Changing the Way People Think About Divorce Lawyers in Virginia

If you are reading this, we understand you are likely NOT very happy with your situation right now, but I can predict that you will be happy with your Counsel here. Although things won’t change overnight, we do believe that your circumstances will soon improve. Your team of trial lawyers and paralegals have dedicated our practice to ensuring just that!

If you are facing the reality of divorce, you MUST have Counsel in your corner. No question. You absolutely need to move now to protect your assets: your children, your home, your property, your retirement–your future. Your former trusted partner has become the “opposing party.” At best.

It is now your personal quest is to find the best possible attorney FOR YOU. All attorneys are NOT the same. We can help.

There is No Doubt That You Need to Move Now. But…

A friend tells her friend over coffee, “Well it’s finally over–Frank’s divorce lawyer got the apartment and my divorce lawyer got the two cars and the beach house!” These two don’t sound very satisfied with their Counsel.

We believe it is tragic that many Attorneys utilize only one old worn-out approach to representing you — “the ol’ grind it out ’til it’s done approach.” There is literally no way that this old philosophy doesn’t end up delaying progress, raising frustrations and costing you more money.

It is therefore VITAL, that you work with a lawyer with a different philosophy than the old frustrating norm. The most common complaints about divorce lawyers? No communication, too slow, and cost too much. At Holcomb Law, we are changing the way people think about divorce lawyers.

There are Options!

The divorce process is complex, even confusing–at a VERY rough time already. So how shall we get this done right, protecting your assets and your future, all without losing your mind? It might be a little known fact, but there are options. What about Mediation for example?

Estimates are that Mediation may reduce your costs by as much as 80%. National statistics show that over 85% of all mediations end in a resolution, and of that 85%, almost 100% are satisfied with the resulting Agreement. What if going to Court was our last option instead of our first? (See our Mediation Page for more information.)

Another option is to insist on a Negotiation Settlement Conference as a means of settling all property issues in about one day and outside of the Court process. If your lawyer is a mediator and/or has formal negotiation training and experience, he or she can and should work just as hard for you outside of Court, as he or she can inside a Courtroom. There are options.

Don’t get us wrong…

We are a firm of litigators. There are times when going to Court is the only option or the best option, and in that case, we understand warfare! Many of our family law attorneys have a military background after all. Protecting futures is what we do here.

A Different Philosophy.

You should know that contrary to popular belief, a divorce lawyer is actually a person too. I know, hard to believe! Obviously each comes to work each day with a different background, different education, a different belief system, and surely a particular philosophy.

Before retaining a who you think is the best divorce lawyer in Newport News VA or elsewhere in Hampton Roads, it is vital that you ask questions about his or her philosophy about divorce. If the Attorney cannot articulate one, one that works for what YOU want, you should move on.

There are other divorce lawyers…

Why Holcomb Law? If you don’t feel immediately that an attorney “has your back” and believes in what YOU believe, or does not really want to work for what you want, you must move on to a different divorce lawyer.

We believe you must have Counsel that is experienced in Negotiation as well as in Litigation and who is not opposed in principle to cost-saving possibilities like Mediation.

You need a divorce lawyer with a different philosophy than the tired, old norm—the no communication, too slow, and too expensive approach.

When you are educated about the process and armed with information, you have options. THAT IS OUR GOAL.

Contact us today to schedule what we call your “No Hassle Legal Strategy Meeting” (No Hassle = no sales pitch) at which WE GUARANTEE that your attorney will answer ALL your questions and show you your options. You will leave informed and ready.

Contact us today at (757) 525-2424 or info@attorneyholcomb.com. See you soon.

Crash Course on Divorce in Virginia

We believe that what you need right now, most of all, is information. We offer A LOT of free, downloadable information on this site, on purpose, solely to help you understand the process. This will help your stress level at a very stressful time. We do not withhold information and make you pay us for legal information. It is fortunate for our clients that we simply don’t believe in that! What follows is an overview; call if you have questions and download our free eBook for even more free information.

Fault-Based vs. No-Fault Divorce

Virginia is one of few states that still have “fault-based” divorces on the books.

What is a fault-based divorce?

A “fault-based” divorce is based on conduct.
One spouse must allege that the other was “at fault” for the divorce, caused the divorce, because of wrongdoing.

What are the fault grounds in Virginia? The most common are:

Adultery;
Cruelty;
Willful desertion, also called abandonment.
One of the spouses is convicted of a felony and sentenced to more than one year of confinement;

Most divorces in Virginia are no-fault divorces.

What is a no-fault divorce?

A no-fault divorce simply means that neither party is at “fault” for the dissolution of the marriage. Some other states call this basis for divorce “irreconcilable differences.”

How do I obtain a no-fault divorce?

You may file for a no-fault divorce if you have lived physically separate and apart from your spouse for either:

Six months if you do not have any children under the age of 18 and have signed a written separation agreement.
One year if you have minor children.

Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce

What’s the difference?

A contested divorce is a case in which the parties cannot agree on one or more points. For example, child support, spousal support, division of retirement accounts, etc.

An uncontested divorce is one in which the parties have agreed together how they are going to divide their lives, perhaps because they want to involve the court as little as possible. A judge can grant the divorce based on a written Property Separation Agreement, if it properly addresses all aspects of the divorce to include all financial issues and also how to address custody and visitation of minor children.

Divorce: What’s Going to Happen to My Life?

Child custody and visitation:

If you and your spouse have children together, you will need to find a living arrangement that serves your kids’ interests.
Ideally, both parents will play an active role in their children’s lives post-divorce, even if the kids live with one parent most of the time.
Custody is often the most difficult and hotly contested dispute in a divorce action.

Child support:

Typically, the non-custodial parent must provide the custodial parent with monthly child support payments to assist with the costs of raising the parties’ children.
Virginia uses “Guidelines” from the Virginia Code that Courts use to help parents establish a financial arrangement that is adequate to care for the children and also fair to both parties.

Distribution of assets and debts:

With a few minor exceptions, all of your property, assets AND debts, is assumed to be marital (shared between you)–no matter who bought it (or spent it), who worked for it, or whose name is on the title or note if it was acquired during the marriage.
This applies also to businesses owned by either party with some exceptions.

Retirement Accounts:

As with assets and debts, retirement accounts in Virginia are presumed marital, owned by both spouses, as long as the work that earned the retirement account was done during the marriage.
Even if one spouse never worked at all, and all the work that paid into the retirement account was performed during the marriage, it will likely be divided between the spouses in the divorce.
Military spouses also share the retired pension of the divorcing service member in a proportion of marital time that overlaps with time in service.

Spousal support:

In certain situations, it might be necessary for one party to pay the other temporary spousal support until that person can obtain the education and training necessary to become more self-sufficient.
In longer marriages, a lifetime award of support may be appropriate, until either party is deceased or the payee (receiving the support) remarries.

Come Meet Us

If you are facing the reality of divorce, you MUST have Counsel in your corner. No question. Your personal quest is to find the best possible attorney FOR YOU. All attorneys are NOT the same. Contact us at Holcomb Law to schedule what we call your “No Hassle Legal Strategy Meeting,” (No Hassle = no sales pitch) at which WE GUARANTEE that your attorney will answer ALL your questions and show you your options. You will leave informed and ready.

Call us today at (757) 525-2424 or at info@attorneyholcomb.com.