Divorce in Virginia is a Circuit Court proceeding governed by a specific set of statutes. How long you must have lived in the Commonwealth, how long you must live apart, how property gets classified before it gets divided — all of it is knowable in advance.
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. has practiced family law in Virginia since 1997. This page sets out how Virginia divorce actually works, so that when you call, you are asking better questions.
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Threshold questions
Under Va. Code § 20-97, one spouse must have been a bona fide resident and domiciliary of Virginia for at least six months before the suit is commenced. Residence alone is not enough — the statute requires both. Service members stationed in Virginia for six months are addressed separately within the same section.
The no-fault ground, § 20-91(A)(9)(a), requires living separate and apart without cohabitation and without interruption for one year — dropping to six months where there are no minor children of the parties and the spouses have executed a written property settlement or separation agreement.
A separation period is not required for every Virginia divorce. A divorce on the fault ground of adultery under § 20-91(A)(1) has no waiting period built into the ground itself. Whether pursuing fault is advisable is a separate question — and often the answer is no.
Posture
The spouses agree on every issue — property, debt, spousal support, custody, and child support — and have reduced that agreement to writing. The court's role narrows to confirming the statutory requirements are met and entering the decree. It is the shortest and least expensive path through the system, and it is available more often than people expect.
Posture
One or more issues remain open. That does not automatically mean a trial. Most contested matters resolve through negotiation, discovery, and settlement conferences. Preparation for trial and settlement are not opposing tracks; the same work supports both.
The firm handles both. Which posture your case takes is usually determined less by hostility than by how much information the parties actually have about their own finances.
Va. Code § 20-107.3
Virginia is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. Equitable means fair in the court's judgment — it does not mean equal, and there is no presumption of a 50/50 split. The statute operates in three sequential steps.
Every asset and debt is classified as marital, separate, or hybrid. Property acquired during the marriage is generally marital; property owned before it, or received as a gift or inheritance, is generally separate. Hybrid property is where most contested cases actually turn.
Marital property must be valued. Bank balances are simple. Closely held businesses, professional practices, unvested equity compensation, and pensions are not, and frequently require a valuation professional.
The court applies the statutory factors — the monetary and non-monetary contributions of each party to the well-being of the family and to the acquisition of the marital estate, the duration of the marriage, and the circumstances that contributed to the dissolution.
In 2019, Mr. Sris testified before the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee in support of House Bill 635 (chief patron Del. David Bulova), which addressed Va. Code § 20-107.3(g). Bill history is searchable on the Virginia Legislative Information System at lis.virginia.gov.
Va. Code § 20-107.1
Spousal support in Virginia is not automatic and is not formulaic at the final-award stage. The statute sets out the factors a court weighs, among them the obligations and financial resources of each party, the standard of living established during the marriage, the duration of the marriage, the contributions of each party, and the earning capacity of each spouse.
Adultery matters here in a specific way. Under § 20-107.1(B), where a divorce is granted on the ground of adultery, permanent support generally may not be awarded to the spouse found at fault — but the court retains discretion to award support anyway where denying it would constitute a manifest injustice, based on the respective degrees of fault and the relative economic circumstances of the parties. The bar is strong; it is not absolute.
Support may be periodic, for a defined duration, or in a lump sum, and it may be modifiable or non-modifiable depending on how it is structured in an agreement.
Va. Code §§ 20-124.2, 20-124.3
Virginia courts decide custody and visitation under one standard: the best interests of the child. Section 20-124.3 lists the factors the judge must consider, including the age and condition of the child and of each parent, the relationship between each parent and the child, the role each parent has played and will play, each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent, and — where the child is of reasonable intelligence, age, and experience — the child's own preference.
Decision-making authority over education, health care, and religious upbringing.
Where the child lives. Either may be joint or sole, and the two are decided independently.
Which court hears it. Custody and support matters filed on their own go to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Once a divorce suit is pending, the Circuit Court takes them up. Appeals from J&DR go to the Circuit Court and are heard de novo — tried again from the beginning, not reviewed on the record. Filing in the wrong forum costs months.
Va. Code § 20-108.2
The guideline produces a presumptively correct figure driven by the combined gross monthly income of both parents, work-related child care costs, and the cost of health insurance coverage for the children. Sole, shared, and split custody each calculate differently, and the shared-custody threshold turns on the number of days of physical custody.
A court may deviate from the guideline figure, but it must state its reasons in writing. Most disputes are not about the formula. They are about what income goes into it.
Complex matters
Closely held business interests, professional practices, stock options and restricted stock units, deferred compensation, real estate holdings, and assets located outside the United States. These cases turn on classification and valuation long before they turn on argument.
