Virginia Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

The next step is collecting on the judgment, which typically involves garnishing wages and bank accounts.  If you don't have the information about where they work or bank you can summons them to court to answer debtor interroagories, which is basically just you asking them any questions for this information.  You can also file your judgment with land records to put a lien on any real estate they might own and it's possible to seize any items of value they might have.  You may want to hire a collections lawyer to help you out with this.... Read Answer

I would think that the date would be controlling and you should have a good claim against them for any damages you incur as a result of their breach of the contract.  However, it's possible that it would be considered a mutual mistake of fact, in which case they may be able to wiggle out of it.  It's an interesting issue and may require additional legal research to see if any courts have addressed this before.... Read Answer

In order to divorce you he would have had to provide you legal notice, so either he served papers on you somehow and you were not aware of it - perhaps he had them posted on the door of an old address and you were no longer there - or he could have noticed you by publicaiton in the newspaper if he said that he did not know where you were living or you were living out of state.  If he served you by publication you have 2 years in which to reopen the case and address any property or support issues.  You can also hae a case reheard within 2 years if there has been a fraud on the court.  So if he served you at a bogus address I'm not sure if that would qualify, but it might.  Since you are still just within that 2 year window you will want to act quickly.  However, the fact that you have been living without spousal support for the past year-and-a-half would seem to indicate that you don't need it.  You usually have a better chance of getting alimony if you ask for it right away and you'll have to explain why you did not.  But it should not bar you gettnig it, if you truly need it and he has the ability to pay.  ... Read Answer

When you physically separated from your spouse with the intention that the separation would be permanent you become legally separated for purposes of seekig a divorce in Virginia.  You do not have to do anything to formalize it, although many people enter into Separation and Property Settlement Agreements.  You would need a written agreement like that if you have no kids and want to get divorced after only a six month separation.  Otherwise, if you have no written agreement or if you have kids you have to wait a full year of being separated in order to file a no-fault divorce.  You can file sooner if you have fault grounds, such as adultery, cruelty, or desertion, but these typically do not get you divorced any faster, as you must then go through the contested litigation process and have a full trial to prove your grounds. Aftere your separation period you can file for divorce and at your final hearing, which can usually be done by deposition or affidavit these days, you will testify under oath about the date of your separation.  You will need a witness who can verify the date of separation.  So in terms of what you can do now to document your separation, the best thing you can do is think about who your witness will be and make sure they are familiar with your living situation, so that they can personally observe that you are not living with your spouse. In the meantime you can try to negotiate any financial issues, but you can't force the other side to settle.  If you need monetary support you can file for that in the Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court at any time following separation, without having to have grounds for divorce.  If you have children, yuo can also file for custody, visitation, or child support in the JDR Court.  Any property issues that can't be worked out will have to be decided in the divorce court (Circuit Court).... Read Answer

If you have lived in the motal room for at least 90 days then you are considered a tenant under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.  This means that they can't just lock you out if you don't pay the rent, but they woudl have to go through the legal eviction process, which is generally going to take a month or more.  Even if you have stayed there less than 90 days the landlord still has to give you a 5-day notice before locking you out.  So you should have some time.  If you have lived there more than 90 days and they lock you out that is illegal.  If that happens, call the Sheriffs and show them Virginia Code 55-248.3:1 - subsection D 3 and 4: 3. If a person resides in a hotel, motel, extended stay facility, vacation residential facility, including those governed by the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act (§ 55-360 et seq.), boardinghouse, or similar transient lodging as his primary residence for fewer than 90 consecutive days, such lodging shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. However, the owner of such lodging establishment shall give a five-day written notice of nonpayment to a person residing in such lodging and, upon the expiration of the five-day period specified in the notice, may exercise self-help eviction if payment in full has not been received. 4. If a person resides in a hotel, motel, extended stay facility, vacation residential facility, including those governed by the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act (§ 55-360 et seq.), boardinghouse, or similar transient lodging as his primary residence for more than 90 consecutive days or is subject to a written lease for more than 90 days, such lodging shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. I would call the Sheriff rather than the police only because they are the ones who oversee evictions and so they are familiar with the process and should know what is legal and not.  Also if the landlord locks you out it is not criminal, it just makes them civilly liable.  Not criminal means the police won't care or know what to do about it.  Hopefully the Sheriff's office will help you, although they might just tell you to take it to court.  ... Read Answer

There is no automatic spousal support in Virginia.  The court must look at a variety of factors in determining how much support to award and for how long.  There is a general rule of thumb that if you were married for more than 10 years you could be looking at lifeime support, but even that is not automatic and could depend on your abiility to pay and her ability to improve her own earning potential, among other things.  With a 21-year marriage, if you were the primary breadwinner and supporting her throughout the marriage then there is a very good possibility you will be ordered to pay lifetime support, which means until one of you dies or she remarries or lives in a relationship analogous to marriage for more than one year.... Read Answer

You are obviously going to want to hire a lawyer to represent you in this, since there is so much at stake.  Your attorney may be able to work something out with the prosecutor so that you can keep your record clean.  This is such a minor charge that it seems likely your lawyer will be able to resolve it.  If not, there may be grounds to fight it at trial.   ... Read Answer

If you have a 2014 injury and did not file a claim for this injury with the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission the two (2) year time limit may have expired. You need to call the Commission to find out the statuf of your claim: 1-877-664-2566. If you have an award for this injury at the Commission, then file a claim to get this bill paid with the Commission. ... Read Answer

You need to contact an  experienced workers compensation lawyer. In order to have a claim, you need to have had an "accident at work" that caused the back injury ono the 18th. It does not help that no one saw your back injury. If you promptly reported it, then that is a good think. Hopefully, in your report, you specified a specific incident that caused your back injury. You can contact me for further advice about this matter. ... Read Answer

If there is a court order that she has violated then you can seek to have her held in contempt of court. If your custody agreement has not yet been reduced to an order then you should seek to have a custody order entered. If there is no court order yet or if there was a previous court order entered in another state then you will  likely have to proceed in the state that your daughter is living in. If there is a current Virginia order in place then you can proceed in Virginia. ... Read Answer