reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.80. Conditions of rendition

A. Before making a demand that the governor of another state surrender an individual charged criminally in the Commonwealth with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, the Governor of the Commonwealth may require a prosecutor of the Commonwealth to demonstrate that at least 60 days previously the obligee had initiated proceedings for support pursuant to this chapter or that the proceeding would be of no avail.
B. If, under this chapter or a law substantially similar to this chapter, the governor of another state makes a demand that the Governor of the Commonwealth surrender an individual charged criminally in that state with having failed to provide for the support of a child or other individual to whom a duty of support is owed, the Governor may require a prosecutor to investigate the demand and report whether a proceeding for support has been initiated or would be effective. If it appears that a proceeding would be effective but has not been initiated, the Governor may delay honoring the demand for a reasonable time to permit the initiation of a proceeding.
C. If a proceeding for support has been initiated and the individual whose rendition is demanded prevails, the Governor may decline to honor the demand. If the petitioner prevails and the individual whose rendition is demanded is subject to a support order, the Governor may decline to honor the demand if the individual is complying with the support order.
1994, c. 673; 2005, c. 754.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.83. Definitions

As used in this article:
"Application" means a request under the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance by an obligee or obligor, or on behalf of a child, made through a central authority for assistance from another central authority.
"Central authority" means the entity designated by the United States or a foreign country described in § 20-88.32 to perform the functions specified in the Convention.
"Convention support order" means a support order of a tribunal of a foreign country described in § 20-88.32.
"Direct request" means a petition or similar pleading filed by an individual in a tribunal of the Commonwealth in a proceeding involving an obligee, obligor, or child residing outside the United States.
"Foreign central authority" means the entity designated by a foreign country described in § 20-88.32 to perform the functions specified in the Convention.
"Foreign support agreement" means an agreement for support in a record that (i) is enforceable as a support order in the country of origin; (ii) has been formally drawn up or registered as an authentic instrument by a foreign tribunal or authenticated by or concluded, registered, or filed with a foreign tribunal; and (iii) may be reviewed and modified by a foreign tribunal. "Foreign support agreement" includes a maintenance arrangement or authentic instrument under the Convention.
"United States central authority" means the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.84. Applicability

This article applies only to a support proceeding under the Convention. In such a proceeding, if a provision of this article is inconsistent with Articles 1 through 9 (§ 20-88.32 et seq.), this article controls.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.86. Initiation by Department of Social Services of support proceeding under convention

A. In a support proceeding under this chapter, the Department of Social Services of the Commonwealth shall:
1. Transmit and receive applications; and
2. Initiate or facilitate the institution of a proceeding regarding an application in a tribunal of the Commonwealth.
B. The following support proceedings are available to an obligee under the Convention:
1. Recognition or recognition and enforcement of a foreign support order;
2. Enforcement of a support order issued or recognized in the Commonwealth;
3. Establishment of a support order if there is no existing order, including, if necessary, determination of parentage of a child;
4. Establishment of a support order if recognition of a foreign support order is refused under subdivision B 2, 4, or 9 of § 20-88.90;
5. Modification of a support order of a tribunal of the Commonwealth; and
6. Modification of a support order of a tribunal of another state or a foreign country.
C. The following support proceedings are available under the Convention to an obligor against which there is an existing support order:
1. Recognition of an order suspending or limiting enforcement of an existing support order of a tribunal of the Commonwealth;
2. Modification of a support order of a tribunal of the Commonwealth; and
3. Modification of a support order of a tribunal of another state or a foreign country.
D. A tribunal of the Commonwealth may not require security, bond, or deposit, however described, to guarantee the payment of costs and expenses in proceedings under the Convention.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.87. Direct request

A. A petitioner may file a direct request seeking establishment or modification of a support order or determination of parentage of a child. In the proceeding, the law of the Commonwealth applies.
B. A petitioner may file a direct request seeking recognition and enforcement of a support order or support agreement. In the proceeding, §§ 20-88.88 through 20-88.95 apply.
C. In a direct request for recognition and enforcement of a Convention support order or foreign support agreement:
1. A security, bond, or deposit is not required to guarantee the payment of costs and expenses; and
2. An obligee or obligor that in the issuing country has benefited from free legal assistance is entitled to benefit, at least to the same extent, from any free legal assistance provided for by the law of the Commonwealth under the same circumstances.
D. A petitioner filing a direct request is not entitled to assistance from the Department of Social Services.
E. This chapter does not prevent the application of laws of the Commonwealth that provide simplified, more expeditious rules regarding a direct request for recognition and enforcement of a foreign support order or foreign support agreement.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.88. Registration of Convention support order

