• Date Due: December 01, 2026
  • Author: Virginia Family Law Coalition and Virginia State Bar Family Law Section
  • Enabling Authority: Chapter 918 Enactment Clause 2. (Regular Session, 2026)
  • Description:
    Report on the findings and recommendations of the work group convened to consider whether to eliminate fault-based grounds for divorce under Title 20 of the Code of Virginia, including the feasibility of transitioning the Commonwealth to an exclusively no-fault divorce system, and shall study and develop recommendations with respect to the following: (i) whether or not to eliminate all fault-based grounds for divorce currently set forth in § 20-91 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, and whether or not to adopt, including the feasibility of adopting, irretrievable breakdown of the marriage or irreconcilable differences as the sole grounds for divorce; (ii) whether to modify or eliminate mandatory separation periods currently required under Virginia law as a precondition to no-fault divorce, with particular attention to the impact of such requirements on survivors of domestic violence and low-income Virginians; (iii) the extent, if any, to which fault should continue to be considered in equitable distribution of marital property under § 20-107.3 of the Code of Virginia, spousal support awards under § 20-107.1 of the Code of Virginia, or other collateral matters; (iv) protections for domestic violence survivors in no-fault divorce proceedings, including provisions to prevent the use of divorce proceedings as an instrument of further abuse or coercive control; (v) access to justice considerations, including the feasibility of simplified procedures for uncontested no-fault divorces and expanded use of mediation and alternative dispute resolution; and (vi) review of comparable no-fault divorce statutes enacted in other states and the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act.