The Richmond Circuit Court was recently faced with dividing up a marital home per a divorce in Massicot v. Massicot, CL12-539. The court was tasked with determining whether the marital home was marital property or separate property and whether the mortgage debt was marital debt or separate debt. The court held as follows: Continue reading
Virginia Equitable Distribution: To Modify a QDRO . . . or Stopping Scoundrels
What happens when your spouse liquidates a retirement account after the divorce but before you get your share of it? Can the court enter a new order letting you get a share of another account to make up for it? Or are you just screwed? The Virginia Court of Appeals faced these questions in Forest v. Forest, Record No. 0836-12-4 and held that you are not just screwed. Continue reading
Virginia Equitable Distribution: Marital Waste Illustrated . . . Sort Of
How do Virginia courts address the failure of one spouse to maintain marital property after the final separation? Can the other spouse get a credit for the loss in value? Continue reading
Virginia Equitable Distribution: The Negative Equity Scenario
How do Virginia courts address real estate having negative equity in divorce cases? Well, sometimes they don’t address them at all.
In Fox v. Fox, Record No. 0643-12-1 (Va. Ct. App. 2012), the parties jointly owned two homes with significant negative equity. The parties could not afford either home and they did not qualify for refinancing. In addition, neither party was clamoring to have the houses sold any time soon given that they would each suffer a substantial shortfall on their mortgages. As such, the trial court was left in the position where a spousal buyout was altogether impossible and a forced sale was hardly desirable for either party. So was the trial court nevertheless required to divide these jointly owned homes per an equitable distribution under Va. Code § 20-107.3? Continue reading
Virginia Spousal Support: Proof of Cohabitation
What types of evidence do courts want to hear to disprove cohabitation?
In Harris v. Harris, Record No. 1957-11-2 (Va. Ct. App. 2012), an ex-husband sought to terminate his spousal support obligation on the basis that his ex-wife was cohabiting in a relationship analogous to a marriage for over one year. In that case, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s finding that the ex-wife and her boyfriend do not live together. Here is the evidence in a nutshell: Continue reading
Virginia Spousal Support Modification: An Illustration
When can you modify spousal support in Virginia? The case of Cid v. Cid, Record No. 1952-11-4 (Va. Ct. Appeals 2012) provides a nice illustration. 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
Why Do We Even Have Sposual Support in Virginia (Economic Version)?
Why do we even have spousal support in Virginia?
Professor of Law David D. Friedman highlights one good reason using explicit economic theory: Continue reading
Virginia Wedding Gifts: Lord of the Rings
Is a wedding ring or other wedding gift marital property or separate property upon divorce in Virginia?
Virginia Code § 20-107.3 defines separate property as, inter alia, all property, real and personal, acquired by either party before the marriage, and marital property as, inter alia, all property acquired by each party during the marriage which is not otherwise separate property. So what happens when you receive a wedding ring before the officiant pronounces you husband and wife? Would not the ring be treated as separate property because it was acquired before the actual marriage? Continue reading
Virginia Spousal Support: The Factors
What do Virginia courts consider in spousal support cases?
Reasons to Not Award Spousal Support in Virginia:
Virginia Code § 20-107.1(E) states that in determining whether to award spousal support in the first instance the court shall consider the circumstances and factors that contributed to the dissolution of the marriage, specifically including adultery and any other ground for divorce under the provisions of subdivision (3) or (6) of § 20-91 or § 20-95. Continue reading