Virginia Family Law

No (sane) attorney will answer this question without first listening to a full overview of your case and the circumstances of your situation.

We can, as we did in the sections above, provide a general outline of how the process works in theory, but the specific shape and nature of your divorce is something that only your attorney can outline in full.

If you’d like some more general information about the Virginia divorce process, please see the linked articles and resources in our “Free Resources and Downloads” section above.

Spouses who file for divorce in Virginia must submit certain information to the court as part of the normal divorce process.

For example, you’ll have to include certain vital information in your divorce complaint such as your date of marriage and when you separated from your spouse.

Similarly, your property settlement agreement should divide all marital property “equitably” between you and your spouse, so your attorney will most likely want to see all of your financial records as well.

Generally speaking, you should collect any available information relating to your marriage.

Remember, the court will ask about the who, what, where, when, and why of your marriage, so your attorney will most likely need to know this information as well when preparing your case.

The answer to this question will also largely depend on the specifics of your case.

For example, you may be able to complete an uncontested divorce in as little as a few weeks, while a contested divorce could take up to a year or more to finish in full.

Put simply, the more issues there are to resolve, the longer your case will likely take.

For this reason, it’s usually wise to ask your attorney for a ball-park estimate of your case’s length when you go in for your first consultation.

For more information, please see our article, “How Long Does it Take to Get a Divorce in Virginia?”

The total cost of your divorce will depend on several facts, such as the type of divorce you’re filing for, the complexity of the issues in your case, and the billing structure of the attorney you hire.

For this reason, it’s impossible (and irresponsible) for anyone to accurately estimate the cost of your case without first reviewing every element of your divorce.

In general, uncontested divorces will cost somewhere in the realm of several hundred dollars, while contested divorces can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars or more depending on the circumstances of the case.

However, you should remember that only your attorney can give an accurate estimate for what you should expect to pay in your particular situation.

For more information, please see our article, “How Much Does it Cost to Get a Divorce in Virginia?”

Virginia spouses who file for divorce must follow the Commonwealth’s equitable distribution process.

This is basically an organized way for two married spouses to divide any joint or marital property between themselves as part of their divorce process.

Generally speaking, there are three steps to Virginia’s equitable distribution process:

• You must classify your property as marital, separate, or mixed.
• You must value any relevant marital and mixed property, such as the family home or the family car.
• You must divide this marital and mixed property in an equitable (“fair”) manner.

We’ve written several guides on the equitable distribution process for our Knowledge Base.

However, the gist of the situation is that you must fairly divide any shared property between yourselves.

Separate property, such as inheritances and most property that was purchased before the marriage, is not subject to the equitable distribution process.