Our main office at 4122 Leonard Drive sits a short drive from the Fairfax County Judicial Center on Chain Bridge Road. We appear in Circuit Court, Juvenile & Domestic Relations, and General District for the full range of Virginia family law.
First call is a conversation, not a commitment.
Most Fairfax County family law cases run through one address on Chain Bridge Road. Here is the courthouse we know best, and what to expect when your case lands there.
Where divorce cases, equitable distribution, and most adult civil matters are heard. One of the largest circuits in Virginia by caseload.
Where most custody, visitation, child support, and protective order cases originate before reaching Circuit Court on appeal.
Civil matters under twenty-five thousand dollars, small claims, and traffic.
The Judicial Center sits inside the Fairfax County Government Center complex, alongside the Clerk of Court's office, where divorce complaints, settlement agreements, and final orders are filed.
From our Fairfax main office we handle the full range of Virginia family law. Each card below links to the practice area for the full explanation of how we approach the work.
Contested and uncontested divorce in Fairfax Circuit Court, including complex property division and business valuation cases.
Legal and physical custody in Fairfax J&DR, including contested custody, relocation, and high-conflict matters.
Pendente lite and final support, with depth in high-income and high-asset cases common to Fairfax families.
For Fort Belvoir service members and military spouses, including USFSPA pension division and SCRA protections.
Drawing on Corrie Sirkin's AAML special-needs publication work, including special-needs trust provisions in settlement.
The four-document estate plan, especially important after divorce. Will, financial POA, advance medical directive, and guardianship designation.
Every Virginia divorce follows roughly the same procedural path. Here is what to expect from filing through final order, with Fairfax-specific considerations called out where they matter.
The case starts when one spouse files a Complaint for divorce in Circuit Court. The filing spouse is the Plaintiff, the other is the Defendant. To file in Virginia, one party must have been a bona fide resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth for at least six months before filing. Once served, the Defendant has twenty-one days to file an Answer or Counterclaim.
For Fairfax residents, the natural venue is the Fairfax County Circuit Court at 4110 Chain Bridge Road. Whether that is the best place to file depends on local procedure and the specific case.
Virginia is a no-fault state. No-fault divorce requires one year of separation, or six months if the parties have no minor children and a signed separation agreement. Fault grounds are also available: adultery, cruelty, desertion or abandonment, and felony conviction. Proving a fault ground can affect equitable distribution and, in some cases, custody.
While the case is pending, either side can ask the court for temporary orders covering custody, child support, spousal support, exclusive possession of the marital home, and restraints on dissipation of assets. These orders often shape the entire case because they set the working arrangement for the months between filing and final order.
A pendente lite hearing is essentially a mini-trial. Witnesses may be called, evidence is presented, and the judge makes a working ruling. In Fairfax, pendente lite practice is well-developed and the court schedules these hearings as needed.
Both sides exchange documents, answer interrogatories, and sometimes take depositions. The goal is to gather the financial, custody-related, and witness information the case needs before trial. Discovery is invasive and can be expensive, but it is also what keeps the trial from becoming a surprise contest. Many cases settle once each side sees what the other has.
Most Virginia divorce cases settle before trial. Sometimes that happens through direct negotiation between counsel. Sometimes it takes a mediation session with a retired judge or experienced lawyer. When a settlement agreement is reached, the agreement is incorporated into the Final Order of Divorce, which the Fairfax County Circuit Court enters.
When settlement is impossible, the case goes to a bench trial before a Circuit Court judge. By that stage, the parties have lost control of the outcome; the judge decides division of assets, custody, and support based on the evidence presented.
From McLean and Great Falls in the north to Lorton and Mount Vernon in the south, our Fairfax office serves clients in every corner of the county and the cities woven through it.
Fairfax has its own legal community and its own way of doing things. A firm based here, with its main office a short drive from the courthouse, brings advantages that show up in real ways across a case.
Fairfax is our main office. All correspondence, case files, and administrative work runs through this location. Filing service of process, dropping off documents, and meeting your attorney happen here.
Fairfax Circuit Court is one of the busiest in Virginia. We are there often enough to know the judges, the clerks, and the working rhythms of the building. That familiarity makes the practical parts of a case easier.
Fairfax County stretches from Great Falls in the north to Lorton in the south, with Tysons, Reston, and dozens of communities in between. Our practice reaches all of it.
With Fort Belvoir, the CIA, and many federal agencies headquartered or staffed here, Fairfax has a large federal and military community. We handle the unique pension, BAH, and benefits issues these families face.
Common questions we hear from Fairfax County clients on a first call. If you have a different one, we are happy to answer it directly.
The Fairfax County Judicial Center is at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, VA 22030. It houses the Fairfax County Circuit Court, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and the General District Court. Our main office at 4122 Leonard Drive is approximately a five-minute drive from the Judicial Center.
You can file for divorce in any Virginia Circuit Court, provided that at least one spouse has been a bona fide resident and domiciliary of Virginia for the six months preceding the filing. For Fairfax residents, the natural venue is the Fairfax County Circuit Court at 4110 Chain Bridge Road. Where to file in any given case depends on local procedure and the facts of your situation, which an experienced attorney can walk you through.
Statutory basis: Va. Code § 20-97.
An uncontested divorce with a signed separation agreement and no minor children, where the parties have been separated for at least six months, can move through Fairfax Circuit Court in a matter of weeks once filed. A contested divorce involving disputes about custody, support, or property division can take many months or longer, depending on the court's calendar, discovery, and whether the case ultimately settles or goes to trial.
Yes. Our Fairfax office serves the full range of Fairfax County communities, including Reston, Tysons, McLean, Vienna, Annandale, Springfield, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Great Falls, Oakton, Lorton, Mount Vernon, and more than fifty other communities, plus the neighboring cities of Alexandria and Falls Church. Wherever you are in Fairfax County, your case will most likely be heard at the Fairfax County Judicial Center on Chain Bridge Road.
Yes. Fort Belvoir sits inside Fairfax County, and we regularly handle military divorce matters for service members and military spouses stationed there. These cases involve unique issues including USFSPA pension division, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections, BAH calculations, and the federal residency rules that affect where you can file. Read more on our military divorce page.
The first call is a conversation, not a commitment. We will walk you through how your case is likely to move through Fairfax Circuit Court, what it will probably cost, and what to do next.
Our main office sits in the heart of the City of Fairfax, just minutes from the Fairfax County Judicial Center on Chain Bridge Road.