Arlington Family Law Blog

Virginia marriages might be more likely to end in divorce if one or both spouses has certain personality traits. For example, people who avoid conflict may not deal with problems in the marriage. This can cause those problems to go unresolved and might eventually lead to a divorce.

Catastrophizing is another personality trait that could lead to a divorce. This happens when a person has a tendency to take relatively minor incidents and treat them as though they are much more important. The person might even go on to file for divorce multiple times before realizing that doing so was an overreaction. Insecurity can also be a problem since it can lead to seeking external approval and infidelity.

For many people in Virginia, it is common knowledge that people's happiness in marriage declines over the years with the end of the "honeymoon period." While relationships do change over years of togetherness, one study casts doubt on the idea that rising marital dissatisfaction is a necessary part of spending years together. Researchers from the University of Texas and the University of Georgia aimed to study how feelings about marriage change over time. They were also interested in exploring the impact of socioeconomic factors, given the intense financial disputes that can take place during a divorce.

The researchers studied 431 couples living in a lower-income area, although the couples' financial circumstances varied. They were asked an eight-question survey on five occasions between 2009 and 2014, beginning in 2009 when all of the couples were newlyweds. The researchers found out that the common perception of marital satisfaction is questionable in many cases. Couples who began their married lives with a high level of happiness and satisfaction were more likely to maintain it. On the other hand, people who were unhappy in their marriages at the beginning were likely to remain unhappy and to think about divorce.

You are involved in a custody case. A guardian ad litem (GAL) has been appointed to the case. How should you best deal with the GAL?

You must cooperate in all respects with the GAL. If the GAL asks you to sign release forms to obtain your medical and/or psychological records, sign it immediately. If the GAL makes appointments to meet with you, be there ahead of time. Come to the meeting prepared. Provide documents that you and your lawyer believe would be helpful to the GAL, such as text messages, emails, medical records, school transcripts. Return the GAL's phone calls promptly. If the GAL wants to meet with you or your kids, do not delay.

Finances are among the most hotly contested issues in many Virginia divorces. For people who are paid on an hourly or straight salary basis, the timing of the divorce may have little impact on finance or property division. However, for individuals with more complicated compensation structures, the timing of the divorce and other negotiation matters may be of greater importance.

People who are paid large bonuses with clawback provisions, for example, may be able to argue against dividing the bonus funds. If the bonus money can be clawed back by the employer, then those funds might be thought of as not yet earned at the time of the divorce. In a situation where such bonus money is divided between the spouses, the divorce agreement should clearly outline what the parties' responsibilities are in the event that the clawback provision becomes relevant.