Virginia Divorce Procedures

The Commonwealth of Virginia gets jurisdiction to handle a divorce case, when either divorcing partner has resided in the Commonwealth for minimum 6 months. In a divorce case, the divorcing partners can get judgments, orders and rulings on several issues other than the divorce. The court has the right to grant relief in case of the following.

• Attorney's fees
• Temporary use of the marital home
• Spousal Support
• Child Support
• Custody and/or Visitation
• Equitable Distribution of Marital Property
• A Decree of Divorce and on what grounds

Initial Phase of Virginia Divorce Procedure

When the Bill of Complaint for divorce is filed, the divorce case is initiated. This document comprises of all the necessary jurisdictional and statutory requirements of the court as well as the Complainant's grounds for divorce.

The Bill of Complaint is served to the Defendant. This service can be accepted voluntarily or by private process server or by the Sheriff's Department. There also lies an option of waiving the service.

The Defendant reserves the right to answer all the allegations mentioned in the Bill of Complaint. Further, this Defendant is free to file a Cross-Bill of Complaint and in it alleges any grounds of divorce against the Complainant. The Defendant may also demand relief from the court.

Pendent Lite Hearing in Virginia Divorce Procedure

The Pendente Lite Hearing is a brief hearing that is executed in open court and is restricted to 15 minutes per side. It is scheduled on a Friday Motion Day. Some of the issues that are crucial to the divorcing partners are resolved through a temporary court order. It has been frequently seen that this hearing is used to resolve temporary visitation, attorney fees, exclusive use of the residence, spousal support and child support.

Discovery and Motions

After the Hearing, comes the Discovery Phase. Particularly in contested cases, this becomes a very complex procedure and may persist for a long duration. The various methods of discovery are as follows.

• Subpoenas
• Depositions
• Request for Production of Documents
• Interrogatories

The Circuit Court hears motions pertaining to disputed legal matters on any Friday. Some of the motions are as follows.

• Enforcement of previously entered orders
• Petitions for temporary support

These motions assist the case on the road to a settlement. However, it has been recorded that these are often bitter.

ADR procedures

It has been observed that as time has progressed, more and more individuals are attempting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures. Some of these are as follows.

Negotiation

There is a four-way meeting of both the divorcing parties and their attorneys to reach a settlement. If a settlement is reached, the counsel draws a Property Settlement Agreement.

Experts

A therapist may be hired to talk with the children and the parents and advise a most apt visitation and custody. An appraiser may estimate the value of antiques and real property. An accountant may analyze the business interests.

Neutral Evaluation

A Neutral Evaluator is appointed by the court and is a local expert domestic relations attorney. This Evaluator explains how he or she thinks that the court would resolve the different issues.

Divorce Papers