In Virginia, you must be a legal resident and married for at least six months to be eligible for divorce. Additionally, after separation, you and your ex-spouse must live apart for at least a year before you can file for an uncontested divorce. If there are no minor children involved, the parties can sign an agreement concerning property division, support, and child custody and get divorced after six months from the time of separation.
If the divorce is based on adultery or the other spouse has committed a felony and is sentenced to more than a year of incarceration, there is no waiting period.
Any property acquired during the marriage is considered “marital property,” and unless stated otherwise, Virginia courts will presume that it’ll be split equally between you and your ex-spouse. Not only are tangible objects like real estate and vehicles up for division, but intangible property like military retirement, life insurance, and retirement benefits are also subject to division. During the division process, the courts will look at:
When going through a divorce in Virginia, courts favor giving parents joint legal and physical custody. Legal custody is the parent’s ability to choose the child’s medical care, education, and religious upbringing. Joint physical custody means that each party is entitled to equal time with the children.
Of course, the court will determine what’s in the children’s best interest. This means they’ll consider the child’s reasonable interest, medical needs, and relationship with close relatives. Both parties’ ability to care for the children will also be considered. Incidents of past abuses will also be considered when deciding whether a certain spouse will have access to the children.
Yes, you can modify child support at any time. However, if you’re currently paying child support in Virginia and want to change the amount you’re responsible for each month, you must prove some things. First, you need to prove that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred in your life. Examples of this can include the loss of a job or a considerable decrease in income.
Secondly, you might be asked to contribute more to child support if you’ve had a significant increase in income. Of course, it might be hard to know whether you will be legally obligated to pay more in child support. It might also be hard to know when you should reach out for representation when you’re trying to receive additional child support from an ex-spouse due to a life change. Seeking the proper legal representation will ensure that you and your children are monetarily taken care of.
Yes, interstate adoption allows you to adopt a child across state lines. The interstate adoption process is similar to adoption within the same state. The parents hoping to adopt the child must first get a family profile or home study and adhere to their state's adoption law.
Prospective parents must meet the laws of the state where the child lives to be eligible to adopt the child. The process also involves the interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). The sending state's ICPC will not approve the child's transfer if the prospective adoptive parents fail to comply with the state laws.
This depends on the adoption type—generally, couples hoping to adopt need to be ready for a long, and sometimes bump, ride. No two adoptions are the same, and because of this, for example, a newborn baby adoption in the United States can be quick or drag on, taking years. This is because the speed of the adoption process depends on two stages: pre-placement and post-placement.
Pre-placement is the period before the child enters your home, while post-placement is after the child settles in your home. These stages are critical to the adoption process, and their time frames typically differ.
There are state adoption assistance programs to help potential adoptive parents afford the expenses of raising the adopted child in foster care. The financial assistance varies from state to state but typically includes monthly cash payments and adoption expenses.
You can get child support through the Juvenile and Domestic Relation Court (JDRC), the Circuit Court, or administratively through the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE).
The payments can be terminated when the child reaches the age of majority or graduates from high school. The custodial parent of a child with a physical or mental illness should continue offering support even after this period. There are circumstances when the child's emancipation can be contested. If this happens, consider reaching out to a family law attorney.
If you are unable to pay child support, you should take appropriate measures to have your existing order modified. For the best outcome, it's better to hire the representation of a lawyer to guide you through this process.
The decision to award custody lies with the court. The judge can decide to award sole custody to one of the parents or joint custody. This decision is based on what the court believes is in the child's best interest.
Joint custody is where both parents share custody rights. Joint custody can either be joint legal custody or joint physical custody. Joint legal custody is where both parents share the right to make decisions in the child's life. Joint physical custody involves the physical time each parent spends with the child.
The court will determine custody after considering factors such as the age, mental and physical condition of the child or parent, the relationship between the parent and the child, the child's needs, and the role each parent has played in supporting the future of the child.
In the United States, you have a right to determine who receives your property in the event of your death. However, planning for the future can be overwhelming, especially when thinking about what will happen to your estate after you’ve passed away. At Pedersen Law, we’re here to make planning the distribution of your estate less daunting.
Estate planning consists of crafting legal documents that ensure your wishes are known and can be easily followed in the event of your incapacity or death. If you avoid estate planning, the court will appoint a personal representative, otherwise known as an executor, for your estate. This person will most likely be a close relative, but not necessarily, which is why having a plan in place is extremely important.
Estate planning is extremely important. Without proper estate planning, your property will enter probate, an expensive and lengthy public judicial process that transfers ownership of assets to your heirs. These assets include real estate, financial accounts, vehicles, business ventures, and other material possessions.
Without proper planning, an average of 18 months of probate takes place before your assets can be distributed. This might cause a great deal of unnecessary stress for your grieving loved ones.
An Advance Medical Directive is a document that allows you to outline your wishes regarding your medical care and end-of-life decisions and appoint a person known as a Healthcare Agent. The purpose of the Healthcare Agent is to act and make medical decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
A Durable Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to act on your behalf for financial and legal matters. Simply put, if you are incapacitated, lying in a hospital, and needing surgery, it allows the person you choose to authorize the surgery or to pay for medical procedures.
A Revocable Living Trust is an agreement, similar to a contract, between you as “Guarantor” and you as “Trustee.” The Trust is “revocable,” meaning you continue to retain use and control over your property, and the Trust can be changed or terminated at any time. A trust becomes effective immediately upon your death, and unlike a will, a trust is a private document that can only be seen by you and your loved ones.
Your will is a document that outlines the transferring of your assets to the people you choose after your death. It appoints a person you have previously chosen as an Executor to carry out your wishes. If you have children who are minors, this document is where you’ll name one or more people to act as guardians to care for them.
To ensure proper distribution of your guns, yes, you will need a Gun Trust.
A Gun Trust is put in place to hold legal title over firearms and to provide instruction for the distribution of firearms in the event of your death. If you’ve planned your estate properly, you, the Trustmaker, will have complete control over who these firearms get passed on to. Firearms are unusual in that there is a large amount of both State and Federal regulation for the possession, use, and transfer of certain firearms.
Firearms and accessories regulated under Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968 or the National Firearms Act of 1934 are far more heavily regulated. They may even expose owners to criminal liability if proper safeguards are not taken. NFA Gun Trusts are unique trusts heavily tailored to meet these requirements.
NFA Gun Trusts are unique trusts heavily tailored to meet the stringent requirements under Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the National Firearms Act of 1934. Additionally, they need to adhere to the regulations set in place by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
A failure to comply with these statutes and regulations may result in civil or criminal liability to the transgressor. NFA Gun Trusts are designed to meet all federal and state requirements to own, possess, and transfer firearms while providing a safe, legal, and convenient way to own and use your firearms.
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