A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a party who is an individual or a support enforcement agency seeking recognition of a Convention support order shall register the order in the Commonwealth as provided in Article 9 (§ 20-88.74 et seq.).
B. Notwithstanding § 20-88.54 and subsection A of § 20-88.67, a request for registration of a Convention support order must be accompanied by:
1. A complete text of the support order or an abstract or extract of the support order drawn up by the issuing foreign tribunal, which may be in the form recommended by the Hague Conference on Private International Law;
2. A record stating that the support order is enforceable in the issuing country;
3. If the respondent did not appear and was not represented in the proceedings in the issuing country, a record attesting, as appropriate, either that the respondent had proper notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard or that the respondent had proper notice of the support order and an opportunity to be heard in a challenge or appeal on fact or law before a tribunal;
4. A record showing the amount of arrears, if any, and the date the amount was calculated;
5. A record showing a requirement for automatic adjustment of the amount of support, if any, and the information necessary to make the appropriate calculations; and
6. If necessary, a record showing the extent to which the applicant received free legal assistance in the issuing country.
C. A request for registration of a Convention support order may seek recognition and partial enforcement of the order.
D. A tribunal of the Commonwealth may vacate the registration of a Convention support order without the filing of a contest under § 20-88.89 only if, acting on its own motion, the tribunal finds that recognition and enforcement of the order would be manifestly incompatible with public policy.
E. The tribunal shall promptly notify the parties of the registration or the order vacating the registration of a Convention support order.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.89. Contest of registered convention support order

A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, §§ 20-88.71, 20-88.72, and 20-88.73 apply to a contest of a registered Convention support order.
B. A party contesting a registered Convention support order shall file a contest not later than 30 days after notice of the registration, but if the contesting party does not reside in the United States, the contest must be filed not later than 60 days after notice of the registration.
C. If the non-registering party fails to contest the registered Convention support order within the time period specified in subsection B, the order is enforceable.
D. A contest of a registered Convention support order may be based only on grounds set forth in § 20-88.90. The contesting party bears the burden of proof.
E. In a contest of a registered Convention support order, a tribunal of the Commonwealth:
1. Is bound by the findings of fact on which the foreign tribunal based its jurisdiction; and
2. May not review the merits of the order.
F. A tribunal of the Commonwealth deciding a contest of a registered Convention support order shall promptly notify the parties of its decision.
G. A challenge or appeal, if any, does not stay the enforcement of a Convention support order unless there are exceptional circumstances.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.90. Recognition and enforcement of registered convention support order

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B, a tribunal of the Commonwealth shall recognize and enforce a registered Convention support order.
B. The following grounds are the only grounds on which a tribunal of the Commonwealth may refuse recognition and enforcement of a registered Convention support order:
1. Recognition and enforcement of the order is manifestly incompatible with public policy, including the failure of the issuing tribunal to observe minimum standards of due process, which include notice and an opportunity to be heard;
2. The issuing tribunal lacked personal jurisdiction consistent with § 20-88.35;
3. The order is not enforceable in the issuing country;
4. The order was obtained by fraud in connection with a matter of procedure;
5. A record transmitted in accordance with § 20-88.88 lacks authenticity or integrity;
6. A proceeding between the same parties and having the same purpose is pending before a tribunal of the Commonwealth and that proceeding was the first to be filed;
7. The order is incompatible with a more recent support order involving the same parties and having the same purpose if the more recent support order is entitled to recognition and enforcement under this chapter in the Commonwealth;
8. Payment, to the extent alleged arrears have been paid in whole or in part;
9. In a case in which the respondent neither appeared nor was represented in the proceeding in the issuing foreign country:
a. If the law of that country provides for prior notice of proceedings, the respondent did not have proper notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard; or
b. If the law of that country does not provide for prior notice of the proceedings, the respondent did not have proper notice of the order and an opportunity to be heard in a challenge or appeal on fact or law before a tribunal; or
10. The order was made in violation of § 20-88.93.
C. If a tribunal of the Commonwealth does not recognize a Convention support order under subdivision B 2, 4, or 9:
1. The tribunal may not dismiss the proceeding without allowing a reasonable time for a party to request the establishment of a new Convention support order; and
2. The Department of Social Services shall take all appropriate measures to request a child support order for the obligee if the application for recognition and enforcement was received under § 20-88.86.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.92. Foreign support agreement

