Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Divorce Attorneys Richmond Virginia Adultery Code 20-94

If you are dealing with a divorce in Virginia or about to go through a divorce in Virginia, contact us for help.
We have client meeting locations in Fairfax Prince William Richmond Loudoun Virginia Beach Fredericksburg Lynchburg.
Contact our law firm today to speak with a lawyer today about your Divorce Case.  An attorney from our firm will do his best to help you.
We will do our absolute best to help you get the best result possible based on the facts of your case.  Our law firm has the necessary experience to assist you with this matter.

Lords v. Lords

Facts:

            The husband in Richmond filed a bill of complaint for divorce and for custody of the minor children of the parties. The evidence at an ore tenus hearing showed that the husband returned home from a naval assignment to find his wife spending the night with another man. When she insisted that she had not been unfaithful on that occasion, the husband, wanting to preserve his marriage, forgave her and resumed cohabitation. A few weeks later, after she again spent the night with the other man, the husband learned from a second man that he had had sexual intercourse with the wife several times. The circuit court found the wife guilty of adultery and granted the husband a divorce and custody of the children on grounds of parental unfitness. In affirming on appeal, the supreme court ruled that the evidence was sufficient to support the circuit court's decree. Although the husband had initially condoned possible adultery regarding the first instance of misconduct with the first man, he did not condone misconduct with the second man because he had no knowledge of it and the second instance of misconduct with the first man nullified the husband's condonation of her prior misconduct.

            If you are facing a Divorce case in Virginia, contact a SRIS Law Group lawyer for help.  You can reach us at 888-437-7747

Holdings:

            The Virginia Court made the following holding:

  • Va. Code Ann. § 20-94 provides that, when the suit is for divorce for adultery, the divorce shall not be granted, if it appear that the parties voluntarily cohabited after the knowledge of the fact of adultery, or that it occurred more than five years before the institution of the suit, or that it was committed by the procurement or connivance of the plaintiff. Under the statute, voluntary cohabitation after knowledge of the spouse's misconduct amounts to condonation and bars a divorce to the condoning party. To constitute condonation, Knowledge is necessary. One cannot condone what one does not know. Where a defendant is guilty of several matrimonial offenses, and the plaintiff, when he forgives the defendant, knows of one of them but not of the others, the condonation operates as to the known offense; but because of the lack of knowledge the forgiveness does not bar an action based on the others. Moreover, it is essential that there be no repetition of the offense. Repetition revives the right to complain of an injury forgiven.
If you are dealing with a divorce in Virginia or about to go through a divorce in Virginia, contact us for help.

We have client meeting locations in Fairfax Prince William Richmond Loudoun Virginia Beach Fredericksburg Lynchburg.

Contact our law firm today to speak with a lawyer today about your Divorce Case.  An attorney from our firm will do his best to help you.

We will do our absolute best to help you get the best result possible based on the facts of your case. Our law firm has the necessary experience to assist you with this matter.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group.  They represent the firm’s unofficial views of the Justices’ opinions.  The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.

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