Q: I filed for divorce and the judge said doesn't meet statutory requirements. Final decree has not been entered
final decree has not been entered due to an incomplete filing and has not been reviewed by chambers
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A: your divorce petition does not meet statutory requirements, it usually means you haven't satisfied certain legal criteria. You'll need to review the specific issues raised by the judge and amend your filing to comply with the statute in question.
A:
Virginia Circuit Court judges use law clerks to review the uncontested divorce filings. The law clerks are typically relatively recent graduates of law schools, who work as clerks as their first job out of law school. They review the file before submitting it to a judge for his or her final review and signature.
Some divorce cases filed by pro se filers are rejected by the clerks. The Virginia State Bar publishes a pamphlet on do-it-yourself uncontested divorces. Some divorce filers do not respect the requirements for getting a divorce in Virginia, and are so anxious to get the divorce decree that they bypass the one-year waiting period before filing, or the requirement of actually living separate and apart.
The solution for those folks is to consult with an attorney. The judge and law clerk will not instruct filers on how to fix a faulty divorce. The deputy clerks and assistants at the courthouse are not lawyers, and are not allowed to give legal advice. If you want something done right, hire a lawyer.
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