Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: Do it yourself separation and divorce

Signatures which are validly notarized must be executed in the presence of the notary who then completes the information required of her and affixes the notarial seal to the document. A valid notarization

cannot occur when a document is signed

by the person(s) required to sign it and then subsequently signed and sealed by a notary at a later time who was not present to witness(and verify the authenticity)of these signatures at the time they were executed.

What you refer to as "separation papers" is presmably what is recognized under Virginia Law as a Property Settlement Agreement(PSA)which is simply a contract between the separating spouses settling a variety of issues between them connected to and arising out of the marriage such as child and spousal support, custody, visitation, and the disposition of marital property,

and does not absolutely require the signature and seal of a notary to be considered legal and binding----as far as I know. Nevertheless, since the

practice is to have such signatures executed before a notary, efforts should be made to have it done in this manner if at all possible.