Wesley D. Wornom, Attorney at Law, represents people throughout Northern Virginia including residents of Prince William County, Woodbridge, Dale City, Lake Ridge, Occoquan, Montclair, Dumfries, Quantico, Quantico Marine Base, Manassas, Manassas Park, Gainesville, Haymarket, Catharpin, Bristow, Stafford, Fairfax, King George, Caroline, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, Loudoun County, and Fauquier County.

The information you obtain on this site is not, nor is intended to be, legal advice. You should contact an attorney for individual advice on your own situation.

Family Law & Divorce FAQs

We receive numerous questions regarding law in general and our practice’s specific services.  Below you’ll find a few of our most frequently asked questions and their answers. If you can’t find the answer to your question, please feel free to call us for a free personal consultation.

My husband and I would like to get a separation. Can you help us proceed with that?
Certainly.  We know this is a tough time for you. We’ll take care of the details of filing your legal separation after we work with you on the details. It shouldn’t take very long to complete at all.

My wife and I are divorcing, but we’re not fighting. Is there any way we can our divorce easy?
Absolutely. Divorce doesn’t have to be a messy procedure if you and your significant other are on mutual terms. We can work with you as your mediator, to help you split and determine the legal future of your assets. Things to consider will be your real estate, bank accounts and any other physical assets you may want to split. Once we’ve come to terms with these, we will draw up the legal documents and file them for you.

My ex-husband hasn’t paid his child support in over 2 years! What can I do?
We can help you find him and bring him to justice. As a primary care provider for your child, you deserve to receive your child support from your ex-husband. If he is no longer working, we can determine an acceptable time frame for him to begin his payments again, as well as work with the courts to determine any back-payments he will need to pay to you as well. You’re not alone, and we can help you!

I’ve just learned that my ex has been arrested.  Since he/she is the primary care provider of our children, how can I get my children away from him/her?
Call us immediately to set up a consultation. We will need to determine if he/she has indeed been arrested, and under what charges. Once we’ve made that determination, we can start the legal proceedings to modify your previous child custody case. We will work as hard as we can to get your children back for you.

Does custody always go to just one parent?
No. Courts frequently award at least partial custody to both parents, called "joint custody." Joint custody takes one of three forms:

    * Joint Physical Custody (children spend a substantial amount of time with each parent)
    * Joint Legal Custody (parents share decision-making on medical, educational, and religious questions involving the children), or
    * Both Joint Legal & Joint Physical Custody.

In New Mexico and New Hampshire, courts are required to award joint custody, except where the children's best interests -- or a parent's health or safety -- would be compromised. Many other states expressly allow courts to order joint custody, even if one parent objects to such an arrangement.

Are courts more likely to award custody to mothers than to fathers?
In the past, most states provided that custody of children of "tender years" (about five and under) had to be awarded to the mother when parents divorced. Virginia has not had this rule for decades. Whether a father or mother is awarded custody is based upon what is in the best interests of the child. It is fair to say that, absent a change in circumstances, or some unfitness on behalf of the primary caregiver, the courts tend to award primary custody to that caregiver.

As it turns out, many divorcing parents agree that the mother will have custody after a separation or divorce and that the father will exercise reasonable visitation. This sometimes happens because the parents agree that the mother has more time, a greater inclination, or a better understanding of the children's daily needs. It can also be because fathers presume that mothers will be awarded custody. Fathers should not give up fighting for custody based upon fears or stereotypes.

If you are a father and want to ask the court for physical custody, do not let gender stereotypes stop you. If both you and the mother work full-time, and the kids have after-school care, you may be on equal footing. In fact, if you have more flexible hours than the mother, you could have a leg up. In any event, the judge will look at what's best for the children. So if you think that you should have primary custody and that you can persuade the judge that it's in the kids' best interests, you should go ahead and ask for custody. If you present yourself as willing and able to parent, it will go a long way towards challenging any lingering stereotype that mothers should always receive custody. We obtain primary custody for fathers in appropriate cases.

Who determines how much visitation is reasonable and fair?
When a court awards physical custody to one parent and "visitation at reasonable times and places" to the other, the parent with physical custody is generally in the driver's seat regarding what is reasonable. This need not be bad if the parents cooperate to see that the kids spend a significant amount of time with each parent.

Unfortunately, it all too often translates into little visitation time with the non-custodial parent, and bitter disputes over missed visits and inconvenience. To avoid such problems, either the parties should work out a fairly detailed parenting plan (known as a parenting agreement) that sets the visitation schedule and outlines who has responsibility for decisions affecting the children or ask the court to determine a visitation schedule. Or, for more about parenting agreements, see Child Custody: Building Parenting Agreements that Work, by Mimi Lyster (Nolo).