If spouses are not able to reach an agreement on how to divide their property and debts, those matters can be submitted to a judge's decision through the process of equitable distribution incident to a divorce case.

Title is not determinative in equitable distribution in Virginia.... View More

A living will is an advance medical directive. It contains instructions for medical care if the principal becomes incapacitated.

I will assume you mean a will and I will assume that your aunt resides in Virginia, although you appear to be posting from Maryland.

Once your aunt... View More

Section 64.2-528 of the Code of Virginia sets out the order in which debts are to be paid when assets in the personal representative's possession are not sufficient to pay all debts and demands. This is known as an insolvent estate. Funeral expenses are third priority, after costs and... View More

If the creditor attempts to collect on a discharged debt, the debtor reopen the case and can file a show cause proceeding against the creditor for violating the discharge injunction and may recover actual damages, attorney's fees and costs, and with willful and intentional violations causing... View More

A probate estate is administered in the state where the decedent last resided prior to his or her death. In Virginia, this does not necessarily include a nursing home or hospital where the decedent last lived. Residence is more than a physical presence in a given locality; it is the place where a... View More

Hearing dates in Virginia are arranged with the judge's secretary, not the clerk of the court. A party can request, or a file a motion for, a pretrial conference to bring a case in front of a judge in order to set a trial date. The actual hearing date for the pretrial conference would most... View More

A life insurance policy payable to the estate should be deposited in the estate account. The personal representative of the estate should have opened an estate bank account and obtained a taxpayer identification number for the estate. The personal representative must qualify through an... View More

A principal must have the capacity to contract to give a power to an attorney-in-fact. That generally requires understand the nature and consequences of the legal act. If a principal lacks capacity or is incompetent, the proper arrangement is to have a guardian or conservator appointed for the... View More

Children of a decedent, who are not children of the surviving spouse, share 2/3rds of the intestate decedent's estate with the surviving spouse, who is entitled to 1/3 of the estate. There are also various statutory allowances and exemptions available to a surviving spouse and to any minor... View More

A Virginia resident can file for a divorce from bed and board immediately, based on either abandonment and desertion or cruelty and reasonable apprehension of bodily harm. Virginia recognizes contructive desertion, which is essentially a desertion of the marital relationship while the parties... View More

Property that is acquired by gift or inheritance during a marriage in Virginia starts as separate property in equitable distribution. This is an exception to the general rule that property acquired during the marriage and before the last date of separation is presumed to be marital property, no... View More

A decision to allow a child to get a learner's permit involves legal custody. For true joint legal custody, there would be a greater burden than simply imposing an obligation to discuss decisions: the parties would have to agree on legal decisions concerning the child. Sometimes, judges... View More

The Virginia Court of Appeals has recognized a divorce from bed and board as a legal separation, so Virginia does have a legal separation. This is an intermediate form of divorce based on fault grounds only, that does not allow one to remarry, but recognizes you are no longer sharing the same bed... View More

That is called a custody evaluation. Child psychologists who offer those usually advertise themselves as custody evaluators and expert witnesses. In the Richmond area, there a few who do most of them. When I have called some that are not available, they will usually recommend others who might be... View More

Court orders in Virginia are enforced through a contempt proceeding. After reopening the case, the proceeding is initiated with the filing of a verified petition describing the violation of the court order, along with a rule to show cause. If the judge finds the grounds sufficient, he or she will... View More

I have had clients change the locks after a spouse leaves the marital residence with the intention of deserting and abandoning the marital relationship. The other spouse usually complains but relents. Either spouse can file for divorce and request exclusive possession of the marital residence for... View More

The answer to your question depends on the provisions of the testamentary trust. These trusts sometimes are set up as spendthrift or discretionary trusts. This gives the trustee the right to make disbursements purely at his or her discretion, in order to protect the corpus of the trust from... View More

If you have a bankruptcy attorney, you really should discuss this with your attorney. If you do not, the chapter 13 trustees in the EDVA Richmond Division publish individual chapter 13 case information on their websites at www.ndc13.com or www.13datacenter.com, so you can see what you have paid... View More

The phrasing of your question is a bit confusing. An estate does not usually have a trustee, the personal representative of an estate is either an executor or an administrator. It is possible for a pour over will to automatically transfer assets into an existing trust, such that the trustee of... View More

A judge's authority in equitable distribution in Virginia is strictly statutory and must be based on the provisions of Virginia Code Section 20-107.3. The judge has no authority to order property to be conveyed to someone other than a spouse.

Any provision beyond the authority of... View More