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We handle mostly family law (divorce, custody, visitation, separation, support, etc.) and accident and injury (car accidents, bicycle accidents, personal injury, etc.) cases. We go to Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and all of Virginia!
1108 Madison Plaza, Suite 203
Chesapeake, VA 23320
Click Here to Call Us
757-454-2110
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If you need help with a child custody, child visitation, separation, divorce or separation agreement give us a call for a
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Divorce

Divorce is a word that makes people cringe.  Whether one is happily married, thinking about marriage or has been through a divorce the "nails on the chalkboard" feeling never quite goes away.  Why should it?  When one goes through a divorce it affects everything - your spouse, any children, finances, living arrangements, employment, and so much more.  It is simply one of the most difficult things that a person can go through.  Our office strives to make the emotional and financial struggles as minimal as possible.  There is no way that anyone can guarantee a stress-free divorce but we can tell you that we are here to listen and to answer your questions.

Let's be honest, when you separate from your spouse it is going to be difficult, traumatic, and a transition for everyone.  There are ways to make it easier for you, your spouse, any children and your wallet.  There are options.  Whether it is creating a Separation Agreement or having to file a Complaint for Divorce we can discuss those options with you.  We are also able to talk you through the divorce process in Virginia whether it is in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, etc., so you can have some understanding about what you are looking at so there is less mystery.

There are different types of divorces in Virginia.  There are fault based, "no fault" based, contested and uncontested.  There is too much to say about each of these types for one page so we have links to each page for you to review and research.  After, if you have questions about your divorce or would like to schedule a free consultation with a lawyer, please fill out the Consultation Form, give us a call or send us a text.  We are more than happy to answer your divorce questions or concerns.

Practice Areas/Things We Do

Award Winning Attorney!

Brian has been reviewed by other attorneys and the public for skill has an attorney in divorce, family law (child custody, visitation, support, etc.), and civil litigation (ex., accidents and injuries).

DON'T YOU WANT ONE OF THE BEST?

Brian Thomasson Lawyer Awards

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(757) 454-2110

Awards

We Have Been Reviewed By The Public And Peers Then Awarded For Excellence In The Practice Of Law

Coastal Virginia Top Lawyers
Expertise Best of Chesapeake
Academy=Truck-Accident-Attorneys
Reader Choice Best of Chesapeake

Do I Need A Lawyer For My Divorce?

The short answer is no - in Virginia you do not need a lawyer to represent you, process, file or finalize your divorce.  There is no rule or law saying that you do.  If one wants to file without a lawyer that is called being pro se.

There are advantages to having a lawyer represent you.  First, a competent divorce lawyer should know the process.  Like a sporting event or a board game, there are rules and procedures that need to be followed.  If you do not know those, then the outcome and results could be much worse than you desire.  Second, knowing what the law is helps get you the outcome most beneficial to you.  A competent divorce lawyer can help guide you through the pretrial aspects as well as the divorce trial helping to manage expectations and trying to make sure that you are treated fairly.  Lastly, an experienced divorce attorney can guide you through the divorce process so that you know what to expect as well as help manage your expectations by letting you know what is realistic and what is not.

Reviews By Our Clients

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Jamaal Armstrong 
 
 
 Jamaal Armstrong 
 
2022-11-24
 
 
  
Mr. Thomasson did a great job of helping me find and get the information I needed on assisting me in my case. I can’t wait to use him with further information.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Jason Ferrigno 
 
 
 Jason Ferrigno 
 
2022-10-28
 
 
  
These guys are awesome. Extremely friendly and do great work. Thanks!!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Grover 
 
 
 Grover 
 
2022-10-25
 
 
  
Office staff awesome. The attorney was not so great. He did not seem to care about my case. Little to no contact. He said he would be at my final proceeding for a  little while never showed. The attorney that attend in my final proceeding was awesome. I will not ever seek counsel with this attorney again or recommend him to anyone.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Tusharm Chavis 
 
 
 Tusharm Chavis 
 
2022-10-20
 
 
  
To my attorney, Mr. Brian A. Thomasson, to your office managers Mrs. Theresa Rogers and Ms. Heather Rogers,
I am writing this note to you to express my most sincere thanks for the most professional representation. You have stuck by me from the beginning and working diligently in dealing with my very stressful case. I admire your composure, work ethic and most of all excellent representation. Thank you all for helping me through this tough time and aiding a new beginning of my life. Thank GOD for your knowledge of the law, care and understanding for my family and I.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 K. Washington 
 
 
 K. Washington 
 
2022-09-24
 
 
  
Mr. Thomasson was helpful and was able to answer some questions and concerns that I had regarding my case.  He was highly recommended to me by a retired lawyer.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Jennifer G. 
 
 
 Jennifer G. 
 
2022-06-28
 
 
  
Brian took a case that another well known attorney said was impossible to win. Not only did he win that case, but he also got several show causes dismissed. On our scheduled court date we had two additional show causes that were never served, however, Brian got them dismissed without having time to prepare. What stood out the most with Brian and his office was their response time. It was either same day or soon after, which is pretty unheard of with most lawyers. We will be continuing to use him for future services and recommend him for difficult custody cases.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 kathy blanchard 
 
 
 kathy blanchard 
 
2022-06-15
 
 
  
Brian and his team are wonderful. Your every question is answered and they go above and beyond for you. They are caring and professional people.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Arsalan Ulhaq 
 
 
 Arsalan Ulhaq 
 
2022-04-22
 
 
  
Would highly recommend Brian as an attorney. Got the best possible outcome for my case. Great lawyer, has multiple contacts in the legal system and fully understands the ins and outs of the courts.
Very great full to have such good representation and will refer anyone else I can to him.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Christina Edwards 
 
 
 Christina Edwards 
 
2022-04-08
 
 
  
“Killed it”…and it wasn’t even a criminal case.