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsections C and D, a tribunal of the Commonwealth shall recognize and enforce a foreign support agreement registered in the Commonwealth.
B. An application or direct request for recognition and enforcement of a foreign support agreement must be accompanied by:
1. A complete text of the foreign support agreement; and
2. A record stating that the foreign support agreement is enforceable as an order of support in the issuing country.
C. A tribunal of the Commonwealth may vacate the registration of a foreign support agreement only if, acting on its own motion, the tribunal finds that recognition and enforcement would be manifestly incompatible with public policy.
D. In a contest of a foreign support agreement, a tribunal of the Commonwealth may refuse recognition and enforcement of the agreement if it finds that:
1. Recognition and enforcement of the agreement is manifestly incompatible with public policy;
2. The agreement was obtained by fraud or falsification;
3. The agreement is incompatible with a support order involving the same parties and having the same purpose in the Commonwealth, another state, or a foreign country if the support order is entitled to recognition and enforcement under this chapter in the Commonwealth; or
4. The record submitted under subsection B lacks authenticity or integrity.
E. A proceeding for recognition and enforcement of a foreign support agreement must be suspended during the pendency of a challenge to or appeal of the agreement before a tribunal of another state or a foreign country.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 5.3 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act › § 20-88.93. Modification of Convention child support order

A. A tribunal of the Commonwealth may not modify a Convention child support order if the obligee remains a resident of the foreign country where the support order was issued unless:
1. The obligee submits to the jurisdiction of a tribunal of the Commonwealth, either expressly or by defending on the merits of the case without objecting to the jurisdiction at the first available opportunity; or
2. The foreign tribunal lacks or refuses to exercise jurisdiction to modify its support order or issue a new support order.
B. If a tribunal of the Commonwealth does not modify a Convention child support order because the order is not recognized in the Commonwealth, subsection C of § 20-88.90 applies.
2015, c. 727.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-89.1. Suit to annul marriage

A. When a marriage is alleged to be void or voidable for any of the causes mentioned in § 20-13, 20-38.1, or 20-45.1 or by virtue of fraud or duress, either party may institute a suit for annulling the same; and upon proof of the nullity of the marriage, it shall be decreed void by a decree of annulment.
B. In the case of natural or incurable impotency of body existing at the time of entering into the marriage contract, or when, prior to the marriage, either party, without the knowledge of the other, had been convicted of a felony, or when, at the time of the marriage, either spouse, without the knowledge of the other spouse, was with child by a person other than the other spouse or had conceived a child born to a person other than the other spouse within 10 months after the date of the solemnization of the marriage, or where, prior to the marriage, either party had been, without the knowledge of the other, a prostitute, a decree of annulment may be entered upon proof, on complaint of the party aggrieved.
C. No annulment for a marriage alleged to be void or voidable under subsection B of § 20-45.1 or subsection B of this section or by virtue of fraud or duress shall be decreed if it appears that the party applying for such annulment has cohabited with the other after knowledge of the facts giving rise to what otherwise would have been grounds for annulment, and in no event shall any such decree be entered if the parties had been married for a period of two years prior to the institution of such suit for annulment.
D. A party who, at the time of such marriage as is mentioned in § 20-48, was capable of consenting with a party not so capable shall not be permitted to institute a suit for the purpose of annulling such marriage.
1975, c. 644; 1976, c. 356; 2016, cc. 457, 543; 2020, c. 900.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-90. Suit to affirm marriage

A. When the validity of any marriage shall be denied or doubted by either of the parties, the other party may institute a suit for affirmance of the marriage, and upon due proof of the validity thereof, it shall be decreed to be valid, and such decree shall be conclusive upon all persons concerned.
B. Notwithstanding § 20-13, a marriage of a couple where one of the parties was under the age of 18 at the time of solemnization may be decreed valid upon petition by the party who was under the age of 18 at the time of the solemnization that would otherwise be deemed voidable under subsection C of § 20-45.1 solely because of age, once such party has attained the age of 18. If both parties were under the age of 18 at the time of solemnization, such petition shall not be granted unless both parties have reached the age of 18 and join in the petition together.
Code 1919, § 5102; 2016, cc. 457, 543.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-93. Insanity of guilty party after commencement of desertion no defense

