Title 20, Domestic Relations

When the suit is for divorce for adultery, sodomy, or buggery, the divorce shall not be granted, if it appear that the parties voluntarily cohabited after the knowledge of the fact of adultery, sodomy or buggery, or that it occurred more than five years before the institution of …

A divorce from bed and board may be decreed for cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, willful desertion, abandonment, or on the application of either party upon the parties living separate and apart with the intent of at least one of the parties to remain separate and …

The circuit court shall have jurisdiction of suits for annulling or affirming marriage and for divorces, and claims for separate maintenance, and such suits shall be heard by the judge as equitable claims.

No suit for annulling a marriage or for divorce shall be maintainable, unless one of the parties was at the time of the filing of the suit and had been for at least six months preceding the filing of the suit an actual bona fide resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth, nor s…

Such suit shall be instituted and conducted as other suits in equity, except as otherwise provided in this section: 1. Except for a divorce granted on the grounds set forth in subdivision A (9) of § 20-91, no divorce, annulment, or affirmation of a marriage shall be granted on th…

A. A defendant in such suits may accept service of process by signing the proof of service before any officer authorized to administer oaths. This proof of service shall, when filed with the papers in the suit, have the same effect as if it had been served upon the defendant by a…

A. In any suit for divorce or annulment or affirmation of a marriage, process may be served in any manner authorized under § 8.01-296 or 8.01-320. B. Any such process served prior to July 1, 1984, shall not be invalidated solely because service was made as prescribed under § 8.01…

This chapter shall apply to any premarital agreement executed on or after July 1, 1986.

As used in this chapter: "Premarital agreement" means an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be effective upon marriage. "Property" means an interest, present or future, legal or equitable, vested or contingent, in real or personal prope…

A premarital agreement shall be in writing and signed by both parties. Such agreement shall be enforceable without consideration and shall become effective upon marriage.

Parties to a premarital agreement may contract with respect to: 1. The rights and obligations of each of the parties in any of the property of either or both of them whenever and wherever acquired or located; 2. The right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, con…

A. A premarital agreement is not enforceable if the person against whom enforcement is sought proves that: 1. That person did not execute the agreement voluntarily; or 2. The agreement was unconscionable when it was executed and, before execution of the agreement, that person (i)…

Any statute of limitations applicable to an action asserting a claim for relief under a premarital agreement is tolled during the marriage of the parties to the agreement. However, equitable defenses limiting the time for enforcement, including laches and estoppel, are available …

After marriage, a premarital agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written agreement signed by the parties. The amended agreement or the revocation is enforceable without consideration.

All written agreements entered into prior to the enactment of this chapter between prospective spouses for the purpose affecting any of the subjects specified in § 20-150 shall be valid and enforceable if otherwise valid as contracts.

Married persons may enter into agreements with each other for the purpose of settling the rights and obligations of either or both of them, to the same extent, with the same effect, and subject to the same conditions, as provided in §§ 20-147 through 20-154 for agreements between…

As used in this chapter unless the context requires a different meaning: "Assisted conception" means a pregnancy resulting from any intervening medical technology, whether in vivo or in vitro, which completely or partially replaces sexual intercourse as the means of conception. S…

The provisions of this chapter shall control, without exception, in any action brought in the courts of this Commonwealth to enforce or adjudicate any rights or responsibilities arising under this chapter.

A. Determination of parentage, generally. — Except as provided in subsections B, C, D, and E, the parentage of any child resulting from the performance of assisted conception shall be determined as follows: 1. The gestational mother of a child is the child's mother. 2. The spouse…

A. A surrogate, her spouse, if any, and the prospective intended parent may enter into a written agreement whereby the surrogate may relinquish all her rights and duties as parent of a child conceived through assisted conception, and the prospective intended parent may become the…

A. Prior to the performance of assisted conception, the intended parent, the surrogate, and her spouse, if any, shall join in a petition to the circuit court of the county or city in which at least one of the parties resides. The surrogacy contract shall be signed by all the part…

A. Subsequent to an order entered pursuant to subsection B of § 20-160, but before the surrogate becomes pregnant through the use of assisted conception, the court for cause, or the surrogate, her spouse, if any, or the intended parent, for cause, may terminate the agreement by g…

A. In the case of any surrogacy agreement for which prior court approval has not been obtained pursuant to § 20-160, the provisions of this section and §§ 20-156 through 20-159 and §§ 20-163 through 20-165 shall apply. Any provision in a surrogacy contract that attempts to reduce…

