Learn How to FIle for a Virginia Divorce and Prepare for Your Court Hearing

If your marriage is not working out and you want a divorce in Virginia, you will need to approach the appropriate court of law and know how to file the application for divorce. Following are some of the guidelines that will help you file the divorce application:

First, to file for divorce in Virginia, you have to meet lengthy and fairly stiff requirements for residency. For voluntarily separating without cohabitation, you have to be a resident for 6 months in the state.

In case there are no children from marriage, you and your spouse need to be separated for at least 6 months and be in possession of an agreement for property settlement that is written prior to filing for divorce. If the two of you have children as a result of being married, it is necessary for the two of you to be separated for at least 1 year before you can submit the filing.

Residency Laws in the State of Virginia

Your address may change – you can go anywhere inside the state where you submit the filing while going through a divorce in Virginia. You do need to ensure that at the final hearing you can prove the place of your residency at the time of separation.

Your residency must also be corroborated by a witness. Improper residency proof has been known to cause cases to be dismissed, so play it safe. You must bring copies of leases if you have changed residences quite a bit. Some counties can ask for residency proof from the sheriff, and all jurisdictions in the state may demand a valid driving license for Virginia that has the present address.

Residency is such a sensitive issue, even maintaining a residence in another state could imply intent not to remain in Virginia. You must live in Virginia with no intent to move to another state. Also, remember that one important thing is to demonstrate that you are not living there just to obtain a divorce.

Divorce cases in Virginia may be heard by a Circuit Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, or Family Court. In most cases it is the Family Court that deals with these cases.

Requirements for Seeking Divorce

Virginia calls for lengthy periods of separation before filing for divorce. It grants a ‘no-fault’ divorce if the two of you have lived apart without cohabitation for one year at least. The same goes for applicants who have a prior separation agreement, and no minor children born to or adopted by either or both if they have lived apart without cohabitation for 6 months.

Divorces where the fault must be proved include such grounds as adultery, sodomy or buggery, conviction for a felony and confinement for over 1 year, cruelty with real or reasonably feared bodily injury or willful desertion.

Desertion, under VA divorce law, can happen even if you and the spouse live in the same home, manifested in the form of cruel apathy. "Constructive” desertion favors the deserter, which is legalese for simply escaping from the clutches of an abusive spouse. It is best to consult legal opinions on the subtleties of the divorce laws in this regard for Virginia.

Court proceedings run much the same in Virginia as in other states between filing and the final decree.

What Happens to the Property?

Since Virginia is an "equitable distribution" state, property will be divided in an equitable fashion. Do note that equitable does not mean equal, but rather what is fair. The court will encourage you and your spouse to reach a settlement on property and debt issues, failing which the court will make its property award. For the distribution of property in a divorce, Virginia also has fairly complex classifications of separate property (acquired by either spouse) and marital property (acquired during the marriage).

The court takes into account how much of what property was acquired with what contribution by which spouse; which items were received by bequest, descent, etc. It will also consider which items were acquired by sale or exchange of other property that is strictly personal in nature and which were shared. The matter of valuation is also considered when splitting property rights.