Experienced and Proven Divorce Lawyers in Arlington, VA – Providing Family Law Solutions

Whether you are considering divorce or have received divorce paperwork from your spouse, you might be struggling with a myriad of emotions that include anxiety, grief, betrayal, jealousy, or even anger.  Our compassionate and dedicated divorce lawyers in Arlington, VA at ROOP XANTTOPOULOS BABOUNAKIS & KLAM PLLC understand the emotional and financial hardship associated with the divorce process.  Our goal is to ease this stress and anxiety by explaining the process, standing by our clients, and working diligently to negotiate an amicable settlement of the maximum number of issues.  We are prepared to tenaciously advocate for our clients regarding the full spectrum of divorce and family law issues.  Our attorneys understand that our role is to attempt to be part of the solution by crafting mutually agreeable settlements that limit the stress, expense, and animosity of the divorce process to the extent such an approach is appropriate.

Our divorce lawyers in Arlington, VA handle a broad spectrum of divorce and family law legal matters that include:

• Marital Property Division
• Spousal Support/Alimony
• Establishing and Modifying Child Support
• Child Custody and Visitation
• Contested and Uncontested Divorce
• Collaborative Divorce
• Prenuptial Agreements
• Modifications
• High Net Worth Divorce
• Parental Relocations (Move Away Cases)

Division of Property During Divorce

When you are facing divorce, the share of marital property you receive can have an enormous impact on your ability to rebuild your financial security and standard of living.  Although you might have heard from family or friends that you will receive an “equitable share” of property, this can be misleading.  While a court will decide on how to divide property, “equitable” does not translate to “equal.”  The court will perform an analysis that involves a litany of factors under Virginia Code § 20-107.3.  The court will consider all property when determining how to divide “marital property” based on factors, such as:

• Contributions of the parties toward acquiring and maintaining marital property (monetary and non-monetary)
• Contributions of the parties toward the well-being of the family (monetary and non-monetary)

The court will reach an equitable distribution of marital property and debts, separate property and debts will not be divided.   Marital property essentially includes real and personal property acquired during the marriage but prior to permanent separation that is not acquired by way of gift or inheritance.  Appreciation of separate property also is considered separate unless the marital property is used for maintenance or payments on the separate property.

Child Custody & Visitation

Our divorce lawyers in Arlington, VA know that parents contemplating divorce will worry about the impact of changes on their children.  Sometimes we might use the collaborative law process or engage in constructive negotiations where amicable arrangements involving custody and visitation can be crafted by way of agreement.  We recognize that there are scenarios where our clients need tenacious litigation of these issues, such as when dealing with a parent with a substance abuse problem or a history of domestic violence or child abuse.  Our child custody attorneys are prepared to diligently work with our clients to obtain the best custody visitation orders for our clients.

Spousal Support (Spousal Maintenance)

Spousal support is an important issue that often is highly contested.  The purpose of spousal support (alimony in other jurisdictions) is to rectify substantial financial disparities in earning capacity between spouses involved in a marriage of sufficient duration.  Child support tends to be much more predictable because it is based on the state guidelines that determine “presumptive” support, but there is no comparable mechanism for calculating spousal support.  Rather, our Arlington, VA divorce attorneys can analyze your situation to determine the amount and duration of spousal support assuming a party qualifies (adultery can constitute a disqualifying factor).

When the court considers spousal support, the following factors must be reviewed under Virginia Code § 20-107.1: (1) the marital standard of living; (2) impact on earning capacity of decisions made by the spouses during marriage regarding educations, parenting responsibilities, employment, career, and economics; and (3) length of time either spouse was not working or furthering a career.  An experienced Arlington, VA divorce attorney at ROOP XANTTOPOULOS BABOUNAKIS & KLAM PLLC has the skill and experience to handle the complex task of persuasively explaining to a judge how these factors should be quantified in determining the amount and duration of spousal support.

Child Support

In Virginia, child support is calculated based on an algebraic formula that provides a presumptive child support amount.  The primary variables in this determination are the relative incomes of each parent and the custody arrangement.  Our attorneys can provide assistance in modifying custody based on a change of circumstances or provide assistance in establishing a paternal relationship along with the attending rights and responsibilities.

The attorneys at ROOP XANTTOPOULOS BABOUNAKIS & KLAM PLLC will bring their experience, empathy, and talent to work for the best interests of you and your family. If you would like to request an appointment, please contact our family law firm by calling 703.442.0040, or by sending us an email.