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Collaborative Family Law Mediation Litigation Marital Agreements Separation and Property Settlement Agreements Premarital and Post-Marital Agreements Family Law Divorce Property Division Custody and Visitation Relocation Child Support Alimony and Spousal Support Stepparent Adoption Wills and Powers of Attorney

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Practice Areas

• Collaborative Family Law
• Mediation
• Litigation
• Marital Agreements
  • Separation and Property Settlement Agreements
  • Premarital and Post-Marital Agreements
• Family Law
  • Divorce
  • Property Division
  • Custody and Visitation
  • Relocation
  • Child Support
  • Alimony and Spousal Support
  • Stepparent Adoption
  • Wills and Powers of Attorney

Divorce

Honor your highest priorities while you prepare for life after divorce. Pamela M. Pacetti dedicates her practice to providing holistic support for clients facing the dissolution of a marriage: family law expertise, honest consultation and personal dedication to helping clients find true closure following the trauma of divorce.

By choosing the legal pathway that fits your needs – whether it is the Collaborative Process, Family Law Mediation, or other non-adversarial options – your family law matters, including divorce, can be resolved without resorting to the traditional court system … and the counter-productive animosity litigation generates.

Grounds for Divorce

A Final Order of Divorce can be granted on one of several grounds. Most common is the “no fault divorce”.

The phrase “no fault divorce” does not exist in the Virginia Code. Still, this type of divorce is granted when the parties have:

• Lived separate and apart, without cohabitation and without interruption for a period of at least one year (or at least six months if the parties have no minor children)  AND
• Entered into a written Separation or Property Settlement Agreement confirming there are no property, custody, or support matters in dispute

Circumstances may occur in which a party may choose to initiate a divorce proceeding on less common grounds, including: willful desertion, abandonment, adultery, physical or mental cruelty. 

Collaborative Divorce offers “no-court” solutions

Collaborative Divorce, also called “divorce with dignity,” offers divorcing spouses the protection and guidance of their own lawyers, without going to court. 

The heart of the Collaborative Divorce is designed to:

• Remove the threat of litigation
• Promote customized solutions through interest-based negotiations
• Protect the privacy, respect and dignity of all involved
• Foster a climate of open communication and information sharing

Collaborative Divorce is gaining popularity because it offers divorcing spouses the opportunity to shape their own futures during and after the divorce.