Virginia acknowledges each fault-based and no-fault grounds for divorce. In a fault-based divorce, one celebration should show the opposite dedicated a particular act, comparable to adultery, desertion, cruelty, or felony conviction. As an illustration, proof of an extramarital affair, substantiated by testimony or documentation, can function grounds for divorce underneath the adultery provision.
The supply of fault-based divorce supplies choices for people who could not meet the ready interval necessities of a no-fault divorce, or who search to affect the result of property division or spousal help primarily based on the opposite celebration’s misconduct. Traditionally, fault grounds had been the one avenue for dissolving a wedding. Whereas no-fault choices have turn into prevalent, fault-based divorces stay related in particular circumstances.