Reston, Virginia · Asset Division
More Than a Salary: Dividing Bonuses, Deferred Comp, and Accounts in a Reston Divorce
A Reston paycheck is rarely just salary. Bonuses, deferred compensation, and brokerage accounts often hold the real value, and each is handled differently in a divorce. Let me walk you through how Virginia sorts the marital from the separate when your pay is more than a single number on a W-2.
By Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner, NOVA Legal Professionals
This article is one part of our larger divorce guide. For the full picture, start with our cornerstone, Divorce in Virginia. Here, I will focus on compensation and accounts alone.
What counts as marital
The starting point is simple. What either spouse earned or acquired during the marriage, up to the date of separation, is generally marital property, no matter whose name is on the account. What you owned before the marriage, or received during it by gift or inheritance, is usually separate. The rest of this page is really about applying that one idea to the parts of your pay that are easy to miss. The framework comes from Va. Code § 20-107.3.
Bonuses and the timing question
A bonus is one of the most argued-over items in a high-earner divorce, because the payout date and the work date are often different. A bonus paid after you separate, but earned for work you did while still married, can still be partly marital. The question is when it was earned, not just when it landed in the account. That detail can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, so it is worth getting right.
A Word About the Separation Date
Your date of separation is the line that divides marital from separate for income earned around that time. A bonus, commission, or year-end payout that straddles that date often has to be split into a marital part and a separate part. A clear, documented separation date makes that math far easier and far less contested.
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Deferred compensation and equity
Deferred compensation, the pay your employer holds for a future date, is treated as a marital asset to the extent it was earned during the marriage, under Va. Code § 20-107.3(G). Stock options and restricted stock units fall into this same family and have their own classification rules, which we cover in detail on the asset division page. The common thread is that money promised for past work usually carries a marital share, even if it pays out later.
Brokerage and investment accounts
An investment or brokerage account funded with marital income is generally marital, even if it sits in one spouse’s name. An account you built before the marriage, or funded with an inheritance you kept isolated, can be separate, but only if you can trace it. Mixing separate money into a marital account, or the reverse, creates a hybrid that has to be untangled dollar by dollar. This is why records matter more than memory.
How these actually get divided
Once the marital share is set, accounts can be divided a few ways: transfer part of an account to the other spouse, give one spouse the account and offset it with other assets of equal value, or order a monetary award from one to the other. Values are usually measured as of the hearing date. A Reston divorce is heard in the Fairfax Circuit Court, the 19th Judicial Circuit, at 4110 Chain Bridge Road in the City of Fairfax, since Reston is part of Fairfax County.
“People focus on the salary because it is the number they know. The real value is often in the bonus, the deferred comp, and the brokerage account nobody is talking about yet.”
Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner
Alisa’s Practical Advice
Three habits protect a high earner’s fair share in a Reston divorce. First, gather a few years of pay records, including offer letters and bonus statements, so the timing of each payout is clear. Second, pull statements for every account as of the date of separation, because that snapshot anchors the marital share. Third, if you believe an account is separate, find the trail that proves it, since the burden of proof sits with the person making the claim.
Look past the salary. The money that is easy to miss is often the money worth the most.
Authoritative References
Sources
- Code of Virginia, § 20-107.3. Equitable distribution, including classification of marital, separate, and hybrid property. law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20
- Code of Virginia, § 20-107.3(G). Treatment of pensions, profit-sharing, and deferred compensation, including bonuses and equity earned during the marriage. law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20
- Fairfax County Circuit Court. Hears divorce and property division for Fairfax County residents, including Reston. fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit
Statutory rules verified against the current Code of Virginia as of June 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a bonus marital property in a Virginia divorce?
It can be, in whole or in part. What matters is when the bonus was earned, not only when it was paid. A bonus paid after separation but earned for work performed during the marriage can still carry a marital share. A bonus tied entirely to work after separation is more likely to be separate. The work period and the documents that show it are what decide it.
How is deferred compensation divided?
Deferred compensation is treated as a marital asset to the extent it was earned during the marriage, under Va. Code § 20-107.3(G). The marital share can be divided directly, offset against other assets, or addressed as it pays out. Stock options and restricted stock units follow the same general approach, with their own classification rules based on grant and vesting timing.
Is a brokerage account in my name only safe from division?
Not necessarily. An account funded with marital income is generally marital even if it is titled in one spouse’s name alone. An account built before the marriage, or with an inheritance kept isolated, can be separate, but only if you can trace it. Commingling separate and marital money creates a hybrid that has to be sorted out dollar by dollar.
When are these assets valued?
Marital assets are typically valued as of the date of the evidentiary hearing, though a court can choose another date if it is fairer. Because account balances and investments move, the snapshot you take as of the date of separation, and again near the hearing, both matter when figuring the marital share and the final division.
Where is a Reston divorce heard?
Reston is part of Fairfax County, so a Reston divorce and the division of compensation and accounts are handled by the Fairfax Circuit Court, the 19th Judicial Circuit, at 4110 Chain Bridge Road in the City of Fairfax. The same Virginia equitable distribution law applies there as in every other circuit court in the Commonwealth.
When You Are Ready
Let’s account for everything you have earned.
Bring me your pay records and account statements, and I will help you see what is marital, what is yours, and where you stand. The first call is a conversation, not a commitment.