When the suit is for divorce from the bond of matrimony for willful desertion or abandonment, it shall be no defense that the guilty party has, since the commencement of such desertion, and within one year thereafter, become and has been adjudged insane, but at the expiration of one year from the commencement of such desertion the ground for divorce shall be deemed to be complete, and the committee of the insane defendant, if there be one, shall be made a party to the cause, or if there be no committee, then the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the insane defendant. This section shall apply whether the desertion or abandonment commenced heretofore or shall commence hereafter.
Code 1919, § 5103; 1926, p. 869; 1934, p. 20; 1954, c. 389; 1975, c. 644.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-94. Effect of cohabitation after knowledge of adultery, sodomy or buggery; lapse of five years

When the suit is for divorce for adultery, sodomy, or buggery, the divorce shall not be granted, if it appear that the parties voluntarily cohabited after the knowledge of the fact of adultery, sodomy or buggery, or that it occurred more than five years before the institution of the suit, or that it was committed by the procurement or connivance of the party alleging such act.
Code 1919, § 5110; 1975, c. 644.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-95. Grounds for divorces from bed and board

A divorce from bed and board may be decreed for cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, willful desertion or abandonment.
Code 1919, § 5104; 1975, c. 644.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-96. Jurisdiction of suits for annulment, affirmance or divorce

The circuit court shall have jurisdiction of suits for annulling or affirming marriage and for divorces, and claims for separate maintenance, and such suits shall be heard by the judge as equitable claims.
Code 1919, § 5105; 1922, p. 589; 1966, c. 449; 1975, c. 644; 1977, c. 624; 1979, c. 488; 1987, c. 171; 1989, c. 556; 2005, c. 681.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-97. Domicile and residential requirements for suits for annulment, affirmance, or divorce

No suit for annulling a marriage or for divorce shall be maintainable, unless one of the parties was at the time of the filing of the suit and had been for at least six months preceding the filing of the suit an actual bona fide resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth, nor shall any suit for affirming a marriage be maintainable, unless one of the parties be domiciled in, and is and has been an actual bona fide resident of, the Commonwealth at the time of filing such suit.
For the purposes of this section only:
1. If a member of the Armed Forces of the United States has been stationed or resided in the Commonwealth and has lived for a period of six months or more in the Commonwealth next preceding the filing of the suit, then such person shall be presumed to be domiciled in and to have been a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth during such period of time.
2. Being stationed or residing in the Commonwealth includes, but is not limited to, a member of the armed forces being stationed or residing upon a ship having its home port in the Commonwealth or at an air, naval, or military base located within the Commonwealth over which the United States enjoys exclusive federal jurisdiction.
3. Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or any civilian employee of the United States, including any foreign service officer, who (i) at the time the suit is filed is, or immediately preceding such suit was, stationed in any territory or foreign country and (ii) was domiciled in the Commonwealth for the six-month period immediately preceding his being stationed in such territory or country shall be deemed to have been domiciled in and to have been a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth during the six months preceding the filing of a suit for annulment or divorce.
4. Upon separation of a married couple, either spouse may establish his own and separate domicile, though the separation may have been caused under such circumstances as would entitle such spouse to a divorce or annulment.
Code 1919, § 5105; 1922, p. 589; 1958, c. 169; 1968, c. 455; 1974, c. 278; 1978, c. 412; 1985, c. 304; 1987, c. 35; 1988, c. 448; 1991, c. 259; 2009, c. 582; 2015, c. 315; 2017, c. 480; 2020, c. 900.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-99. How such suits instituted and conducted; costs

