Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Where the circuit court overruled the juvenile and domestic court’s decision not to issue appellee a protective order, the JDR court’s decision was a final order for appeal purposes. As a result, appellant’s argument that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Appellant’s 18 assignments of error in this appeal arising from the modification of a child support obligation are denied, as are two cross-assignments of error from the appellee. After considering the equities of this case, appellee is awarded $12,663 in ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The circuit court correctly dismissed appellant’s complaint that alleged appellee breached an agreement to pay child support. The agreement was never incorporated into the circuit court’s final divorce order and, based on appellant’s representation that the JDR court had addressed ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Per Curiam Opinion Virginia Court of Appeals

Where wife had a vested interest in husband’s pension, which was discovered in his bankruptcy proceeding 10 years after the final divorce order, the circuit court correctly ordered him to make retroactive payments to wife from the time he began ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Glen A. Huff Virginia Court of Appeals

A statute that provides a final order of adoption cannot be appealed after six months is the “outer boundary” for bringing a challenge based on an exception to Rule 1:1’s 21-day limit in which to challenge a final order. As ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The trial court properly granted retroactive child support in this divorce matter. Code § 20-108.1(B) provides that support “shall be determined retroactively,” and, contrary to husband’s assertion,  the statute “contains no requirement of a pendente lite order or hearing to ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

The circuit court erred when it determined that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a county social services department’s petitions for permanency planning and parental rights termination of appellee’s two children. Background After an investigation, the Culpepper County Department of ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Glen A. Huff Virginia Court of Appeals

Where defendant’s interrogatory and a request for admissions sought to determine whether plaintiff engaged in adultery, plaintiff’s invocation of his right against self-incrimination limits the scope of his  response. In this divorce proceeding, defendant wife has moved to compel responses ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Richard E. Gardiner Virginia Circuit Courts

Where an infant child’s guardian ad li­tem petitioned to court to have the child declared a “child in need of services” (CHINS), the JDR court’s order transfer­ring custody of the child to the DSS was the final order in the ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

A court may consider adultery evidence when determining spousal support even though adultery is not expressly pleaded as a counterclaim or an affirmative defense in a divorce case. The trial court erred by refusing to allow husband to present evidence ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals