If you have reviewed follow our military divorce sections of our website and blog, you should be familiar with the basics of the division of military retired pay pursuant to a divorce in Virginia. In short:

Your disposable retired pay, meaning your gross military retired pay minus any deductions for disability, is divisible under both federal and state law.
Under Virginia law, your spouse can receive up to fifty percent of the “marital share” of your retired pay, the marital share being defined as the portion that was earned during the marriage before separation.
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (“DFAS”) can pay your spouse his or her portion of your military retired pay directly where your marriage overlapped with 10 years or more of your military service.

What we have not discussed in detail is how you can structure your military retired pay … Read More »

Virginia is an equitable distribution state, meaning that the court has the authority in your divorce suit to classify the property of the parties as separate, marital or hybrid, to distribute any jointly owned marital property between the parties, and to grant a monetary award to either party to ensure that the division of marital property is fair and equitable.

The law of equitable distribution is complex, and not every detail will be addressed in this blog post. The purpose of this post is instead to set forth a few simple principles to help you determine what property will be off-limits to your spouse in your divorce case. In other words, what do you get to keep? What is your sole, separate property not subject to equitable distribution?

Generally speaking, the following kinds of property will be classified as separate in Virginia:

Property … Read More »

Suppose you live in Woodbridge or Manassas, and are a stay at home parent, a military spouse, or perhaps you work but just happen to make much less money than your spouse. Suddenly, your spouse declares that he or she wants a divorce. Your spouse wants to walk away from the marriage, the house, and the marital debts, to live on their own. But you cannot afford to pay the mortgage, your bills, or your debts all on your own. Once your spouse leaves, the creditors are at the door. The house is facing foreclosure. What do you do?

The short answer is: seek pendente lite (temporary) support from your spouse from the courts of Prince William County.

Please note: Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park all share a combined court system, so whether you are a resident of Woodbridge, Lake … Read More »

If you have a child and are contemplating a divorce or separation from your spouse or partner, it is essential that you educate yourself as to your rights and obligations under the law. For servicemembers, the choice of counsel can be difficult, as many attorneys handle military divorce cases very infrequently, if at all. In Part One of this series on military divorce, we addressed the grounds for divorce in Virginia, the benefits of separation agreements, how Virginia’s Courts equitably distribute marital property and debts, and spousal support. In Part Two, we address the issues surrounding child custody, visitation, and support as they apply to servicemembers in Virginia. This post will describe just a few of the essential facts and issues you should be aware of before embarking on such a case in Virginia.

I. Jurisdiction. When you first meet with your … Read More »

Are you a servicemember who is contemplating a divorce or separation from your spouse? For most servicemembers, the failure of a marriage is one of the most stressful experiences of their lives. However, divorce does not have to be difficult, and your chances of working out an amicable separation agreement are greatly increased if you are served by competent legal counsel and educated as to the applicable law of divorce and separation in your state of residence. If you are a servicemember and live in Virginia, here is what you need to know before you begin.

I. Divorce Grounds. There are two different types of divorce in Virginia. The first, a divorce a mensa et thoro (from bed and board) does not entirely dissolve the marriage, but establishes that a husband and wife are legally separated from one another. Bed and board … Read More »