Virginia Divorce Law: Uncontested Divorce Documents

Are you interested in an uncontested divorce? If so, this article may be useful in understanding the types of documents required by the Court to finalize your case and why those documents are important.

So what is the process for an uncontested divorce and what documents are required?

How to Get a Virginia Uncontested Divorce

In order to qualify for an uncontested divorce, you must have been separated for at least six months from your spouse if there are no kids. If you have children together, you must wait an entire year. After that time window is up, you must do the following things:

1) You must come to an agreement on all property and custody issues;

2) You must draft a formal agreement detailing those terms and both spouses need to sign;

3) The agreement must be submitted to the Court for review.

What Documents are Required in Virginia for an Uncontested Divorce?

There are several documents that you need in order to finalize your divorce. The law recently changed to make this a little easier, but it is still important to understand what needs to be prepared. Below is a list of documents required:

1) Separation Agreement

The Separation Agreement is the document that both sides sign that details what you have agreed to. You must have all issues addressed in the agreement. If something is left out, it could turn your case into a contested divorce and require more time and effort.

2) Complaint for Divorce

After the agreement is signed, you have to submit it to the Court with a complaint for divorce. This is a document that notifies the Court that you are eligible for a divorce and that you have reached an agreement.

3) Civil Filing Cover Sheet

This document notifies the Court what type of case is being filed so the Clerk can calculate the filing fee and make sure you are filing the right type of case

4) Request for Summons

This document notifies the Court that you want the other side to be served with the paperwork. Service is required in order to finalize a divorce. A summons can be for sheriff service or for the other side to accept the paperwork without a sheriff involved.

5) Waiver of Service

This document is filed with the Court when the other spouse does not want a sheriff to come to their house to serve the paperwork. The document accepts the complaint and notifies the Court they received the summons as well.

6) VS-4 Form

This document is a standard form prepared by the Virginia Department of Vital Records that details the information from the spouses. This document requires social security numbers, birth dates, places of birth, and more information.

7) Plaintiff’s Affidavit

This is a notarized document from the person filing the complaint confirming the allegations in the complaint are true.

8) Final Decree of Divorce

This document is what is given to the judge to finalize the divorce. There are many legal requirements as to what should be in a Final Decree of Divorce depending on what the parties have agreed to.

Why You Need a Divorce Lawyer for an Uncontested Divorce

You should hire a lawyer to help you prepare the documents listed above. If you do not have a lawyer, it can result in the case taking additional time to resolve and maybe even denied by the judge. Make sure you hire a lawyer to do it right the first time. Even if you get past the judge, there may be problems down the road when it comes time to enforce the paperwork.

Virginia Divorce Law: Post Divorce Negotiation

Divorce cases in Virginia are all about dividing property that both spouses acquired during the marriage and deciding issues related to the children. However, sometimes decisions have to be made after the divorce is finalized based upon factors such as changes in the law, changing financial needs, and new issues that were not foreseen during the divorce process.

So how do spouses address issues that come up after a divorce, and what options do you have to fix issues that did not appear until after the divorce was finalized?

Virginia Divorces: Separation Agreement versus Court Order

The first thing you need to be aware of is what happens during a divorce process. The first step is to finalize the divorce. A divorce can be finalized either by an agreement between the parties submitted to the judge for approval or by having a judge decide how property is to be divided. If you are able to reach an agreement, then you can have a Separation Agreement drafted which both sides can sign.

However, if you are unable to come up with an agreement, then the judge will have a trial and enter a Final Decree of Divorce which details how the property will be divided.

It is important to understand this difference because your ability to change things post divorce may depend on whether you have a Separation Agreement or a Decree that came about from a trial. There may be more limitations if it was a decree than if it was a Separation Agreement.

Reasons to Modify a Separation Agreement

There are several scenarios where you may want to modify a Separation Agreement. For example, a change in income may require a reduction or increase in spousal support. Perhaps you and your ex-spouse are having problems selling the real estate and the Separation Agreement doesn’t say what needs to happen. Or maybe there has been a change in retirement benefits and now one of you are not getting what you expected out fo the retirement accounts.

So how do you modify a Separation Agreement to address these issues?

Modifications Post Divorce

Do you have a Separation Agreement or a final decree and you and your spouse agree that it needs to be modified? There are two major different ways of handling that issue. It largely depends on what needs to be modified. If you are seeking to modify spousal support, that is going to be more complicated than if you are seeking to modify an agreement on how real estate is to be sold.

If you are dealing with spousal support modifications, you need to make sure that any agreement you and your spouse come up with is approved by the judge. If you come to a private agreement to modify support but do not get judge approval, that may result in a nasty surprise several months later when your spouse attempts to enforce the original order.

It is far simpler to modify provisions related to dividing assets such as real estate. Courts offer more lattitude to parties who are trying to figure out how to handle post-divorce sale of real estate.

Why You Need a Divorce Lawyer

Whether you and your spouse have agreed to modify spousal support post-divorce or whether the old Separation Agreement is interferring with the sale of real estate, it is important to consult with a local divorce lawyer to discuss your options. You need to make sure that you follow the correct procedure and get the appropriate approvals before moving forward and relying on those agreements. Failure to go through the proper procedures could result in the post-divorce agreement being invalidated. Make sure you call a lawyer before modifying a Separation Agreement or Order after your divorce.

Virginia Divorce Law: The Problem with DIY Separation Agreements

If you have started the divorce process or are just now thinking about whether you want to begin, it is important to understand the dangers associated with a do-it-yourself (“DIY”) divorce. As I have written about in a separate article, the two major types of divorces are contested and uncontested divorces.

If you are pursuing an uncontested divorce, you will likely need a separation agreement. So what is a separation agreement, why do you need one, and what could go horribly wrong if you DIY?

What is a Divorce Separation Agreement?

This is a document that explains to the court what you and your spouse would like to do with everything that was acquired during the marriage and how you are handling custody and visitation of any children. To qualify for an uncontested divorce, you must fully resolve all these issues. 

You and your spouse will need to agree on how to handle things including, but not limited to, life insurance policies, health insurance, debt, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, vehicles, jewelry, retirement accounts, pets and real estate. You will also need to handle where the children will live and how often the other parent will get to see the children.

Why Do You Need a Divorce Separation Agreement?

If you do not have an agreement in place of some kind, then you must do a contested divorce. These can be terribly time consuming and expensive. You will be required to obey several rules and file the appropriate paperwork with the court or risk losing your case.

Without a separation agreement, you may also run into arguments on how to handle your property. You may have thought you had an agreement on who would handle a certain credit card bill, but without something in writing you risk a dispute. Therefore, it is important to have an agreement in writing.

What Could Go Wrong if you Don’t Hire a Lawyer to Draft the Separation Agreement?

I have seen too many people attempt to create a DIY Separation Agreement. Common examples of issues that go wrong include a) not identifying how retirement accounts will be divided, b) not identifying how real estate is going to be sold and c) not being clear enough in how custody and visitation schedules are going to work.

If you are not clear, you will have a lawsuit. These are complicated matters with plenty of potential loopholes that could get you trapped in court for years. It could hold up the sale of your property and cost you thousands of dollars. It is cheaper to hire an attorney to get it right the first time than try and hire a lawyer to fix the bad DIY job later.

Therefore, make sure you talk to an attorney if you are considering a divorce so you can get a separation agreement that meets your needs and protects you down the road.