United States) or 90 days (if your spouse lives outside the United States) to respond to your divorce petition (called a complaint). If your spouse does not respond, the court will proceed with the divorce as long as the service of the proceedings has been carried out correctly. Whether or not your spouse answers, you and your confirmatory witness must appear in court (in almost all cases, the hearing takes place before a master) at a hearing scheduled by the clerk. Once your confirmatory witness has testified and you have presented other evidence, and if your spouse responds or introduces himself, your spouse also has the opportunity to do the same. At the end of the hearing, the court (in most cases, it will be a master who will give a recommendation to the court) will decide at a later date (usually 30 days) to grant the divorce and resolve the marital problems. Divorces are heard by the circuit court. Custody, visits, child support, filiation and spousal support may be decided by the District Court for relations with minors and domestic relations. After a divorce, applications for review of alimony, custody and visits are usually made to the District Court for Juvenile and Domestic Relations. 4. At the request of one of the parties, if and when the husband and wife have lived separately and separately for one year without cohabitation and without interruption. In all cases where the parties have concluded a separation agreement and there are no minor children born by one of the parties and adopted by the other party or adopted by both parties, divorce may be pronounced on application if and if the husband and wife have lived separately and separately for six months without cohabitation and without interruption. A decision or division of liability exception for any other provision of this Section shall not prevent either party from divorcing on that ground; it is also not excluded that one of the parties has been found to have a mental illness before or after the beginning of such a separation, but after the expiry of one year or six months, as the case may be, from the beginning of this separation, the grounds for divorce are deemed complete, and the committee of the defendant suffering from mental illness is deemed to have one, if there is one, a part is made on the merits, or if there is no committee, the court appoints an ad litem guardian to represent the defendant with mental illness.

Divorces can have a reputation for being chaotic and lengthy lawsuits. While they can certainly be tedious and complex at times, others can be quite fast and relatively inexpensive. If the spouses mutually agree to end the marriage on positive terms, they may be able to initiate proceedings without the need for a lawyer. There are three main actors involved in your marriage who will also be involved in your divorce: you, your spouse and the Commonwealth. You can`t just leave, put your charger in the saddle and go up to sunset. Among other legal considerations, you must give the Commonwealth an acceptable reason why you are allowed to dissolve. The reason is known as the reason for your divorce. Over the years, each state has passed laws that regulate acceptable reasons.

To begin divorce proceedings, you must file a complaint with the district court where you or your spouse live. In your complaint or at the hearing, you must meet the residency requirement for the reason you gave above. Divorce laws only apply to residents of a state, and each state has its own residency requirements. One of the spouses must have resided in Virginia for at least 6 months before filing for divorce. Divorce may be granted in: (1) the county or city where the spouses last lived together; or, at the plaintiff`s option: (2) the county or city in which the defendant is domiciled, if the defendant is a resident of Virginia; or (3) if the defendant is not a resident of Virginia, the county, or the city where the plaintiff resides. [Virginia Code; Title 8, section 8.01-261; and Title 20, Articles 20 to 96 and 20 to 97]. The legal term for self-representation is “pro se”, pronounced “pro say”), which in Latin means “in one`s own name”. Representing yourself is not a good idea for everyone. It is important to understand that if you represent yourself, you may be giving up important rights.

It is very important for you to know if your spouse has a pension, pension account, insurance or other important assets before deciding to file for divorce. If you don`t ask about such things in divorce, you will abandon them forever. In today`s increasingly digital society, the possibility of obtaining an undisputed online divorce makes sense. The process is not difficult, but it simply requires compliance with the prescribed steps. On the other hand, to get a “no-fault divorce” on your part” in Virginia, you just need to prove: the law limits the court`s power to grant the divorce (known as a matter of jurisdiction – can this court hear that divorce?). The law also dictates when the court has jurisdiction over divorce proceedings. Located in Suite 115 of the Fairfax County Courthouse, the Fairfax Public Law Library has computers to access websites and resources for researching divorces in Virginia. If you require a lawyer, please contact the Fairfax County Bar Association`s Lawyer Reference Service at 703-246-3780. Virginia has counties that govern the court in which your divorce will take place.

This is called the place. Divorce must be filed if the plaintiff or defendant is domiciled or if one of them is regularly employed or has an establishment. Knowingly entering into a bigamic marriage is also a reason for divorce. If your spouse wants a separation and you don`t, it`s still possible to apply on that basis, but the waiting period is longer. Virginia needs two years of separate life. Whether the separation is voluntary or not, it must be continuous. That doesn`t mean you and your spouse can`t meet occasionally for lunch or dinner, but it does mean you can`t have sex with each other. If a candlelit dinner to discuss your children`s testimonies ignites your sexual desire one by one and you follow your passions in bed, then your waiting period must begin again. It starts the day after you meet your bedroom, even if you`ve been behaving well for 11 months. Sexual relations between you and your spouse are strictly prohibited during your waiting period.

Sex with other people can also be a problem; the reasons for your divorce may change. The Virginia State Bar Lists the subject matter of the property agreement as a contract between the parties detailing the “rights, obligations, and obligations arising from their separation and divorce.” This should include not only the division of property and debts, but also custody, child support, visits, spousal support and attorneys` fees, or in this case, court and filing costs. .