Such suit shall be instituted and conducted as other suits in equity, except as otherwise provided in this section:
1. Except for a divorce granted on the grounds set forth in subdivision A (9) of § 20-91, no divorce, annulment, or affirmation of a marriage shall be granted on the uncorroborated testimony of the parties or either of them.
2. Whether the defendant answers or not, the cause shall be heard independently of the admissions of either party in the pleadings or otherwise.
3. Process or notice in such proceedings shall be served in the Commonwealth by any of the methods prescribed in § 8.01-296 by any person authorized to serve process under § 8.01-293. Service may be made on a nonresident by any of the methods prescribed in § 8.01-296 by any person authorized to serve process under § 8.01-320.
4. In cases where such suits have been commenced and an appearance has been made on behalf of the defendant by counsel, then notices to take depositions and of hearings, motions, and other proceedings except contempt proceedings, may be served by delivering or mailing a copy to counsel for opposing party, the foot of such notices bearing either acceptance of service or a certificate of counsel in compliance with the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia. "Counsel for opposing party" shall include a pro se party who (i) has entered a general appearance in person or by filing a pleading or endorsing an order of withdrawal of that party's counsel or (ii) has signed a pleading in the case or who has notified the other parties and the clerk that he appears in the case.
5. In cases where such suits have been commenced, the defendant has been served pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 1 of § 8.01-296, and the defendant has failed to file an answer to the suit or otherwise appear within the time allowed by law, no further notice to take depositions or conduct an ore tenus hearing is required to be served on the defendant and the court may enter any order or final decree without further notice to the defendant.
6. Costs may be awarded to either party as equity and justice may require.
Code 1919, § 5106; 1920, p. 503; 1928, p. 535; 1938, p. 202; 1968, c. 484; 1975, c. 644; 1977, c. 60; 1984, cc. 609, 616; 1987, c. 594; 1991, c. 244; 1992, c. 563; 2012, cc. 78, 84; 2013, cc. 81, 100; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 194.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-99.1:1. How defendant may accept service; waive service

A. A defendant in such suits may accept service of process by signing the proof of service before any officer authorized to administer oaths. This proof of service shall, when filed with the papers in the suit, have the same effect as if it had been served upon the defendant by a person authorized to serve process. In addition, service of process may be accepted or waived by any party, upon voluntary execution of a notarized writing specifying an intent to accept or waive any particular process, or by a defendant by filing an answer in the suit. Such notarized writing may be provided in the clerk's office of any circuit court and may be signed by such party to the proceedings before any clerk or deputy clerk of any circuit court, under oath, or may be drafted and filed by counsel or a pro se party in the proceeding, and shall, when filed with the papers in the suit, have the same effect as if the process specified had been personally served upon the defendant by a person authorized to serve process. For a suit for a no-fault divorce under subdivision A (9) of § 20-91, any such waiver may occur within a reasonable time prior to or after the suit is filed, provided that a copy of the complaint is attached to such waiver, or is otherwise provided to the defendant, and the final decree of divorce as proposed by the complainant is signed by the defendant. The court may enter any order or decree without further notice unless a defendant has filed an answer in the suit.
B. When service is accepted pursuant to this section by a nonresident person out of the Commonwealth, such service shall have the same effect as an order of publication duly executed.
C. Any process served outside the Commonwealth executed in such manner as provided for in this section is validated.
1988, c. 583; 1989, c. 562; 1992, c. 563; 2019, cc. 133, 237.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-99.2. Service in divorce and annulment cases

A. In any suit for divorce or annulment or affirmation of a marriage, process may be served in any manner authorized under § 8.01-296 or 8.01-320.
B. Any such process served prior to July 1, 1984, shall not be invalidated solely because service was made as prescribed under § 8.01-296.
1984, c. 611; 2012, cc. 78, 84.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-102. When not necessary to allege or prove offer of reconciliation

It shall not be necessary, in any suit for divorce from the bond of matrimony or from bed and board upon the ground of willful desertion or abandonment, to allege or prove an offer of reconciliation.
1938, p. 382; Michie Code 1942, § 5106a; 1975, c. 644.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-104. Order of publication against nonresident defendant

In any suit for annulment, for divorce, either a vinculo matrimonii or a mensa et thoro, or for affirmance of a marriage, an affidavit shall be filed that the defendant is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city such defendant is, without effect, an order of publication shall be entered against such defendant by the court, or by the clerk of the court wherein such suit is pending, either in term time or vacation, which order shall state the object of the suit and the grounds thereof, and the order of publication shall be published as required by law. If the plaintiff in the suit has been determined to be indigent by the court pursuant to § 19.2-159, the order stating the object of the suit and the grounds thereof shall be mailed to the defendant at his last known address and posted on the main entrance to the circuit courthouse of the city or county wherein the suit is filed, and no order of publication shall be required. No depositions in the suit shall be commenced until at least 10 days shall have elapsed after the order has been duly published or mailed and posted as required by law.
All annulments or divorces heretofore granted in suits in which the defendant was proceeded against by an order of publication or of mailing and posting which required the defendant to appear within 10 days after due publication or mailing and posting thereof, and in which depositions were taken less than 15 days, but not less than 10 days, after such due publication or mailing and posting and in suits in which the defendant was proceeded against by an order of publication or of mailing and posting issued on an affidavit that diligence had been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city such defendant was, without effect, or wherein the order of publication or of mailing and posting was entered by the court, are hereby validated and declared to be binding upon the parties to such suit, when the other proceedings therein were regular and the annulment or divorce otherwise valid.
The cost of such publication or of such mailing and posting shall be paid by the petitioner or applicant.
Code 1919, § 5108; 1938, p. 111; 1940, p. 642; 1942, p. 202; 1950, p. 72; 1975, c. 644; 1996, c. 352; 2008, c. 699.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-104.1. Orders of publication may be combined

Orders of publication as provided for in § 20-104 in any two or more suits for annulment or divorce may be combined into a single order to be published as required by law; provided that, at such time as the clerk may direct the plaintiff in each case shall pay to the clerk a pro rata share of the expense of such publication. Payments made by any plaintiff shall be subject to the provisions of § 20-99 as to costs.
1974, c. 581.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-105. Permissible form for orders of publication

Any orders of publication under the provisions of § 20-104 may be substantially in the form following:
Virginia: In the _______________ Court of _______________,
__________, 20_____
(Here set forth Style of Cause)
The object of this suit is to obtain (an annulment of marriage) (a divorce from bed and board) (a divorce from the bond of matrimony) from the defendant on the ground of _______________,
(here set forth grounds)
________________________________________
(here set forth other relief prayed for, if any)
________________________________________
(here set forth the styles and objects of the suits for divorce or annulment combined)
It appearing from an affidavit (that the defendant(s) is not a resident (are not residents) of this Commonwealth,) (or) (that diligence has been used by or on behalf of plaintiff(s) to ascertain in what county or city the defendant(s) is (are), without effect,) it is ordered that the defendant appear before this court (within ten days after due publication of this notice) (before _______________, 20_____) and protect (his) (her) (their) interests herein.
An Extract-Teste:
_______________ p.q.
______________________________ (Clerk)
1946, p. 272; Michie Suppl. 1946, § 5108a; 1974, c. 581.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-105.1. Alternative procedures

The provisions of Title 8.01 for orders of publication shall be construed as alternatives to the procedures set forth in §§ 20-104 through 20-105 and not in conflict therewith.
1978, c. 46.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-107.2. Court may decree as to custody and support of children

Upon entry of a decree providing (i) for the dissolution of a marriage, (ii) for a divorce, whether from the bond of matrimony or from bed and board, (iii) that neither party is entitled to a divorce, or (iv) for separate maintenance, the court may make such further decree as it shall deem expedient concerning the (a) custody or visitation and support of the minor children of the parties as provided in Chapter 6.1 (§ 20-124.1 et seq.) or (b) support of a child over the age of 18 who meets the requirements set forth in subsection C of § 20-124.2, including an order that either party or both parties provide health care coverage or cash medical support, or both.
1982, c. 309; 1984, c. 651; 1986, c. 421; 1987, c. 597; 1988, cc. 794, 887; 1989, c. 740; 1991, cc. 60, 545, 588; 1992, cc. 585, 716, 742; 1993, cc. 573, 599, 633; 1994, cc. 719, 769; 1996, c. 331; 2009, c. 713; 2015, cc. 653, 654.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-108. Revision and alteration of such decrees

The court may, from time to time after decreeing as provided in § 20-107.2, on petition of either of the parents, or on its own motion or upon petition of any probation officer or the Department of Social Services, which petition shall set forth the reasons for the relief sought, revise and alter such decree concerning the care, custody, and maintenance of the children and make a new decree concerning the same, as the circumstances of the parents and the benefit of the children may require. The intentional withholding of visitation of a child from the other parent without just cause may constitute a material change of circumstances justifying a change of custody in the discretion of the court.
No support order may be retroactively modified, but may be modified with respect to any period during which there is a pending petition for modification in any court, but only from the date that notice of such petition has been given to the responding party.
Any member of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, or any other reserve component thereof, who files a petition or is a party to a petition requesting the adjudication of the custody, visitation or support of a child based on a change of circumstances due to one of the parent's deployment, as that term is defined in § 20-124.7, shall be entitled to have such a petition expedited on the docket of the court.
Code 1919, § 5111; 1926, p. 105; 1927, p. 184; 1934, p. 515; 1938, p. 784; 1944, p. 397; 1948, p. 593; 1986, c. 537; 1987, c. 649; 1991, c. 438; 2002, c. 747; 2004, c. 204; 2006, c. 371; 2011, c. 351.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-109.1. Affirmation, ratification and incorporation by reference in decree of agreement between parties

Any court may affirm, ratify and incorporate by reference in its decree dissolving a marriage or decree of divorce whether from the bond of matrimony or from bed and board, or by a separate decree prior to or subsequent to such decree, or in a decree entered in a suit for annulment or separate maintenance, and in a proceeding arising under subsection A 3 or L of § 16.1-241, any valid agreement between the parties, or provisions thereof, concerning the conditions of the maintenance of the parties, or either of them and the care, custody and maintenance of their minor children, or establishing or imposing any other condition or consideration, monetary or nonmonetary. Provisions in such agreements for the modification of child support shall be valid and enforceable. Unless otherwise provided for in such agreement or decree incorporating such agreement, such future modifications shall not require a subsequent court decree. This section shall be subject to the provisions of § 20-108. Where the court affirms, ratifies and incorporates by reference in its decree such agreement or provision thereof, it shall be deemed for all purposes to be a term of the decree, and enforceable in the same manner as any provision of such decree. The provisions of this section shall apply to any decree hereinbefore or hereinafter entered affirming, ratifying and incorporating an agreement as provided herein. Upon the death or remarriage of the spouse receiving support, spousal support shall terminate unless otherwise provided by stipulation or contract. In any case where jurisdiction is obtained over a nonresident defendant by order of publication or by acceptance of service pursuant to § 20-99.1:1, any properly acknowledged and otherwise valid agreement entered into between the parties may be affirmed, ratified and incorporated as provided in this section.
1970, c. 501; 1972, c. 482; 1978, c. 746; 1979, c. 659; 1982, c. 312; 1987, c. 424; 1996, c. 331; 2003, c. 260.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-110. Maintenance and support for a spouse to cease on remarriage

If any former spouse to whom support and maintenance has been awarded shall thereafter marry, such support and maintenance shall cease as of the date of such marriage. The spouse entitled to current support shall have an affirmative duty to notify the payor spouse immediately of such remarriage. Failure of such spouse to notify the payor shall entitle the payor to restitution equal to the amount of any current support and maintenance paid after the date of the remarriage, together with interest from the date of the remarriage and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Code 1919, § 5111; 1944, p. 397; 1948, p. 593; 1975, c. 644; 2000, c. 221.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-111. Decree of divorce from bond of matrimony extinguishes contingent property rights

Upon the entry of a decree of divorce from the bond of matrimony, all contingent rights of either consort in the real and personal property of the other then existing, or thereafter acquired, including the right of survivorship in real or personal property title to which is vested in the parties as joint tenants or as tenants by the entirety, with survivorship as at common law, shall be extinguished, and such estate by the entirety shall thereupon be converted into a tenancy in common.
Code 1919, § 5111; 1926, p. 105; 1927, p. 184; 1934, p. 516; 1938, p. 784; 1944, p. 397; 1948, p. 593.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-111.1. Revocation of death benefits by divorce or annulment

A. Except as otherwise provided under federal law or law of this Commonwealth, upon the entry of a decree of annulment or divorce from the bond of matrimony on and after July 1, 1993, any revocable beneficiary designation contained in a then existing written contract owned by one party that provides for the payment of any death benefit to the other party is revoked. A death benefit prevented from passing to a former spouse by this section shall be paid as if the former spouse had predeceased the decedent. The payor of any death benefit shall be discharged from all liability upon payment in accordance with the terms of the contract providing for the death benefit, unless the payor receives written notice of a revocation under this section prior to payment.
B. The term "death benefit" includes any payments under a life insurance contract, annuity, retirement arrangement, compensation agreement or other contract designating a beneficiary of any right, property or money in the form of a death benefit.
C. This section shall not apply (i) to the extent a decree of annulment or divorce from the bond of matrimony, or a written agreement of the parties provides for a contrary result as to specific death benefits, or (ii) to any trust or any death benefit payable to or under any trust.
D. If this section is preempted by federal law with respect to the payment of any death benefit, a former spouse who, not for value, receives the payment of any death benefit that the former spouse is not entitled to under this section is personally liable for the amount of the payment to the person who would have been entitled to it were this section not preempted.
E. Every decree of annulment or divorce from the bond of matrimony entered on or after July 1, 2012, shall contain the following notice in conspicuous, bold print:
Beneficiary designations for any death benefit, as defined in subsection B of § 20-111.1 of the Code of Virginia, made payable to a former spouse may or may not be automatically revoked by operation of law upon the entry of a final decree of annulment or divorce. If a party intends to revoke any beneficiary designation made payable to a former spouse following the annulment or divorce, the party is responsible for following any and all instructions to change such beneficiary designation given by the provider of the death benefit. Otherwise, existing beneficiary designations may remain in full force and effect after the entry of a final decree of annulment or divorce.
1993, c. 417; 2007, c. 306; 2012, c. 493.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-112. Notice when proceedings reopened

