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I represent spouses in contested divorces in the Fairfax County Circuit Court, along with the custody and support matters that often begin in the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Many of these cases involve a closely held business, executive or government-contractor compensation, a military career, or a dispute over the children. In each one, my work starts the same way: identify what the end of the case should look like, then build the evidence and the strategy backward from that point.
I am Jason A. Weis, an attorney with Curran Moher Weis, with offices at 10300 Eaton Place in Fairfax. Fairfax and Loudoun are my primary courts, and I handle cases in other Virginia jurisdictions as well. I clerked at the United States Tax Court, and I have bought, operated, and sold businesses of my own. That background shapes how I approach the financial side of a divorce.
Where a Fairfax Divorce Is Decided
A divorce in Virginia is decided in circuit court. If the case belongs in Fairfax, it is filed in the Fairfax County Circuit Court, at 4110 Chain Bridge Road. At least one spouse must have been a bona fide resident and domiciliary of Virginia for six months before filing. Va. Code § 20-97. Before a divorce is filed, custody, visitation, and support may be decided in the Fairfax JDR court; once the divorce is pending, the circuit court can decide those issues together with property division and the divorce itself.
The filing requirements, grounds, and timeline are set out in detail in my guide to the divorce process in Fairfax County. This page addresses what changes when the case is contested.
The Matters I Handle
- Contested custody and visitation, decided under the best-interests factors of Va. Code § 20-124.3. See my page on custody and visitation in Fairfax and Loudoun.
- Spousal support, both temporary and long-term, under Va. Code § 20-107.1. See spousal support in Fairfax and Loudoun.
- Child support, under the statutory guideline in Va. Code § 20-108.2, including the cases in which income must be proved rather than assumed. See the Virginia child support guide.
- Property division, including the marital residence, investment real estate, retirement accounts, and debt, under Va. Code § 20-107.3. See property division in Fairfax and Loudoun.
- Business and professional-practice owners, where the value of the business, the owner’s true income, and the separate or marital character of the interest are all in dispute. See how Virginia courts value closely held businesses.
- Executives and government contractors, where stock options, restricted stock, deferred compensation, and security clearances are at issue. See my page for executive and government-contractor divorce.
- Military divorce, including the division of retired pay and the Survivor Benefit Plan. See military divorce in Virginia.
- Fault-based divorce, including adultery, cruelty, and desertion. See fault grounds for divorce in Virginia.
How a Contested Fairfax Divorce Unfolds
Separation and early positioning. The date of separation matters, and so do the decisions made in the weeks around it: who stays in the residence, how the children’s schedule is handled, and how the finances are managed. Positions taken early are difficult to retreat from later.
Temporary relief. While the suit is pending, the court may order temporary spousal and child support, provide for custody, award exclusive use and possession of the family residence, and enter orders to preserve the estate of either spouse. Va. Code § 20-103. In the Fairfax County Circuit Court, pendente lite motions are heard on the Friday domestic motions docket, on one week’s notice. A temporary order often sets the terms on which the rest of the case is negotiated, so it deserves the same preparation as a final hearing.
Discovery. Interrogatories, document requests, subpoenas to third parties, and depositions establish the financial record and test the other side’s account of the marriage. In a high-asset case this is where the case is usually won or lost.
Valuation and experts. Businesses, professional practices, real estate, and deferred compensation often require an appraiser, a forensic accountant, or a vocational expert. The question is not only what an asset is worth, but whether it is marital, separate, or part of each.
Settlement or trial. Most contested cases settle, and the strongest settlements are negotiated from a fully developed record. The cases that do not settle are tried to the court on the evidence presented.
Business Owners, Executives, and High-Asset Estates
Virginia divides property by first classifying it as marital, separate, or part marital and part separate, and then dividing the marital share under the factors in Va. Code § 20-107.3. In a high-asset case each step is contested. A business started before the marriage may have grown through one spouse’s efforts during it. An account funded with an inheritance may have been mixed with marital money. Equity awards may have been granted during the marriage but vest years later.
The law on these questions is settled in its outline and fact-intensive in its application. Stock options and restricted stock granted during the marriage can be marital property even when they vest after the separation. Schuman v. Schuman, 282 Va. 443 (2011). A buy-sell agreement that limits what an owner could receive for a business interest is relevant to its value but does not control it. Bosserman v. Bosserman, 9 Va. App. 1 (1989). Cases like these are decided on the documents and the expert testimony, which is why the financial record has to be built early and built thoroughly. For more, see how executive compensation is divided in a Virginia divorce.
When Fault Matters
Most Virginia divorces are granted on the no-fault ground of separation, but fault can change the economics of a case. Under Va. Code § 20-107.1(B), a spouse whose adultery supplies a ground for divorce is barred from permanent spousal support unless the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that denying support would be a manifest injustice. The court must also consider the circumstances that led to the end of the marriage when it divides property. Va. Code § 20-107.3(E)(5). Fault is not a license to punish, however; it is “not a ‘wild card’ that may be employed to justify what otherwise would be an arbitrary or punitive award.” O’Loughlin v. O’Loughlin, 20 Va. App. 522 (1995).
Since July 1, 2026, adultery supplies a ground for divorce only if it occurred before the parties’ last separation. The changes are discussed in Changes to Virginia Divorce Law on July 1, 2026. Whether to plead fault is a strategic decision best made early, with the evidence in hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to file my divorce in Fairfax?
Not necessarily. Where a divorce is filed depends on Virginia’s venue rules, which look first to where the parties last lived together or, at the filing spouse’s option, where the other spouse lives. Va. Code § 8.01-261(19). At least one spouse must also meet the six-month residency requirement in Va. Code § 20-97.
Can I get support before the divorce is final?
Yes. Once a divorce suit is filed, either spouse may ask the court for temporary spousal support, child support, custody, and use of the residence under Va. Code § 20-103. Before a suit is filed, support and custody can be sought in the Fairfax JDR court.
How long does a contested divorce take in Fairfax?
It depends on the issues, the amount of discovery, and the court’s docket. A case with a business valuation and a custody dispute takes considerably longer than one with a single disputed asset. A no-fault divorce cannot be finalized until the required separation period has run: one year, or six months where there are no minor children and the parties have a separation agreement. Va. Code § 20-91(A)(9).
Will my case go to trial?
Most do not. But a case should be prepared as though it will be tried, because the other side’s assessment of your readiness for trial shapes every offer that is made.
What should I bring to a first meeting?
The most useful documents are recent tax returns, pay statements, account and retirement statements, any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, and any existing court orders. A short chronology of the marriage and the separation is also valuable.