Attorney
If you have finally decided to terminate your marriage through a divorce, then it is important that you understand the Virginia divorce laws and the entire process of filing a divorce. Couples should meet some certain eligibility requirements to be allowed to file a divorce. You need to prove the grounds or rather the reasons for your divorce in a court of law, even if there is a mutual agreement in terminating the marriage with your spouse.
There are usually two types of divorce, as stated in the Virginia divorce laws, namely a divorce from the bonds of matrimony or from bed and board. A divorce from bed and board is where both couples are legally separated, and there is no chance or remarrying. A divorce from the bonds of matrimony on the other hand is whereby both couples prove that they have lived separately for more than a year without any periods of cohabitation within the one year separation.
In both cases, the party seeking the divorce needs to prove the grounds of the divorce in a court of law. Willful desertion and a prove of bodily harm or cruelty are the major grounds of a bed and board divorce. Divorce from the bonds of matrimony, on the other hand, can result from adultery, sodomy or buggery, willful desertion, bodily harm(cruelty), and conviction of a felony.
1. Adultery, sodomy or buggery
You need to prove that your spouse engaged in sexual relationships outside your marriage. It could be challenging to prove cases of adultery, sodomy, or buggery, but the case requires corroboration of the evidence while filing the divorce.
2. Felony conviction
If your spouse has committed a felony and is imprisoned for more than one year, then you are free to file a divorce upon conviction of a felony. However, the court does not allow cohabitation once you learn of the confinement.
3. Willful desertion
According to the Virginia divorce laws, willful desertion exists when both parties stop cohabiting and the intent to desert the other spouse. Desertion does not, however, exist when both spouses mutually agree to live separately. One spouse can leave the marital home because the marriage is intolerable, and the other spouse has abandoned his marriage duties or is cruelty . In such a case, the spouse can file a divorce on the grounds of willful desertion or rather abandonment.
4. Cruelty and reasonable bodily harm
If your spouse is violent and always cruel, then you are allowed to file a divorce if it is unsafe for you to live together. However, you need to provide some physical evidence, probably bodily harm or something that endangers your life. Mental cruelty does not, however, qualify for a divorce based on the Virginia divorce laws.
5. Separation
If you have been living separately without any periods of cohabitation for more than a year and the separation seams permanent, then you qualify for a divorce from the bonds of matrimony
Annulments
Divorces are meant o terminate legal and valid marriages. however for annulment, the marriage is regarded void and cam only be granted in circumstances such as entering the marriage under duress, fraud reasons or coercion..
Virginia divorce laws can be complex, and you need to provide enough evidence to keep the eligibility requirements for a divorce. The process can be emotional and mentally challenging, as well. You can, therefore, find a divorce lawyer to represent you.