When the proceedings are reopened to increase, decrease or terminate maintenance and support for a spouse or for a child, or to request additional orders to effectuate previous orders entered pursuant to § 20-107.3, the petitioning party shall give such notice to the other party by service of process or by order of publication as is required by law. Except as provided by § 20-110, no support order may be retroactively modified, but may be modified with respect to any period during which there is a pending petition for modification in any court, but only from the date that notice of such petition has been given to the responding party.
Code 1919, § 5111; 1944, p. 397; 1948, p. 593; 1975, c. 644; 1987, c. 649; 1991, c. 698; 2000, c. 221; 2004, c. 204.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-113. Procedure when respondent fails to perform order for support and maintenance of child or spouse or owes support and maintenance or additional support and maintenance

The court, when it finds the respondent has failed to perform the order of the court concerning the custody or the maintenance and support of the child or support and maintenance of the spouse, or under the existing circumstances is under the duty to render support or additional support to the child or to pay for the support and maintenance of the spouse, may proceed to deal with the respondent as provided in §§ 20-79.1, 20-114, and 20-115. In addition, the court may enter a qualified domestic relations order or other order for the purpose of enforcing a support order by attaching or garnishing any pension, profit-sharing, or deferred compensation plan or retirement benefits pursuant to the United States Internal Revenue Code or other applicable federal laws. The court may revise and alter its decree as to the child or support and maintenance of the spouse, and grant leave to the petitioner to proceed in the appropriate juvenile and domestic relations district court in conformity with any applicable law; or it may, at the application of any party or on its own motion certify its final order granting support of the child or support and maintenance of the spouse to such juvenile and domestic relations district court for enforcement of collection as though such order had been made in such juvenile and domestic relations district court, in accordance with § 20-79 (c).
When the petitioner has been granted leave to proceed in a juvenile and domestic relations district court all proceedings thereafter shall conform to the provisions of Chapter 5 (§ 20-61 et seq.).
Code 1919, § 5111; 1944, p. 398; 1948, p. 593; 1964, c. 273; 1968, c. 483; 1970, c. 761; 1975, c. 644; 1982, c. 298; 2012, c. 39.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-114. Recognizance for compliance with order or decree

Upon the entry, or thereafter, of any order or decree for support and maintenance for a spouse or a child or children in a pending or concluded divorce suit, a mensa et thoro or a vinculo matrimonii or suit for separate maintenance, the court in its discretion may require the giving of a recognizance, with or without surety, for compliance therewith, by the party against whom such order or decree is entered.
1942, p. 639; Michie Code 1942, § 5111a; 1975, c. 644.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-115. Commitment and sentence for failure to comply with order or decree

Upon failure or refusal to give the recognizance provided for in § 20-114, or upon conviction of any party for contempt of court in (i) failing or refusing to comply with any order or decree for support and maintenance for a spouse or for a child or children or (ii) willfully failing or refusing to comply with any order entered pursuant to § 20-103 or § 20-107.3, the court (i) may commit and sentence such party to a local correctional facility as provided for in § 20-61 and (ii) may assign the party to a work release program pursuant to § 53.1-131 or to perform public service work; in either event the assignment shall be for a fixed or indeterminate period or until the further order of the court. However, in no event shall commitment or work assignment be for more than twelve months. The sum or sums as provided for in § 20-63, shall be paid as therein set forth, to be used for the support and maintenance of the spouse or the child or children for whose benefit such order or decree provided.
1942, p. 639; Michie Code 1942, § 5111a; 1975, c. 644; 1991, c. 698; 1995, c. 428.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 20 - Domestic Relations › Chapter 6 - Divorce, Affirmation and Annulment › § 20-116. Effect of divorce from bed and board and what court may decree

In granting a divorce from bed and board, the court may decree that the parties be perpetually separated and protected in their persons and property. Such decree shall operate upon property thereafter acquired, and upon the personal rights and legal capacities of the parties, as a decree for a divorce from the bond of matrimony, except that neither party shall marry again during the life of the other.
Code 1919, § 5112.