Monday - Friday8:30AM - 5PM
OfficesFairfax | Manassas
Family Law Attorneys · McLean, Virginia
When the marriage was built on more, the ending asks more of you.
A long career, a home in the right neighborhood, accounts you watched grow together. Now you are quietly wondering how any of it gets untangled. We help McLean families take that apart with care and discretion, and the filing is handled in Fairfax County. Reach out whenever you feel ready.
Whatever you share with us stays in strict confidence.
You Are Not Alone
Behind the quiet houses of McLean, more couples are facing this than anyone lets on. Not one of them is doing it alone, and you will not either.
6 mo.
you must call Virginia home before you file
Va. Code § 20-97
Fair
not equal: how a marital estate is divided here
Va. Code § 20-107.3
19th
Judicial Circuit, where Fairfax County cases are decided
Fairfax County Circuit Court
50+
years of combined family law practice
Three Northern Virginia offices
What We Handle
Steady counsel for McLean families.
High balances do not make a divorce simpler. They make the detail matter more. Here is the work we take on when there is real value, and real feeling, on the line.
Searching for a family law attorney near McLean? NOVA Legal Professionals stands with McLean clients through divorce, custody, support, and the division of substantial marital estates, always with discretion. Speak with an attorney at 571.260.0999.
01 /
The matter in front of you.
01
Contested Divorce
When neither of you will bend on the estate or the children, a Fairfax judge has to. We build the record, press at the negotiating table, and litigate when that is the path that protects you.
When You Cannot Agree 02Equitable Distribution
Virginia splits a marital estate by what is fair, which is rarely the same as down the middle. We argue every statutory factor so the division mirrors what each of you actually contributed.
Fair, Not Equal 03Asset Division
Executive compensation, restricted stock, a closely held business, the McLean estate is seldom just a house and a retirement account. We catalog it, value it with the right experts, and divide it cleanly.
The Marital Estate 04Separation Agreements
The separation agreement is the contract that quietly governs all that follows. We draft yours so property, support, and parenting terms close every loose end before it can reopen.
First Protection 05Child Support
For higher earners, the support figure climbs past the base table into the court's discretion. We make sure the above guideline math, and the childcare and medical add ons, hold up under scrutiny.
Guideline & Beyond 06Custody & Parenting
A parenting plan should fit your family's real week, not a worksheet. We shape custody and parenting time around school, travel, and the life your children already know.
Parenting Time 07Spousal Support
Spousal maintenance turns on incomes, standard of living, and need. Whether you expect to pay it or receive it, we frame the amount and the duration around what is genuinely fair.
Maintenance 08Military Divorce
Close to Tysons and a deep federal bench, McLean cases often involve a military pension, a Thrift Savings Plan, or survivor benefits. We divide each one by the rules that govern it.
Service MembersWhere Your Case Is Heard
Two Fairfax courts, and which one is yours.
McLean sits inside Fairfax County, so your case travels the short road to the county courts in downtown Fairfax. Both share the Fairfax County Courthouse at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, and which one you stand in depends on what you are asking the court to do.
Circuit Court
Fairfax County Circuit Court
19th Judicial Circuit
HearsYour divorce, and how a marital estate is divided, from the house to the investment accounts.
DecidesEquitable distribution, plus support or custody when they ride along inside the divorce.
Where4110 Chain Bridge Road, a short drive south of McLean.
NoteThe state's busiest trial court, so its calendar, not your patience, sets the pace of a contested case.
J&DR Court
Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
Family matters outside a divorce
HearsCustody, parenting time, child support, and protective orders brought on their own.
StartMost petitions open at the Court Services Unit intake desk before a judge is ever assigned.
WhereThe same Fairfax courthouse complex on Chain Bridge Road.
NoteYou file where the two of you last shared a roof, which for McLean couples is Fairfax County.
Alisa Chunephisal, Esq.Family Law Attorney
Attorney Insights
What I tell McLean clients on day one.
The money questions in a McLean divorce are rarely simple. Get them right early, and the rest of the case grows calmer.
- 1
Name it before you negotiate
Gather statements for every account, the deeds, the equity grants, and the business records before anyone discusses a split. You cannot divide fairly what you have not first laid on the table.
- 2
Separate is not the same as safe
Money you brought into the marriage can quietly lose its separate status once it mixes with marital funds. We trace it back so your premarital and inherited assets stay yours.
- 3
Tax rides along with the asset
Two accounts that read the same balance can be worth very different sums after tax. We weigh the after tax value, so a fair looking split is fair in real life too.
Why Families Trust Us
Built for the cases that carry real weight.
When the stakes are high, who sits across from your spouse is no small thing. This is what we bring to it.
Experience
50+
Years Combined
Decades of Virginia family law behind every high stakes McLean matter we accept.
Expertise
100%
Family Law Focus
Family law is the whole practice, so valuations and statutes are second nature, not a stretch.
Authority
AV
Preeminent Rated
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent, Super Lawyers, and an Avvo 10.0 standing among peers.
Trust
5★
Verified Reviews
Honest reviews from Northern Virginia clients who needed exactly this kind of steady hand.
Recognition
Recognition our McLean clients can weigh for themselves.
We have guided McLean families through divorces with a great deal on the line, and we have done it without ever losing sight of the people behind the spreadsheets.
Our commitment to McLean
In Their Words
What McLean clients say once the dust settles.
These come from clients who trusted us with complicated finances and a great deal at stake.
Questions People Actually Ask
Straight answers, no posturing.
These are the questions McLean clients raise at the first meeting. If yours is missing, just ask.
Want an answer specific to your estate?Call 571.260.0999 or send us a message.
Which court will hear my McLean divorce?
McLean is part of Fairfax County, so the divorce and the property division go to the Fairfax County Circuit Court at 4110 Chain Bridge Road. When custody or support stands alone, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in the same building takes it up.
How is a larger estate divided?
The legal test is the same equitable distribution every Virginia case follows, but the work runs deeper. A business interest, equity compensation, and several retirement accounts each need genuine valuation. Where a case calls for it, we bring in appraisers and forensic accountants so the figures behind the split are sound rather than guessed.
How does child support work for high earners?
Once the parents' combined income clears the top of the guideline table, the court applies the formula to the base and uses its judgment above it. We make sure that calculation, and the additions for childcare and health coverage, are done with care.
Can a McLean divorce stay private?
Court filings are public, but most cases here resolve by written agreement, which keeps the financial detail out of an open hearing. Mediation and collaborative divorce protect your privacy even further.
What should I gather first?
Recent statements for every account, the deeds, any business records, and a rough list of what came into the marriage separately. The fuller the picture, the sooner we can give you real answers instead of rough guesses.
Before You Decide
Worth reading before we meet.
Plain English guides McLean clients reach for most while they weigh a high asset divorce.
A
Dividing Retirement Accounts
Why two accounts with the same balance are not worth the same after tax, and how a McLean divorce splits them fairly.
McLean GuideBHigh-Income Child Support
How Virginia sets child support for McLean families whose income runs above the guideline table.
Child SupportCSummer Visitation Schedules
Longer summer blocks, two week splits, and how summer overnights shift the support math.
Parenting TimeWhen You Are Ready
When you are ready, we are here.
Tell us what is going on in your McLean case, and we will help you see your options clearly, no pressure attached.