Catcher Eric Fila’s humble gesture — shaking the umpire’s hand in thanks even as the opposing team scored a walk-off single in a state quarterfinal baseball game — exemplifies Virginia sportsmanship. Fila’s moment happened to become a viral video as the 10-inning game went from contested to uncontested. Your Virginia divorce also can go from contested to uncontested.
Jump to a Section
- How Contested Divorce Works
- Hiring Zealous Counsel
- How Uncontested Divorce Works
- Stopping Contested Divorce Proceedings
- Going from Uncontested to Contested
How Contested Divorce Works
Two married Virginians may not agree on the vital aspects of a Virginia divorce:
- Property settlement
- Child custody
- Child support
- Spousal support
- Parenting time and visitation schedules
If these differences cannot be worked out through negotiation and conferences under the watchful eyes of the two attorneys, then the divorce is contested. You need an umpire of sorts.
A contested divorce means both spouses and their attorneys turn to a Virginia Circuit Court judge to decide the matter. Instead of each spouse getting some or all of what is wanted, a judge determines who gets what.
Virginia is an equitable distribution state (not a common law state), so property division under the judge’s ruling will be based solely on evidence and in accordance with Virginia Code § 20-107.3. So what if you wanted your grandfather’s callous-worn tools; the judge, not you, decides.
Virginia gives no weight to either gender in determining child custody, so the judge will depend on Virginia Code § 20-124.2 and following sections for both child custody and visitation.
Using a judge to determine the end of a marriage is a cold-hearted, impersonal affair. Neither side emerges happy or unscathed.
Hiring Zealous Counsel
Don’t misunderstand. Both attorneys will fight tooth and nail (well, tooth and tongue, really) to zealously advocate for each client. Your attorney will try to sway the judge that your grandfather’s tools are heirlooms and you should keep them. Your spouse’s attorney will likely advocate to sell them off and equitably split the proceeds.
Sure, maybe you can use your attorney as an attack dog. You can ask your attorney to get into the Circuit Court and verbally beat down your spouse, stopping just short of accusations of fault grounds for the divorce. Or, you can have your attorney accuse your spouse of some heinous grounds for divorce. You can do that.
Or you and your spouse can recognize that the areas of conflict can and should be resolved so you can move from a contested divorce to uncontested divorce.
How Uncontested Divorce Works
Your attorney may file for divorce proceedings fully planning on a contested divorce case in the interest of moving the case forward. But Virginia does not expect a married couple to be emotionally hollow, so latitude is provided for changes of heart and mind.
Let’s say you filed for the divorce and your experienced family law attorney put in the necessary paperwork. Your attorney can, at any time in the proceedings, change the filing to reflect an uncontested divorce. You and your spouse can avoid expensive courtroom time, higher attorneys’ fees, and the emotional upheaval a contested divorce brings.
It is not magic. It is communication; you and your spouse work out your disagreements in the major areas. You may have initially accused your spouse of one of the fault grounds:
- Adultery
- Sodomy or buggery committed outside the marriage
- Felony conviction with a subsequent sentence of one year or longer
- Cruelty
- Reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt
- Willful desertion or abandonment
Those are all reputation-destroying grounds. You may have been factually right to bring the accusations. Yet, as proceedings drag on, you may regret the charges. Your attorney can withdraw the accusations and file for a no-fault divorce.
Stopping Contested Divorce Proceedings
Though it may seem like moving mountains to get two spouses to agree on the major contested areas in divorce, Virginia’s courts really like to see it. Uncontested and no-fault divorces clear up the court calendar, are efficient use of the judge’s time, and demonstrate two adults making adult decisions in harmony. Like playing a baseball game according to the ground rules.
At any time in the proceedings, including during actual court time, both sides can reconcile their differences and stop a contested divorce. The two attorneys merely announce to the judge that a resolution has been reached and the hearing stops. The two attorneys file all the right paperwork (a thorough property settlement agreement) to include all the right details, and the judge signs off on it. Done and done. No more contested divorce!
Going from Uncontested to Contested
This back-and-forth can continue, too, just as a baseball game can go through extra innings. You started off as a contested divorce, you finally reached agreement, and then you look at the property settlement agreement one last time. Your spouse has hoodwinked you! Your spouse got wording into the agreement that says your grandfather’s heirloom tools must be auctioned off! Ruh-roh!
Relax. Though it will involve more time and money, an uncontested divorce can once again become a contested divorce. So long as the judge has not signed off on the paperwork, you two can still tussle and argue. (And your attorneys, of course, can continue to bill for their time.)
You can continue this ping pong between contested and uncontested and contested and uncontested divorce as long as you can afford it, or until your attorneys withdraw from your case due to exasperation.
Any kind of divorce — contested, no-fault, or uncontested — only ends when a judge produces a final divorce decree.
Though the final decree in an uncontested or no-fault divorce is not appealable, some parts of the property settlement agreement can be modified. For example, you can move for a modification to child custody or visitation schedules due to a material change in circumstances through Virginia’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
The Firm For Men is ready to answer all your questions about divorce and family law in Virginia. Contact our office today or call us at (757) 383-9184. We are experienced in no-fault, contested, uncontested divorce, and football. (We are not so great at baseball, though.)
