Fairfax Spousal Support Attorney

Spousal Support and Maintenance in Virginia

Determining Spousal Support and Maintenance

The basic consideration for determining who pays, how much, and the duration of the support and maintenance is primarily based on one spouse’s financial need balance against the other’s ability to pay. In its determination, the court will consider the following factors set forth in Virginia code section 20-107.1

1. The obligations, needs, and financial resources of the parties, including but not limited to income from all pension, profit sharing, or retirement plans, of whatever nature;
2. The standard of living established during the marriage;
3. The duration of the marriage;
4. The age and physical and mental condition of the parties and any special circumstances of the family;
5. The extent to which the age, physical or mental condition, or special circumstances of any child of the parties would make it appropriate that a party not seek employment outside of the home;
6. The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;
7. The property interests of the parties, both real and personal, tangible and intangible;
8. The provisions made with regard to marital property under code 20-107.3;
9. The earning capacity, including the skills, education, and training of the parties and the present employment opportunities for persons possessing such earning capacity;
10. The opportunity for, the ability of, and the time and costs involved for a party to acquire the appropriate education, training, and employment to obtain the skills needed to enhance his earning ability;
11. The decisions regarding employment, career, economics, education, and parenting arrangements made by the parties during the marriage and their effect on present and future earning potential, including the length of time one or both of the parties have been absent from the job market;
12. The extent to which either party has contributed to the attainment of education, training, career position, or profession of the other party; and
13. Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party and the circumstances and factors that contributed to the dissolution, specifically including any ground for divorce, as are necessary to consider the equities between the parties.

Types of Virginia Support and Maintenance

There are several types of support that the court may award during a divorce case:

• Temporary support, also known as “pendente lite support” is typically awarded when the parties are separated but not yet divorced, in many Northern Virginia jurisdictions this type of support is based on guidelines and continues until a final support duration is made by the court or agreed upon by the parties.
• Rehabilitative support last for a specific length of time it is awarded to the dependent spouse for a defined duration while they may receive training to reenter the workforce. It can also be awarded if there are young children in the family that may delay the dependant spouse’s reentry into the workforce.
• Permanent support continues indefinitely and is commonly awarded may in long-term marriages.

Termination of support

Spousal support typically terminates upon one of the following events occurring:

• The death of either party
• The remarriage of the recipient’s spouse, or
• The recipient spouse’s cohabitation with another person in a relationship is analogous to marriage for one year or more.

Meet with a Spousal Support Attorney Near You

Virginia’s spousal support maintenance laws are complex. We invite you to discuss your spousal support issues with one of our skilled attorneys at Curran Moher Weis. Contact us today at (571) 328-5020 to request a consultation.