This site is provided and maintained as a public service by

Steven L. Raynor

J. Kyle Farmer

Raynor Law Office, P.C.
211 Fifth Street, N.E.
Charlottesville, VA 22902

434/220-6066
434/220-6067

steve@raynorlawoffice.com
kyle@raynorlawoffice.com
www.raynorlawoffice.com

Information about Code Sections and Cases

Divorce Law in Virginia is statutorily based. That is, the divorce laws in Virginia consist primarily of code sections passed by the Virginia legislature. Those code sections are indexed at this site as Virginia Family Law Code Sections. The code sections are listed by cite and brief description, and are linked to the actual code sections. Most of the Virginia family law related code sections are included.

Virginia also has a common law tradition, dating back to our historical connections with England. Under the common law tradition, judges make law as part of the process of deciding cases. In Virginia, our courts of appeal (but not our trial courts) make law when they issue opinions in individual cases. The lawmaking role of the courts of appeal in divorce and family law cases primarily focuses on the interpretation of the code sections identified in the preceding paragraph.

Virginia has two courts of appeal, the Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. Parties involved in divorce and family law cases have an automatic right of appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals, so most appellate decisions in this area of the law are from the Court of Appeals. The Virginia Supreme Court decisions in this area either predate the creation in January 1985 of the Virginia Court of Appeals, or involve a second appeal from the Court of Appeals to the Virginia Supreme Court. Many of the family law related court opinions are listed at this site at Virginia Family Law Cases. The cases are organized by topic, a brief annotation is provided, and a link to the actual opinion is provided.