Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Hi.

I am English, and live in the UK. My girlfriend is English but lives in Virginia.

She got married to an English man in the UK 16 years ago, and had a child with him nearly 14 year ago. They then all moved out to Virginia 9 years ago because of his work.

All of them have US residency and green cards but still hold UK passports and are UK only citizens. She has a full time job too, and they live in a house valued at around the $1M mark and have a car each also, although the pinks are in his name.

He also has control (PIN numbers & passwords etc) over all the back accounts, joint and single.

She now wants to separate from him as quickly as possible and move in with me ... either by me moving out to the US, to facilitate the daughter finishing her schooling with her know peer group, or by her and the daughter moving back to the UK, and also apply for a divorce. There is also a possibility of her being pregnant with my baby .... a gynaecological appointment is booked for this week to clarify this.

Is my girlfriend able to file for divorce in Virginia, even though she was married in the UK?

and if she is, would it be quicker, easier and cheaper to divorce in Virginia, rather than in the UK?

I know when I got an uncontested divorce in the UK in 2007, it was finalised in only just over 6 months. I also got legal aid at the time, so do not have any idea of how much it would have cost if I had had to pay for my lawyers.

Also, because of the control her current husband has over the household finances, and his general controlling nature combined with the bitter resentment he is going to experience when he finds out about the divorce, are there any particular things we should be aware of, or tips you might have regard the splitting of such financial assets in Virginia State law?

Finally, If she does get a US divorce of a UK marriage, does that leave her free to marry me in the future, either in the US or the UK?

Thanks very much in advance for all your help :)


Asked on 8/16/10, 1:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Paul B. Ward Law Offices of Paul B. Ward

Virginia would be the proper place to get the divorce; it's the last place they lived together -- more important, the Virginia court will have jurisdiction over the husband for purposes of property, custody and child support issues. If he can prove adultery, it is likely she will not be eligible for alimony, though she would still be eligible for child support if she is awarded custody of the daughter.

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Answered on 8/22/10, 4:24 am


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