“Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte may or may not have said it. But the concept is sound, no matter who said it or when. What happens, though, when you are your own worst enemy? Hoping to snag a “quick divorce” in Virginia, you can often stand in your own way.

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Answering An Ad for Quick Online Divorce?

Answering an online ad for a quick divorce may seem like a fast route. It’s not.

The internet has been around since January 1, 1983, but people still do not know how to use it.

If you type “quick divorce in Virginia,” at least the first two responses will be sponsored advertisements. Someone has paid a search engine to divert your attention to their site.

Why? Are they dedicated to getting you a quality, legally solid divorce?

No. They hope to take your money. They do not care at all about delivering a safe, reliable, legally strong divorce to you.

Clicking on those ads will lead you down rabbit holes of online forms to fill out for a price far higher than similar forms available through the Virginia Court System (see below). Even after you pay $200 or $300, you still have to pay for court filing fees, and you have to file the papers yourself.

One of many problems with online divorce ads is their inability to distinguish your case from thousands of others. They cannot tolerate nuance or unusual circumstances.

Other problems with using online ads for “quick divorce:”

  • The so-called “savings” of filing through an online site often disappear when you have to hire a real attorney to correct mistakes
  • You could be forced into a binary choice (this or that) when a real family law attorney can present several, better alternatives
  • Divorce is a legally binding process that could trap you in bad choices based on your ignorance of Virginia law
  • Even if you fill out the forms correctly and to your satisfaction, you still have to follow through the initial process with other motions and filings
  • You probably will still have to go to court, where having legal representation is highly desirable
  • No amount of paperwork will shorten the waiting period of separation before divorce (six months without children, a year with children for a no-fault divorce)

Using the Virginia Court System Online Forms?

The Virginia Court System has a bewildering variety of online forms available, including Form CC 1421, “PETITION FOR PROCEEDING IN A NO-FAULT DIVORCE WITHOUT PAYMENT OF FEES OR COSTS,” but that one form does not a divorce make. The Courts politely redirect Virginians to Legal Aid’s online divorce and that group’s do-it-yourself divorce forms.

Both these paths work from what those in the construction trades call sweat equity. To get a “quick” divorce, you will spend a lot of your own time completing, correcting, amending, and submitting these forms. You will likely fail to do so correctly many times. What you “save” in costs will actually eat up a lot of your time.

That seems foolhardy, since your entire goal was to get as quick a divorce as possible. And almost every method of divorce in Virginia requires a waiting period of separation of either six months or a year.

Almost every method.

Almost.

Accusing Your Spouse?

One method does exist to short-circuit the waiting period for divorce in Virginia: fault grounds. If your spouse commits adultery and you can legally prove it, you can go from marriage to divorce without a period of separation. The other fault ground that can take you from married to divorced without the separation time: conviction of a felony resulting in a prison sentence of at least a year.

Both of these fault grounds are difficult to handle in any setting, much less in a divorce court. You risk ruining your spouse’s reputation (unless either fault ground can really be proven) and tainting your relationship with your children.

Quick Divorce Lawyers in Virginia

Once you realize you can be your own worst enemy in the rush to divorce in Virginia, you also understand that the least stressful, fastest, safest, surest way starts with a capable, experienced family law attorney.

Enjoy an initial consultation. Get quick, sure answers to your burning questions. Then work with your divorce lawyer — and your departing spouse — to pursue an uncontested, no-fault divorce.

You both will need to live with the six-month (no kids) or one-year (with kids) separation period, but once the divorce proceedings begin, you can obtain a fully legal, strongly protective divorce in six to eight weeks. You and your ex will be free to get on with your lives.

You begin the journey to a quick Virginia divorce when you contact The Firm For Men today at (757) 383-9184. We are proud to assist Virginia’s men in all aspects of family law—including quick and easy divorce—and we can assist you, too!