Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: Desertion Law

It's an interesting question.

What does it say for the level of commitment that a man and wife have for each other and for their marriage when a man will move away fom his wife and establish another residence just for a job opportunity and what does it say about a wife who will not join her husband where he really wants to be? I would say that the deserter legally would be the husband who moved rather than the wife who refused to move from the marital home.

The question of desertion is irrelevant to alimony. Alimony isn't helped by one party commiting marital fault. Alimony is based on one party's need for it and the other party's ability to pay it factored with the length of the marriage and other stautory factors.

Good luck.

Re: Desertion Law

Who's to say that under the scenario which you've described that the husband himself could not be charged as the deserting party?

Obviously, many more facts in an actual case would have to be known before a reasonably reliable conclusion could be drawn in such a matter.

Re: Desertion Law

Perhaps the only part of your question which can be answered with certainty is the part dealing with a spouse's exposure to alimony. In Virginia, a party is denied alimony only upon proof of adultery, and even in that circumstance there is language in the Virginia Code to permit an award of alimony if to deny alimony would be a "manifest injustice." No other fault grounds for divorce(desertion, cruelty) disqualify the party against whom such grounds are proved from receiving alimony.

There are financial factors to consider, such as the relative incomes of the parties, but only adultery acts as a bar to alimony.