Navigate Your Divorce with Confidence

An uncontested divorce is when there are no issues that the parties to a divorce need a Court to resolve. Usually, an uncontested divorce can occur when the parties voluntarily resolve their issues in a separation or property settlement agreement OR when there are no issues to resolve (such as child custody, division of property, or spousal support).

In order to get divorced in Virginia, you must plead sufficient grounds for divorce. So called “Fault Grounds” include, but are not limited to, adultery, cruelty, and desertion. Separation for a certain period of time (six months or a year) also constitute “no-fault” grounds for divorce. Even a divorce that has “no-fault” grounds could still be contested if the Court needs to resolve issues related to children, property, or spousal support.

There is no legal requirement of an attorney to file for divorce in Virginia. Filing for a divorce without a lawyer is called filing pro se (pronounced /pro say/) and many people do it using forms generated online. However, when you have minor children and/or property to divide, having a lawyer can make a lot of sense.

So long as either you or your spouse currently reside in Virginia, and unless you are advised to file elsewhere by an experienced family law attorney, you can file in the jurisdiction (city or county) in Virginia that either of you live in. All divorce filings must be filed with the Circuit Court of that city or county.

Courts in Virginia typically process and enter the Final Decree of Divorce within four to six weeks of receiving all of the necessary documents. However, processing time varies by jurisdiction and longer processing times have been caused by COVID-19.

If you complete your forms correctly, you will only need to file the paperwork at the courthouse and should not need to appear for an actual hearing. In most circumstances, if you file the right paperwork, the judge will sign your divorce papers in their office, and you will not have to take off from work or experience the stress of appearing in court.

For now, use of these forms requires that you have no minor children with your spouse, and one of the following two criteria met: 1) you have been separated for over a year and do not need the court to do anything but divorce you, or 2) you have been separated for over six months and have a signed Separation Agreement with your spouse that covers how to handle your joint finances, assets, and support. If you do have assets, debts, support, or other financial issues to resolve between you and your spouse, please see a Family Law attorney for assistance on completing the Separation Agreement.

Generally yes, there are steps where your spouse needs to cooperate. It is much easier and quicker if they sign the right form(s) to confirm they know about the divorce, or to confirm the Separation Agreement terms if you have to handle distribution of joint finances, assets, or support. There are ways around getting a divorce if they do not cooperate, but you should see a Family Law attorney for advice on how to handle that.

It depends on how long it takes you to collect the information necessary, or if you need a Settlement Agreement and do not yet have one signed. It can be as quick as one month or quite a few months, depending on your situation.

You can still get divorced in Virginia, but our forms are not currently set up for this. Check back soon for updates!

Our forms are made to be as user-friendly as possible. You probably will not need anything further. However, if you do, we have experienced attorneys standing by to provide further guidance! To access that service, you will need to complete a “conflicts check” to make sure the attorney does not have a conflict in representing you or your spouse.