How Long Does It Take To Get Divorce In Virginia
We've all heard horror stories about divorce cases that drag on for years and finish up costing a fortune.
Nevertheless, in Virginia, depending on how you file your case, you tin end your divorce in much less fourth dimension.
In this article, we'll talk about the different types of divorce in Virginia, and requite a rough estimate for how long each 1 takes.
Contents:
Uncontested No-Fault Divorce Timeline
Let'due south start with what is, for most people, the virtually common manner to get a divorce in Virginia: an uncontested no-fault divorce.
This blazon of divorce has two distinct elements:
- Uncontested — You and your spouse agree on every element of your divorce, including both the terms of your divorce (i.eastward. how you'll divide your property) and the grounds for your divorce (the "no-error" distinction beneath).
- No-Fault — You and your spouse concur to file for divorce based on a menstruum of separation rather than any specific fault such as adultery.
The reason that this is the most mutual blazon of divorce is that it'southward also usually the easiest way to get divorced in Virginia.
By filing for an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse don't have to waste product fourth dimension and resources arguing out the terms of your divorce in front of a judge.
This tin be washed informally past mutual understanding or formally through drafting and signing a property settlement understanding.
Similarly, by filing for a "no-fault" divorce there'due south no need to testify any specific reason for your divorce.
Instead, all you have to do is live separate and apart from your spouse for one yr.
Further, if you accept no children, and have completed a belongings settlement understanding, you just have to live apart for six months before filing for divorce.
How to file for an uncontested no-fault divorce
Equally mentioned higher up, filing for this blazon of divorce can be quite easy. In fact, the actual "divorce" process can take as niggling every bit a few weeks.
Basically, after waiting out the separation menstruation mentioned above (either six months or a year), you lot must file the necessary paperwork with the proper courtroom.
You lot should contact an attorney to find out exactly what paperwork you should submit and where yous should submit it.
The court will generally procedure your divorce petition within three months of the appointment you lot file your divorce petition.
One time the approximate signs your divorce, information technology will go into effect immediately, and your divorce process will end.
In this fashion, the uncontested divorce process will take roughly 7 to fifteen months to complete in total.
If you and your spouse already meet the separation requirement, information technology will instead have betwixt one and iii months.
Contested No-Fault Divorce Timeline
The procedure described higher up hinges on you and your spouse being able to come to an agreement on all terms of your divorce.
If you or your spouse disagrees on any significant chemical element of your divorce, your divorce will instead become "contested."
In a contested divorce, you and your spouse will appear before a judge or mediator to work out the contested element of your divorce.
For case, if you agree on every element of your divorce except for how you'll split your avails, you may have to have a gauge carve up them for you lot.
Every bit yous tin can imagine, this can be an incredibly time-consuming process.
To initiate this type of divorce, you must first fulfill the same vi to twelve-month separation requirement discussed to a higher place earlier you can even file for a divorce.
And then, yous'll have to undergo the nine-footstep Virginia contested divorce process.
Ultimately, the length of this process will depend on how committed you are to fighting out your problems in court.
If you go through the entire process, you lot should expect it to take at least a year. However, it's also common for contested divorces to last multiple years depending on the circumstances.
Error-Based Divorces in Virginia
From a legal perspective, fault-based divorces heighten several complications which tin lengthen your overall divorce process.
As noted above, a fault-based divorce occurs when i party alleges that the other is "at fault" for the divorce due to one of the following grounds:
- Adultery
- Not-consensual abandonment or neglect
- Cruelty (by and large multiple instances of concrete abuse)
- Confidence of a felony that leads to more than one year of imprisonment
In a fault-based divorce, y'all must show that your spouse was responsible for one or more than of the above acts.
You will as well take to prove that this action was the primary reason for the divorce.
One notable aspect of filing for a fault-based divorce is that yous may be able to file more quickly than a no-fault divorce.
This is because the "grounds" for your divorce is the actual fault itself, and not the six-month to one-twelvemonth period of separation.
If you are basing your divorce on a felony conviction or an example of infidelity, yous may instead be eligible for an immediate accented divorce.
However, if you lot are filing for divorce based on abandonment or cruelty, the i year of separation is still required to finalize the divorce.
In either scenario, however, you must bear witness the accusation in courtroom before proceeding.
While it's easy to testify a felony conviction (as the courtroom volition have a record of the case), information technology tin be hard to prove adultery or cruelty in courtroom.
For this reason, information technology's not uncommon for couples filing for a fault-based divorce to amend their instance to a no-fault divorce after reaching the half dozen-month to i-year flow of separation requirement noted higher up.
Bed and Lath Divorce
If you are filing for a fault-based divorce on grounds of cruelty or abandonment, yous may be eligible for a bed and lath divorce.
This is finer a "legal separation" where you and your spouse become through many of the processes of absolute divorce, but remain legally married.
The biggest benefit of a bed and board divorce is that information technology separates you and your spouse'south property immediately.
It too allows you to begin dealing with issues surrounding child custody, dividing your shared assets, and the like without having to look out the mandatory period of separation.
At the stop of a year-long separation period mentioned above, you and your spouse may petition the courtroom for an absolute divorce, so long as you have not reconciled in that time.
Conclusion
Ultimately, your best bet for fugitive a long, expensive divorce is to get in affect with a good Virginia family lawyer equally early as possible.
An experienced Virginia family attorney can walk you through the divorce procedure, and predict what bug you lot are likely to run into.
Further, they can assist propose you on the type of divorce most applicable to your specific situation.
Source: https://tingen.law/2019/virginia-divorce-timeline/36157/
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