Distinguished Virginia Family Law Firm – Providing Aggressive & Compassionate Representation

The prospect of divorce can be stressful and disturbing because it means fundamental changes in almost every fundamental facet of your life.  At the highly-regarded law firm ROOP XANTTOPOULOS BABOUNAKIS & KLAM PLLC, our Great Falls, VA divorce attorneys recognize you might have apprehension about your financial security, relationship to your children, and accumulated wealth that might have taken decades to acquire.  If you were a stay at home parent, you might be worried about your ability to become self-supporting.  A primary family breadwinner might be concerned about his or her ability to maintain the marital standard of living.  Parents typically confront fears about the impact of the divorce process on their children.

At ROOP XANTTOPOULOS BABOUNAKIS & KLAM PLLC, our Great Falls, VA divorce attorneys adapt our approach to your preferences and needs.  You might need an aggressive litigation-oriented approach because you are embroiled in a tenacious divorce or highly contested child custody dispute.  Even if you think you have resolved all major issues, our experienced divorce attorneys can evaluate the proposed resolution, clarify your rights, and draft a marital settlement agreement that accurately reflects the settlement.   While we are prepared to tenaciously advocate for our clients, we understand the value of resolving issues amicably to establish durable parenting arrangements that reduce the stress on you and your children while prompting repeated post-judgment modification requests.  Our attorneys take a problem-solving approach to divorce and family law issues by advising our clients, so they can pick their battles and avoid unnecessary depletion of their financial resources.

Our lawyers handle all divorce issues and many related family law matters including:

Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce

“Contested divorce” refers to situations where the parties have a dispute over issues like custody and visitation, spousal support, or child support.  A divorce can still be contested even if is not based on a fault grounds, as long as the parties have unresolved issues that cannot be solved through an agreement.

Our Great Falls, VA divorce attorneys s have extensive experience handling contested divorces based on the types of fault recognized under Virginia law, which include actual or constructive desertion, felony conviction leading to imprisonment of at least a year, adultery, and physical or extreme mental cruelty.  We also represent people in uncontested divorces based on no-fault grounds that include separation for a minimum of six (6) months with a separation agreement but no minor children or separation of twelve months.  If you and your spouse agree on all issues, we might be able to guide you through an uncontested divorce that can mitigate the cost of the divorce process.

Spousal Support

Spousal support, referred to as “alimony” in other states, is intended to provide the means to adjust the earning capacity of spouses where a significant disparity exists after a marriage of relatively long duration.  Unless the parties to the divorce reach an agreement on the amount and duration of spousal support, these are difficult issues because a range of consideration must be weighed to determine the amount of spousal support.  These considerations include but are not limited to the assets and earning potential of each party, the parties’ ages, and the duration of the marriage.  Spousal support might be awarded for a specific duration or indefinitely depending on the circumstances.  Our Great Falls, VA divorce attorneys have an intimate familiarity with the relevant factors that the judge will consider when making a spousal support order.  We work with our clients to gather the appropriate evidence to persuasively pursue our clients’ best interest when spousal support is contested.

Child Custody and Visitation

Our seasoned attorneys have been “battle tested” in many high conflict custody dispute when fighting for moms, dads, and grandparents.  Our attorneys handle the full range of contested custody issues, which include high conflict custody disputes, allegations of drug/alcohol abuse by a parent, spousal abuse, child neglect/abuse, parental relocations; and attempts to alienate the child from the other parent.  Our Great Falls, VA divorce attorneys have the expertise to gather relevant evidence to persuasively advocate for our clients based on the relevant factors in child custody disputes under the best interest of the child standard.

The court will consider a wide array of factors when applying this legal standard.  Some of these factors include: the age of each parent;  child’s wishes when of sufficient maturity, age, and knowledge;  child’s relationship with each parent; the parents’ adaptability toward caring for the child; caretaking role of each parent; suitability of each parent’s home; and a parent’s willingness to promote a close relationship between the child and the other parent.  Our child custody and visitation attorneys have the experience and skill to persuasively present evidence regarding these factors.  We work closely to prepare our clients for guardian ad litems and custody evaluators who will often be asked to make recommendations based on these factors.

Great Falls, VA Divorce Attorneys: Child Support

Both parents are expected to contribute to the support of their minor children.  Child support between the parents will be based on the Virginia child support guidelines.  The primary factors considered by this formula are the parents’ disparity in income, time-sharing schedule, and some other less significant factors.  The guideline formula will be presumed to be the appropriate amount, but the court can be persuaded to award another amount in some circumstances.  Under Virginia law, “shared custody” means both parents have at least 90 days a year with the children.  The amount of child support paid by the obligated parent will be lower in this situation.  Because custody and child support determinations are so closely connected, we diligently pursue the best outcome for our clients on both custody and support issues.

Equitable Division of Marital Property

Our Great Falls divorce attorneys represent clients in the “equitable” distribution of marital property.  Basically, “marital property” includes property acquired after marriage but before permanent separation that is not inherited or received as a gift to one spouse.  The judge is not charged with dividing the property equally.  Rather, the court will divide the property based on a list of statutory factors.  An array of issues can complicate the process of reaching a property determination.  Equitable distribution issues can be challenging because of the potential complications in designating certain property as “marital property” or “separate property,” which is not subject to division.  For example, a 401K that was initially started before marriage but received contributions during the marriage will have both a separate and marital property component.  Our Great Falls VA, divorce attorneys have dealt with these complex issues in hundreds upon hundreds of cases, so we are in a position to effectively protect your financial interests during the divorce process.

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.