Slicing a smaller pie: Harder times meet divorce practice

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 20, 2009

Are Virginians putting aside plans for divorce because of hard times? The answer may depend on where you live.

Divorce lawyers tell us the collapse of real estate values in Northern Virginia has had a real impact on divorce practice there – often removing the one asset capable of funding a satisfactory property settlement. Judges have a much smaller pie to slice and in some cases they must allocate debt rather than assets.

While NoVa lawyers report at least a passing dip in the overall divorce numbers, lawyers to the south and west report little change in the rate of people seeking divorce or the value of their assets – they are, however, seeing more efforts to modify support payments because of reduced income.

NoVa shock

The wallop hit hard in the Washington suburbs, with a shock effect on many couples. Attorney Glenn C. Lewis of Fairfax says it’s a mild version of the effect of Sept. 11, 2001. When your world is shaken, at first you don’t want to think about making drastic life changes like divorce.

“People’s inclination might be to circle the wagons, slow down, take stock of their lives and not make a move like that,” Lewis said.

But then – after a few weeks – Lewis said people start thinking more practically. If the future is uncertain, they want to take control of the present. They start moving again on plans for a divorce. And so they did in Northern Virginia.

“Within two weeks, we became busier than we’ve ever been, and we still are,” Lewis said, acknowledging that many of his clients enjoy wealth that makes them less affected by the downturn.

Joseph A. Condo in McLean noticed a more prolonged decline in the rate of new divorce inquiries.

“Things have picked up I would say the last three to four weeks. New client calls are approaching where they used to be, but there was a definite slowdown in the last quarter of ’08 and the first quarter of ’09,” Condo said.

“I don’t know that anybody is walking around starving, but just about everybody I talk to is not as busy as they are accustomed to being in the first quarter of a new year,” Condo said.

Condo speculates the real estate bust is the reason for the decline.

“We were spoiled by this incredible real estate market, in Northern Virginia in particular,” he said. “A lot of settlements revolved around listing somebody’s house. It created a nice cash source for people to true up the division of their assets and essentially fund the buyout of other assets.

“When you remove that from the equation, it makes settling cases and performing settlements extremely difficult,” Condo said.

Outside the Beltway

Divorce lawyers outside of Northern Virginia see no change in the rate of divorce as a result of the sour economy.

“It certainly hasn’t deterred people from coming in and filing for divorce,” said Sharon R. Chickering of Roanoke.

“I haven’t had any family lawyer tell me their practice has been affected. We had a record 2008,” reports Edward D. Barnes of Chesterfield.

Salem’s Leisa K. Ciaffone observed, “I think people generally find ways to pay for things they think are indispensible.”

But the economic downturn has made itself felt in the practice, nearly all agree. Attorneys report a boost in clients hoping to reduce their obligations with changes to a separation agreement or a support order.

Condo said that, in 35 years of practicing matrimonial law, he has never seen such an effect from a downtown in the economy.

He said he’s been told by a handful of judges that they are seeing fewer equitable distribution hearings, and many of those hearings involve allocating debt, rather than assets.

He’s even had a client call to say her husband lost his job and is planning to move back into the marital home.

Lewis says hard times require creativity in resolving money issues for couples. Where once a spouse might demand support payments from a business-owning client, now the spouse might have to settle for an interest in that business – sharing the risk as well as the benefits. Sometimes, he said, the shared interest can lead to a rejuvenation of the relationship.

The main thing for clients, Lewis said, is to talk to an attorney, even if it would appear that divorce is impossible because of tight finances. The attorney can advise how to prepare for the future so the client can act when the time is right. The client returns to the marriage “empowered by the information.”

“When people come to a good lawyer in a time like this, that’s a smart move. That’s not self-promoting, that’s just life, that’s true,” said Lewis.

Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Slicing a smaller pie: Harder times meet divorce practice

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