Working Hard for You
On Your Separation and Divorce
To Keep You and Your Kids Together
Getting the Best Asset and Property Distributions
Support for You and Your Children (and a dog here and there)

How can the Virginia Family Legal Center help me?

While family law encompasses a wide range of legal issues that could possibly arise within one’s family unit and can certainly advise you on any of those issues, the Virginia Family Legal Center has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in the areas of divorce and separation law along with other legal issues that commonly accompany divorce and separation of families.

An experienced Divorce Lawyer from the Virginia Family Legal Center will sit with you and your spouse to explore your options and guide you toward making the best decisions and creating the best plans for your family’s specific circumstances in the following areas of family law. We, at Virginia Family Legal Center, want to work with you to make this already emotional transition as smooth and stress-free as possible for everyone involved.

Why should I hire the Virginia Family Legal Center for my Family Lawyer?

Not only is Attorney Destin Valine a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Bar Association, the Fairfax Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association, but he gained firsthand experience with heartbreaking family issues from a very early age. When he was only just ten years old, his mother and father separated and divorced. He, his two siblings, and his mother went with his grandfather to move over 200 miles away from his father. His father was rarely a part of his life after that time.

He neither spent time with the children nor did he contribute financially to the family very much after the divorce. Because of these experiences, Destin Valine has become an incredibly empathetic lawyer, who really understands the emotional and financial struggles of separated spouses and their children. His childhood experiences created an adult who became a fierce child advocate. Because we know times can be tough during family distress, the Virginia Family Legal Center will also offer payment plan solutions to those who need them.

If you have found yourself in need of a Family Lawyer, the Virginia Family Legal Center will offer you personalized, empathetic, and dedicated services. If you live in or near Leesburg, Virginia, call 1-800-588-2593 for a consultation.

In the state of Virginia, there are three ways to end one’s marriage. A marriage can end with separation, a divorce, or an annulment. Spouses must live “separate and apart” from one another for six months, if they have no children, and for one year if they do have children to be eligible for a divorce. This means that they must be living in separate households, and at least one spouse must consider the separation to be permanent. Having a separation agreement shows intent and lowers the cost of the divorce. It also changes a contested divorce to an uncontested divorce. If the spouses, along with their lawyer(s), can settle all issues, then the court will just approve your choices. In a fault-based divorce, couples really are leaving it to the court to divide property, decide child custody and visitation, and spousal/child support. Proving fault also requires credible evidence. Only in the case of adultery can a couple get a divorce without separating for six months to a year.

In the state of Virginia, a married couple may be able to seek an annulment under special and specific circumstances. If an annulment is filed and granted, it will be as if the two spouses were never actually legally married in Virginia. Children resulting from an annulled marriage are still considered legitimate. No matter what type of separation, divorce, or annulment is on the table for you and your spouse, you need an expert Divorce Lawyer from the Virginia Family Legal Center in Leesburg, Virginia, who will look out for your best interest during the entire divorce process.

Agreements

Settlements

Property Division

Asset Division

Custody

Litigation

In the state of Virginia, there are two types of child custody. There is sole custody, where one parent has custody of the children full-time. Sole custody is rarely assigned, and when it is, it is only in extreme cases. The second type is joint custody, in which the two parents both share the custody of their children. The arrangements and time spent with each parent will vary from family to family because we will consider what benefits the children and several factors about the family dynamics when creating the plan. An experienced Custody Lawyer will be able to work with you and your family to create a tailor-made plan based on your family dynamics and needs.

If one parent has sole custody, you and your lawyer(s) might create a visitation plan for the non-custody parent. An experienced Child Visitation Attorney at the Virginia Family Legal Center will be able to advise you on creating a plan that best suits your family’s needs.

When making the child custody and visitation plan, your lawyer might consider the following: the child’s age, physical and mental condition and development, the parents’ age, physical and mental conditions, child/parent relationships, access to other family members, history of abuse, etc. To Claim Child Custody, a parent must be willing to allow themselves to be subject to this scrutiny within the family.

Support

Visitation

Supervision

Modification

During the period between filing for a divorce and the date that your order is entered, the lower wage-earning spouse could collect support from the spouse earning more money. This is done through a pendente lite (pending litigation) motion. There is a specific formula that is used to determine the amount of that support unless the court has good cause to determine support in some other way.

The state of Virginia has also given us another complicated formula to determine how child support should be paid by which former spouse to the other. Virginia will combine the two incomes of the parents, and that gross income is used to calculate the support to be paid for the children involved. Costs to be considered include the children’s dental and medical costs, the cost of insurance, and the cost of child care. When one parent has sole custody, the amount of child support paid can change drastically. As you can see, determining child support can be a very complicated process, so it is wise to hire an expert Child Support Lawyer, who has had plenty of experience creating child support plans. A Child Support Lawyer from the Virginia Family Legal Center in Leesburg, Virginia will always have your family’s best interests at heart while providing kind, friendly, and empathetic service to you and your family.

Child Support

Spousal Support

Secondary Education

Workforce Re-Entry

Modifications

Changes in Circumstances

Uncovering Assets