The Process

There are several steps to getting an uncontested divorce. These steps include:

1) The initial discussion with your spouse

2) Sitting down with a lawyer to talk through everything

3) Coming up with an agreement

4) Submitting the paperwork to the court for review.

How Do Uncontested Divorces Work in Virginia?

The Timeline

An uncontested divorce case can take anywhere from one month to a year depending on how far along the parties are in negotiation. At a minimum, you must be separated for six (6) months if you have no children together and one (1) year if you do have children.

After you have been separated long enough, its only a matter of getting everything in writing and submitted to the Court. It usually takes the court two to three weeks to review the papers.

The Cost

The average cost for an uncontested divorce is between $500 and $2,000. It ranges depending upon how many subjects the parties already have an agreement on and how complex the agreement is.

Some cases are more complicated than others as the parties have more assets to be divided or a more complicated custody schedule to work through.

Coming up with a separation agreement.

It all begins with talking through all the assets and liabilities the parties have and custody and visitation. The first thing you should do when coming up with an agreement is to create a spreadsheet of all your assets. This spreadsheet will be very helpful in having the lawyer work through how things are to be divided.

You also want to use a day planner to map out what kind of custody schedule you and your ex-spouse will agree on. Will it be every other week? What about holidays? Summer vacations? You need to make sure you think through all these items in advance.

 FAQs

  • So long as you follow all the steps outlined above and have a general agreement already outlined, the process should only take a few weeks if you have already been separated for more than the required period of time.

  • If your ex-spouse does not agree with your proposal, then you do not have an uncontested divorce. You will likely have to go to court unless an agreement can be reached.

  • By making sure everything has been outlined in advance of your meeting with an attorney. The more information and details you have in advance the faster the process will be.

  • Virginia allows for the uncontested divorce to be filed anywhere in Virginia so long as the parties are in agreement. However, it is usually filed with the parties last cohabitated.