Monday - Friday8:30AM - 5PM
OfficesFairfax | Manassas | Fredericksburg
Family Law Attorneys · Fort Belvoir, Virginia
You earned that retirement over a career. A divorce should not quietly cost you your share.
If you are stationed at or near Fort Belvoir, the question that keeps you up is usually the pension: what happens to the retirement you spent a career earning. It can be divided fairly, but only if the order is right. We handle that, with the case filed in Fairfax County. Reach us when you are ready.
We will walk you through it with care, and no pressure.
You Are Not Alone
On and around Fort Belvoir, service members face this every day. None of them face it alone, and you will not be facing it solo.
6 mo.
of Virginia residency to file, with protections for those stationed away
Va. Code § 20-97
Marital
military retired pay is marital property that can be divided
Va. Code § 20-107.3
10/10
ten years married overlapping ten years of service for direct pay
10 U.S.C. § 1408
50+
years of combined family law practice
Three Northern Virginia offices
What We Handle
Family law for Fort Belvoir service members.
A military divorce hinges on getting the retirement right. Here is the work we take on, with the pension and the benefits protected.
Searching for a family law attorney near Fort Belvoir? NOVA Legal Professionals helps Fort Belvoir clients with military divorce, pension division, the survivor benefit, custody, child support, and spousal support. Speak with an attorney at 571.260.0999.
01 /
The matter weighing on you most.
01
Contested Divorce
When a military divorce cannot settle, a Fairfax judge decides. We prepare the case in full, protect your retirement, and litigate when your share is at risk.
When You Cannot Agree 02Equitable Distribution
Virginia divides marital property by fairness, not evenly. We work the statutory factors and make sure the pension and benefits are valued the right way.
Fair, Not Equal 03Asset Division
A home, savings, the Thrift Savings Plan, and the pension, we identify and value every marital asset so the division is complete and your benefits survive it.
The Marital Estate 04Separation Agreements
A clear separation agreement settles support, property, and parenting on your terms. We draft yours so it holds even when orders move you across the country.
First Protection 05Child Support
Base pay and allowances both count toward support. We make sure a Fort Belvoir support order reflects real military income, not just the base figure.
Guideline & Beyond 06Custody & Parenting
A deployment cannot cost you your children. We build parenting plans with delegation and the protections Virginia gives the parent who serves.
Parenting Time 07Spousal Support
Spousal support turns on income, need, and the length of the marriage. We work toward a fair amount and term, with service pay counted correctly.
Maintenance 08Military Divorce
The pension, the survivor benefit plan, the ten ten rule, and the pay center order, we handle every moving part of dividing military retirement correctly.
Service MembersWhere Your Case Is Heard
Where a Fort Belvoir case is heard.
Fort Belvoir sits in Fairfax County, so a divorce here is heard in the county courts in downtown Fairfax. Both share the Fairfax County Courthouse at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, and active duty can shift the timing in ways we plan for.
Circuit Court
Fairfax County Circuit Court
19th Judicial Circuit
HearsThe divorce, and how marital property, the military pension included, is divided.
DecidesEquitable distribution, plus support and custody when they are part of the divorce.
WhereDowntown Fairfax at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, north of Fort Belvoir.
NoteAn order dividing military retirement must meet the pay center's exact requirements.
J&DR Court
Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
Family matters outside a divorce
HearsCustody, parenting time, child support, and protective orders on their own.
StartMost cases open at the Court Services Unit intake before a hearing.
WhereInside the same Fairfax courthouse on Chain Bridge Road.
NoteYou file where you and your spouse last lived together, which for Fort Belvoir couples is Fairfax County.
Alisa Chunephisal, Esq.Family Law Attorney
Attorney Insights
What I tell service members about the pension.
A military pension can be split fairly on paper and lost in practice. The order is everything, so we get it exactly right.
- 1
Get the pension order exact
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service reads a retirement order word for word and rejects what falls short. We draft it to the pay center's standard, not close enough.
- 2
Elect the survivor benefit on time
Without the Survivor Benefit Plan, a former spouse's share can vanish the day the retiree dies. There is a deadline, and we make sure it is met.
- 3
Know what the ten ten rule does
Ten years of marriage overlapping ten years of service decides whether the pay center pays a former spouse directly. It does not decide whether the pension is divisible, and we explain the difference.
Why Families Trust Us
Counsel that protects what you earned.
When a career's worth of retirement is on the line, you want counsel who has divided military pensions before, correctly.
Experience
50+
Years Combined
Years of dividing military retirement for Fort Belvoir service members.
Expertise
100%
Family Law Focus
Family law is the whole practice, the pension, the survivor benefit, and the SCRA included.
Authority
AV
Preeminent Rated
Peer rated AV Preeminent, listed in Super Lawyers, and rated 10.0 on Avvo.
Trust
5★
Verified Reviews
Verified five star reviews from military families and others across Northern Virginia.
Recognition
Recognition that holds the line.
We have protected the retirements of Fort Belvoir service members through divorce, getting the order and the survivor benefit right so a career's earnings were not quietly lost.
Our commitment to Fort Belvoir
Client Voices
Fort Belvoir families who trusted us.
Read what Fort Belvoir clients have shared about protecting a military retirement through divorce.
Questions People Actually Ask
Plain answers, pension included.
These come up most with Fort Belvoir service members. If yours is not here, just ask.
Have a question about your retirement?Call 571.260.0999 or send us a message.
Which court hears a Fort Belvoir divorce?
Fort Belvoir is in Fairfax County, so the divorce and property division go to the Fairfax County Circuit Court at 4110 Chain Bridge Road. Custody or support on their own start at the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in the same complex.
Is my military pension divisible?
Yes. Virginia treats military retired pay as marital property that can be divided, but federal law sets how. The marital share depends on the marriage and the service, and the order must meet the pay center's exact requirements to be honored.
What is the ten ten rule?
It decides direct payment, not divisibility. If the marriage overlapped the service by at least ten years each, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service can pay the former spouse directly. Below that, the pension is still divisible; the payments just run through the retiree.
Why does the survivor benefit matter?
Because without it, a former spouse's share of the pension ends the day the retiree dies. The Survivor Benefit Plan keeps it flowing, but it must be elected within a strict deadline. We make sure it is handled on time.
Can a divorce proceed while I am deployed?
Not without protections. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets an active duty member pause a case when service makes taking part impossible, so you do not lose a divorce by default while serving.
Before You Decide
Reading before you sign.
Plain English guides Fort Belvoir families reach for most when the pension is at stake.
A
Dividing Military Retirement
What is divisible, what is not, and the rules that decide whether your share is protected or lost.
Fort Belvoir GuideBMilitary Divorce in Fairfax County
The extra rules a service member's divorce carries, beyond ordinary Virginia law.
MilitaryCWho Pays the Bills?
How families handle the mortgage and the cards during a separation, before any support order.
SeparationWhen You Are Ready
When you are ready, we will protect your pension.
Tell us what is going on in your Fort Belvoir case, and we will protect the retirement you earned.