WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

Legal Information: Virginia

Divorce

Laws current as of July 8, 2024

What types of divorce are there in Virginia?

Virginia has two kinds of divorce:

  • divorce from bed and board; and
  • divorce from the bond of matrimony.

A divorce from bed and board is a partial divorce. The judge can decide maintenance, property distribution, custody, and other issued typically handled in a divorce but a divorce from bed and board does not end the marriage. You cannot get remarried after a divorce from bed and board.1

You can only get a divorce from bed and board if you claim that your spouse has:

  • been cruel to you;
  • caused you to reasonably fear bodily harm;
  • willfully deserted you; or
  • abandoned you.1

A divorce from the bond of matrimony is a complete divorce that ends the marriage and allows both you and your spouse to remarry.2

Note: The rest of WomensLaw.org’s information about divorce in Virginia is about divorce from the bond of matrimony. If you are interested in getting a divorce from bed and board, you may want to go to our Finding a Lawyer page to speak to a lawyer in Virginia.

1 Va. Code § 20-95; 20-116; “Divorce in Virginia,” Virginia State Bar
2 “Divorce in Virginia,” Virginia State Bar

Legal Information

© 2008–2024 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.