Legal Services In Family Law Richard H. Boatwright, Robert M. Cooper, Robert P. Coleman, C. Shawn Allen and Shelby G. Hadfield practice in the area of Family Law. Family Law practice includes the following: Divorce, both contested and uncontested Custody and Visitation Disputes Division of property (equitable distributions) Pension and Retirement issues in Divorce Cases Child Support Alimony or Spousal Support Negotiation of Property Settlement Agreement Richard H. Boatwright has over twenty-seven years of experience in family law. Robert M. Cooper, Jr. has over twenty years of experience in family law. Robert P. Coleman has over five years of experience in family law. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Is Virginia a community property state? A: Virginia is not one of the nine states which have adopted Spanish and French community property principles. In the United States, there are essentially, two theories concerning the principles to be utilized in dividing property upon divorce: the Community Property System the Equitable Distribution System Virginia adopted its Equitable Distribution statute in July 1982. The term Equitable Distribution has been described as a method of allocating property upon divorce based upon the concept that marriage is a partnership or shared enterprise. Under this concept, both spouses are presumed to contribute to the economic status of the marriage by monetary and/or non-monetary contributions. The purpose of Virginia's statute is to fairly divide the marital assets acquired by the parties during the marriage in consideration of the parties' monetary and non-monetary contributions to the acquisition and maintenance of the property and to the marriage. In an Equitable Distribution proceeding, the court must first determine the title to the property as between the parties, as well as the ownership and value of the property. In a second stage, the court is required to classify all items of property as either marital or separate or as part marital and part separate. Property classified as marital, is subject to the court's authority with respect to division/allocation or sale. The court may also award one party a monetary award in order to accomplish a fair allocation of the marital property. Q: How does the court determine child support in a particular case? A: Since 1988, Virginia, as a result of changes in Federal law, has utilized child support guidelines to determine child support. Child support guidelines adopted in Virginia utilize the "income shares model," which was designed to provide the child (ren) with the proportion of parental income which they would have received had the household remained intact. Under the Virginia statute, the amount of child support produced by the guidelines is presumed to be the correct amount of child support. In a judicial or administrative proceeding for determination of child support, the Court is permitted to deviate from the guideline amount under certain prescribed circumstances, which are set out in the Code. If the court deviates from the presumptive child support amount, it must make written findings stating that the guideline amount would be either unjust or inappropriate based upon the statutory factors. In order to "run" the guidelines in a particular case, it is necessary to know the gross monthly income of each parent, the amount of work-related child care expenses, extraordinary medical expenses of the children, and the cost of maintaining the children as covered beneficiaries under any medical and/or hospitalization insurance coverage. The statutory guidelines are set out in Sections 20-108.1 and 20-108.2 of the Virginia Code as amended. Q: Has Virginia recently changed its laws with respect to alimony? A: Yes. The Virginia Legislature revised its statutes concerning alimony spousal support in 1998. The adoption of the new statutory changes were based upon a detailed two-year study and recommendations (House Document #55, 1997). Prior to the revisions of 1998, most of the Courts and commentators had taken the position that the Virginia statutory scheme did not permit courts to award rehabilitative or defined duration alimony. The statutory revisions now grant courts the authority to enter a spousal support order "for a defined duration, or in periodic payments for an undefined duration, or in lump sum, or in any combination thereof." The statutory changes apply to any cases filed after July 1, 1998. In addition to permitting defined duration alimony for the first time, the legislature also expanded the criteria that the courts are required to consider in addressing a spousal support request. New criteria include consideration of the contributions of either party to the education or career or training of the other party, consideration of decisions made during the marriage regarding the relationship between parenting arrangements and career opportunities, consideration of the length of time a party has been absent from the job market, and the history of each of the parties with respect to acquisition of employment skills. As a result of the statutory changes of 1998, Virginia courts now have broad authority in cases filed after July 1, 1998 to fashion an alimony award. Q: How does Virginia determine child custody issues in a particular case? A: Determination of child custody issues in Virginia requires the Court's consideration of several statutory factors found in Virginia Code Section 20-124.3. Custody involves the determination of who will have legal custody or the right to make certain legal decisions regarding the welfare of the child(ren). Legal custody may be solely with one parent or may be shared. Physical custody of the child(ren) is the Court's determination of where the child(ren) will physically reside. Physical custody may be primarily with one parent or shared between the parents in manner that promotes the best interest of the minor child(ren). It should be noted that some shared custody arrangements may affect the amount of child support that would be awarded in a particular case.
Telephone: (703) 361-8246     Facsimile: (703) 361-4171     E-Mail: sbpc@manassaslaw.com Copyright © 2008 Stephens, Boatwright, Primeau, Cooper & Coleman, P.C. All rights reserved.