Mundy v. Mundy, Record No. 1025-15-4 (Va. Ct. App. 2015), is a brief, direct, and unsparing look at the manifest injustice exception to the bar on a spousal support award to an adulterous spouse. Continue reading
Category Archives: Divorce Grounds
Virginia Divorce: The Marriage that Wasn’t – Update!
“They’re baaaack…” – Poltergeist II: The Other Side, 1986
More than two years ago, we told you about the case of MacDougall v. Levick (Case No. CL-2011-4071). As you may recall, the parties in that case, after believing themselves to be married for about nine years, were told by the Circuit Court of Fairfax County that they couldn’t get divorced because they were never married to begin with. After more than two years’ worth of additional litigation and appeals (time flies when you’re having fun!) the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued its final decision in this case. Continue reading
Virginia Divorces: Why You Should Hire a Divorce Attorney . . . An Illustration
What’s the worst that can happen to you if you represent yourself in your divorce case in Virginia? Well, let me tell you a cautionary tale . . . Continue reading
Virginia Divorces: Proving Adultery Through the Paramour
Can your paramour be made to testify about your sexual relationship at your divorce trial?
In Davis v. Davis (Case No. CL13-7696) (Norfolk), the wife’s paramour was deposed by husband’s counsel. The paramour refused to answer questions related to his relationship with the wife. The paramour justified his refusal by invoking his privilege against self-incrimination. In particular, he claimed he could be prosecuted for “fornication, prostitution, or consensual sodomy.” The husband’s counsel moved to compel the paramour’s testimony on the ground that there was no legitimate chance of incrimination. Continue reading
Virginia Divorce: The Marriage That Wasn’t
In MacDougall v. Levick (Case No. CL-2011-4071), the parties thought that they were married. They had their wedding officiated by a rabbi on December 21, 2002. They applied for their marriage license on January 6, 2003. They sent it to their rabbi who received it on January 21, 2003. Their rabbi signed the license with a stated marriage date of January 21, 2003. The license itself was filed with the Clerk of the Fairfax County Circuit Court on February 11, 2003. The parties then lived together as husband and wife for the next 8 years before commencing tumultuous divorce litigation in 2011. What could have gone wrong? Continue reading
Virginia Grounds for Divorce: A History Lesson
How were divorces granted in Virginia before the Civil War?
The Virginia General Assembly reserved for itself, rather than to its courts, the power to award people divorces. The legislature, however, was no rubber stamp. Professor Lawrence M. Friedman describes one representative case: Continue reading