VIRGINIA Part 101

Do you own your own house or any other property?

What do you owe money on?

Has one of you stayed home with children while the other earned the salary?

Is only one of you working at a job where there are retirement benefits?

The court will divide up a pension plan and other benefit packages in order to protect a dependent spouse.

Before you got married, did you have property or did you have bank accounts, a trust funds, stocks, etc. that you still have?

These count as non-marital property although the court in any settlement will not divide them, they may be factored into your need for spousal maintenance.

Will your capacity to work outside of the home, your earning power, and your expenses be affected by the fact that you are the primary custodian of a minor child or a disabled child?