Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: wife not being truthful on the divorce paper

The husband should refuse to sign for anything connected to the divorce action(including the complaint and acceptance/waiver of service)papers which contain the false allegations.

He should also make a note of the case name and number and then write a letter to the court addressing his concerns.

Re: wife not being truthful on the divorce paper

Your brother should consult with a Virginia attorney concerning the applicability of the law to the facts of his situation. Your brother should consider marital or family counseling to preserve his marriage. If your brother finds that he and his spouse cannot preserve their marriage, they should consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods such as mediation, which may be faster, less costly and less adversarial than a contested divorce suit. As stated below, sodomy or buggery committed outside the marriage are fault grounds for divorce in Virginia. The burden would be on your brother's wife to prove the fault grounds alleged in her complaint.

The following is general legal information on the grounds for divorce in Virginia.

A circuit court judge in Virginia may grant a decree of divorce from the bond of matrimony or a final divorce based on fault or no-fault grounds. The fault grounds for a divorce from the bond of matrimony include the following:

1. Adultery, or sodomy or buggery outside the marriage;

2. Conviction, sentenced to confinement for more than a year, and confinement for a felony offense (with no condonation); and

3. Cruelty or reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt (one year waiting period),

4. Desertion or abandonment (one year waiting period).

Defenses to a divorce based on a fault ground include condonation, recrimination, justification for leaving and connivance.

A no-fault divorce may be granted after the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a year. If the parties have a property settlement agreement and there are no minor children of the marriage, or born by either and adopted by the other, or adopted by both, then a no-fault divorce may be granted after the parties have lived separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for six (6) months.

A party may immediately file for a divorce from bed and board on the grounds of cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, willful desertion or abandonment with no waiting period. A divorce from bed and board does not allow the parties to remarry, but the parties are declared to be perpetually separated and protected in their persons and property. If you are considering the dissolution of your marriage which cannot be saved through counseling or settled through ADR, you should discuss with your attorney the advantages and disadvantages of immediately seeking a divorce from bed and board rather than waiting for a final divorce.