Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: seperation laws

You should consult with a Virginia attorney concerning the applicability of the law to the facts of your situation. You should consider marital or family counseling to preserve your marriage. If you find that you and your spouse cannot preserve your marriage, you should consider alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation, which may be faster, less costly and less adversarial than a contested divorce suit. The following is general legal information on a divorce from bed and board in Virginia.

Virginia has two types of divorce: a divorce a mensa et thoro also known as a divorce from bed and board and a divorce a vinculo matrimonii or a final divorce. A divorce from bed and board may be the closest thing to a legal separation in Virginia because it may be filed immediately, it does not dissolve the marital relationship, and it does recognize that the spouses are "perpetually separated". (There is also no waiting period for a final divorce based on adultery, sodomy or buggery committed outside the marriage, or conviction of a felony after the marriage and confinement.)

However, unlike a legal separation that may exist in other states, in Virginia there is no �no fault� divorce from bed and board; it must be based on either cruelty or desertion. A divorce from bed and board does not allow the parties to remarry, only a final divorce dissolves the marital relationship.

You should discuss with your attorney whether it would be advantageous for you to file immediately for a divorce from bed and board, rather than waiting for a final divorce a year after the act of desertion or cruelty, or immediately seeking support, child custody and child support relief in juvenile and domestic relations court, or pursuing other options. A party requesting a divorce from bed and board may ask the court to merge the decree of divorce from bed and board into a decree of final divorce after the necessary waiting period has elapsed.

Section 116 of Title 20 of the Code of Virginia provides the effect of a divorce from bed and board:

In granting a divorce from bed and board, the court may decree that the parties be perpetually separated and protected in their persons and property. Such decree shall operate upon property thereafter acquired, and upon the personal rights and legal capacities of the parties, as a decree for a divorce from the bond of matrimony, except that neither party shall marry again during the life of the other.

Re: seperation laws

There is no legal status in the Commonwealth of Virginia formally recognized as "legal separation". Persons wishing to divorce their spouses may do so after living separate and apart without cohabitation for the required time periods which may vary from six to twelve months, depending upon the particular circumstances involved in the case. And if the separating spouse has one or more minor children in need of support, she may also file for support

(for herself--if merited--as well as for the children)in the appropriate court at any time during this required waiting period.