Residency and domicile questions for service members, service of process on a deployed spouse, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act stay provisions, and division of military retired pay under the USFSPA, 10 U.S.C. § 1408 — including the 10/10 rule governing direct payment from DFAS.
Marriages contracted outside the United States, foreign assets, and coordination with proceedings in another country. A marriage validly contracted where it was celebrated is presumptively recognised in Virginia under lex loci celebrationis; an apostille is an evidentiary convenience, not a precondition to recognition.
Drafting, review, and enforceability challenges under the Premarital Agreement Act.
Eight steps
Six months, both elements, under § 20-97.
Either the separation period has run, or a fault ground is available and worth pursuing.
Filed in the Circuit Court of the appropriate county or city. The pleading is a “Complaint” — “Bill of Complaint” is retired terminology.
By sheriff, private process server, or acceptance of service where the other spouse is cooperating.
Temporary support, temporary custody, and exclusive use of the marital residence can be addressed before the case resolves.
Financial disclosure, interrogatories, document production, depositions where warranted, and settlement discussions in parallel.
Most matters resolve by written agreement. Those that do not proceed to an evidentiary hearing on the open issues.
The court enters the decree, which ends the marriage and makes the terms binding.
By appointment
All locations are by appointment.
Distinct from locations
The firm's Virginia family law work reaches Circuit Courts and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts across the Commonwealth.
Fairfax County, Arlington County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Stafford County, Fauquier County, Falls Church, Alexandria
Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Goochland County, Powhatan County, Louisa County, New Kent County
Shenandoah County, Rockingham County, Rappahannock County
Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, York County, James City County, Isle of Wight County
Roanoke County, Colonial Heights, Dinwiddie County, Prince George County, King William County, Fluvanna County
About the firm
Mr. Sris founded the firm in 1997 and has practiced continuously since. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in five U.S. jurisdictions — Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. In 2019 he testified before the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee in support of 2019 HB 635.
Every attorney other than Mr. Sris is Of Counsel to the firm. Family law matters draw on Of Counsel attorneys whose backgrounds include more than fourteen years as a contract attorney to a Virginia municipality on child welfare and CPS matters, service as a Maryland Assistant State's Attorney, and doctoral research in communication applied to negotiation and dispute resolution.
Individual attorneys are admitted in specific jurisdictions; not all attorneys are admitted in all states. Consultations are scheduled by appointment, in English, Spanish, Tamil, French, and Portuguese.
Frequently asked
The floor is set by the ground. An uncontested no-fault divorce cannot be finalised before the separation period has run — one year, or six months with no minor children and a signed agreement. After that, an uncontested matter moves at the pace of the court's docket. A contested matter with disputed custody or a business valuation takes substantially longer, because discovery and expert work take as long as they take. Results may vary. Outcomes depend on the particular facts and legal circumstances of each matter.
For the no-fault ground, yes — unless you have no minor children and a signed separation agreement, which reduces it to six months. Fault grounds operate on different timing. Living “separate and apart” does not always require separate addresses, but it does require an intent to end the marriage held by at least one spouse and an actual cessation of marital cohabitation.
No. Virginia divides marital property equitably under § 20-107.3, which means fairly in the court's judgment after weighing the statutory factors. An equal division is a possible outcome, not a starting presumption.
Virginia has no status by that name. The two things people mean by it are a divorce from bed and board under § 20-95, which is a limited court decree, and a written separation agreement, which is a contract between the spouses. The agreement route is far more common.
No. Adultery is one of the statutory factors a court may weigh in equitable distribution, and under § 20-107.1(B) it generally bars an award of permanent spousal support to the spouse at fault — subject to the manifest-injustice exception. It does not determine custody, which is decided on the child's best interests, and it does not forfeit a party's marital property interest.
The court does, applying the § 20-124.3 best-interests factors. If no divorce suit is pending, that is the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court; once a divorce is filed, the Circuit Court takes it up.
Fees depend on the posture of the case and are addressed in a written fee agreement before representation begins. An uncontested matter with a signed agreement costs materially less than a contested matter requiring discovery, valuation professionals, and contested hearings.
Request a consultation
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles divorce, custody, support, and property division matters throughout Virginia. To discuss your matter, call the intake line or request a consultation online.
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The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You should consult an attorney about your individual situation. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send confidential information until an attorney-client relationship has been established. Individual attorneys are admitted in specific jurisdictions; not all attorneys are admitted in all states. Every attorney other than Mr. Sris is Of Counsel to the firm.
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