Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
my divorce was final on November 26, 2008. there were items that my ex-husband agreed to in the final decree. He has yet to comply with 2 of the items. i cannot afford a lawyer to take him back to court to force him to comply to those two items. Can i do it by myself? what forms do i need, show cause, non-compliance? what ? and after i filll out the forms and have them notorized, what is the process? do i have to have him served personally or can i just send the petition to his lawyer? i just need someone to dick-and-jane me through the process and then i can do it myself. i am still paying off my divorce lawyer so she is still listed as my lawyer. do i have to terminate her before i can doi something for myself?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If the circuit court which entered your divorce still retains jurisdiction in the case, then a notice and motion will likely need to be filed to reopen the divorce and a rule to Show Cause filed against the allegedly non-compliant party with proper service of these papers upon this party. Unlike in J&D court, there are no forms which are readily available to initiate these actions which are normally handled by lawyers and you should endeavor to have transferred to this lower court all parts of the divorce case which are transferrable and which may later require enforcement so that you can handle it yourself.