A. The surrogate shall be solely responsible for the clinical management of the pregnancy. B. After the entry of an order under subsection B of § 20-160 or upon the execution of a contract pursuant to § 20-162, the marriage of the surrogate shall not affect the validity of the or…

A child whose status as a child is declared or negated by this chapter is the child only of his parent or parents as determined under this chapter, Title 64.2, and, when applicable, Chapter 3.1 (§ 20-49.1 et seq.) of this title for all purposes including, but not limited to, (i) …

A. It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity to accept compensation for recruiting or procuring surrogates or to accept compensation for otherwise arranging or inducing an intended parent and surrogates to enter into surrogacy contracts in thi…

A. A parent or legal custodian of a child, by a properly executed power of attorney pursuant to § 20-167, may delegate to another person, for a period not to exceed 180 days, any of the powers regarding the custody, care, and property of the child except the power to consent to m…

A. A power of attorney to delegate parental or legal authority executed pursuant to this chapter shall be substantially as follows: POWER OF ATTORNEY TO DELEGATE PARENTAL OR LEGAL CUSTODIAL POWERS 1. I/We certify that I/we am/are the parent or legal custodian of: Full name of min…

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: "Collaborative law communication" means a statement, whether oral or in a record, or verbal or nonverbal, that (i) is made to conduct, participate in, continue, or reconvene a collaborative law process and (ii) occur…

This chapter applies to a collaborative law participation agreement that meets the requirements of § 20-170 and is signed on or after July 1, 2021.

A. A collaborative law participation agreement shall: 1. Be in a record; 2. Be signed by the parties; 3. State the parties' intention to resolve a collaborative matter through a collaborative law process under this chapter; 4. Describe the nature and scope of the matter; 5. Ident…

A. A collaborative law process begins when the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement. B. A tribunal shall not order a party to participate in a collaborative law process over such party's objection. C. A collaborative law process is concluded by a: 1. Resolutio…

A. Persons in a proceeding pending before a tribunal may sign a collaborative law participation agreement to seek to resolve a collaborative matter related to the proceeding. The parties shall file promptly with the tribunal a notice of the collaborative law participation agreeme…

During a collaborative law process, a tribunal may issue emergency orders to protect the health, safety, welfare, or interest of a party or a party's family or household member.

A tribunal may affirm, ratify, and incorporate into a court order any agreement resulting from a collaborative law process.

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection C, a collaborative lawyer is disqualified from appearing before a tribunal to represent a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative matter. B. Except as otherwise provided in subsection C and § 20-176, a lawyer in a law firm …

A. The disqualification provisions of § 20-175 apply to a collaborative lawyer representing a party with or without fee. B. After a collaborative law process concludes, another lawyer in a law firm with which a collaborative lawyer disqualified pursuant to § 20-175 is associated …

Except as otherwise provided by law, during the collaborative law process, on the request of another party, a party shall make timely, full, candid, and informal disclosure of information related to the collaborative matter without the requirement of the formal discovery procedur…

This chapter does not affect the professional responsibility obligations and standards applicable to a lawyer or other licensed professional or the obligation of a person to report abuse or neglect, abandonment, or exploitation of a child or adult under the laws of the Commonweal…

Before a prospective party signs a collaborative law participation agreement, a prospective collaborative lawyer shall: 1. Assess with the prospective party factors the lawyer reasonably believes relate to whether a collaborative law process is appropriate for the prospective par…

A. Before a prospective party signs a collaborative law participation agreement, a prospective collaborative lawyer shall make reasonable inquiry into whether there exists a history of family abuse between the prospective parties. B. Throughout a collaborative law process, a coll…

A collaborative law communication is confidential to the extent agreed upon by the parties in a signed record or as provided by another law of the Commonwealth.

A. Subject to §§ 20-183 and 20-184, a collaborative law communication is privileged under subsection B, is not subject to discovery, and is not admissible in evidence. B. In a proceeding, the following privileges apply: 1. A party may refuse to disclose, and may prevent any other…

A. A privilege under § 20-182 may be waived in a record or orally during a proceeding if it is expressly waived by all parties and, in the case of the privilege of a nonparty participant, it is also expressly waived by such participant. B. A person who makes a disclosure or repre…

A. There is no privilege under § 20-182 for a collaborative law communication that is: 1. Available to the public; 2. A threat or statement of a plan to inflict bodily injury or commit a crime of violence; 3. Intentionally used to plan a crime, commit or attempt to commit a crime…

A. If a collaborative law participation agreement fails to meet the requirements of § 20-170, or a lawyer fails to comply with § 20-179 or 20-180, a tribunal may nevertheless find that the parties intended to enter into a collaborative law participation agreement if they (i) sign…