Brian has been thorough and extremely knowledgeable of the law, asking the important questions and presenting the information/evidence necessary to win the case.

Blog Posts / Articles Regarding Divorce

We will be the first ones to tell you that you should not believe half of what  your read on the Internet.  When it comes to doing your own reseach on divorce, separation, custody, visitation, child support, or spousal support in Virginia we encourage you to use the Internet to get some foundations.  The problems are two-fold.  First, you do not know who wrote the article/post.  Even if it is on the page of a law firm in Virginia holding themselves out as divorce lawyers that does not mean a competent divorce lawyer wrote the article or even proofread the article.  In fact, many firms outsource those articles.  Here, we write our own articles/posts on various aspects of divorce, separation, custody, visitation, etc., and have them proofread by someone else in the office before they are posted.  Second, each case is unique.  There is no "one size fits all" divorce or articles on divorce.  Each case should be approached on its own fact pattern and handled accordingly.  Articles and posts should be designed to be generic and informative but not legal advice.

Feel free to read our posts before your free consultation and we are happy to go over any questions you have at that time.  We invite educated questions.  The more that our clients know the better we can help them achieve their goals.

Locations/Places We Go

Our motto is - have briefcase will travel!

Where Do We Go?

Brian is licensed in all of the state courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  We handle cases in various Circuit Courts, General District Courts, and Juvenile & Domestic Relations Courts all over the state.

Types of Divorces

As stated earlier, there are several types of divorces in Virginia that any competent divorce attorney should know and guide you through.  Below will be links to each of the types of divorce that I reference here.  This section is designed to be more of an overview to help guide you to the page that you believe is most applicable to your divorce.

Let's start with contested versus uncontested.  The simple difference between the two is whether there is a written Separation Agreement or Property Settlement Agreement between the parties.  This is an oversimplification of this type of Virginia divorce process as there are exceptations.  The most common is that child custody or visitation was addressed in the Agreement, however, things have changed and one party wants to have the Court determine child custody and/or child visitation.  This will result in a trial which, therefore, makes it a contested divorce instead of an uncontested divorce.

Feel free to read our posts before your free consultation and we are happy to go over any questions you have at that time.  We invite educated questions.  The more that our clients know the better we can help them achieve their goals.

FAULT versus NO-FAULT DIVORCE

Two terms that we often hear regarding divorce are fault and no-fault.  These are not actually legal terms that are not really used in Virginia divorce law.  These terms are more for lay people and we are happy to bridge the gap between fault and no-fault.

A fault based divorce is one where someone has committed an action to create the ending of the marriage.  Some of the actions you think of as fault are considered fault for divorce - adultery, physical abuse, cruelty, desertion, etc.  There are many other grounds that people think are fault grounds for divorce in Virginia but are not.  I strongly suggest that you sepak with a competent lawyer about your specific questions.

As for no-fault divorce in Virginia, it is pretty much what you probably think of.  A no-fault divorce is one where the parties just do not ant to be married to each other.  There are differnet time tables for when this type of divorce can occur but generally speaking it is one year after separation of the spouses.

Feel free to read our posts before your free consultation and we are happy to go over any questions you have at that time.  We invite educated questions.  The more that our clients know the better we can help them achieve their goals.

CONTESTED versus UNCONTESTED
DIVORCE

When it comes to a contested divorce versus an uncontested divorce, Virginia law treats them differently.  This difference is very simple to define - do the parties have a written separation agreement.  If they do and there is no argument or anything for the Court to decide any issues.  When there is a written agreement and there are no issues, the case is considered uncontested.

If there is no written agreement, then the matter is contested.  This means that the Court has to decide some if not all of the issues of the divorce.  Now there are occasions when an uncontested divorce becomes contested.  This usually occurs when child custody, visitation or support are not agreed upon.  Another reason is when the agreement is incomplete leaving something for the Virginia divorce court to decide.

Feel free to read our posts before your free consultation and we are happy to go over any questions you have at that time.  We invite educated questions.  The more that our clients know the better we can help them achieve their goals.

DIVORCE RESOURCES

There are some reputable resources on the Internet to help you with additional questions regarding a contested divorce. I will give you some below. Please remember that this is not designed to replace a competent lawyer, be some sort of DIY roadmap, or even be specific to your situation. These are just some contested divorce resources that you may find helpful.

This is a video put out by the Virginia State Bar on divorce in Virginia.

Here is a link to the Virginia State Bar on financial issues in divorce in Virginia.

There is also some information put out by the Virginia State Bar on children and divorce.

This is a commercial site so it is set up to sell a product.  Regardless, there are some helpful insights.

This is a link to the Code of Virginia section that discuss how an uncontested divorce is started in Virginia.

This is the Virginia Code section on the grounds of divorce in Virginia.

 

divorce

Directions/Map

No matter from where you are coming, we are not too hard to find.  Approximately one (1) mile off of I-64 you take Battlefied Blvd South.  If you turn by Sonic in the Lowe's parking lot.  We will be the first red brick building on your left.
If you need to put our address into your GPS it is 
1108 Madison Plaza, Suite 203, Chesapeake, VA 23320
Brian Thomasson Attorney Free Consultation
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Brian A. Thomasson, Esq.
Brian A. Thomasson, P.L.C.
757-454-2110
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Brian A. Thomasson, P.L.C., and StepUpToBAT is located in Chesapeake, VA, and serves clients in and around Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton, Chesapeake City, Chesapeake County, Virginia Beach City County, Norfolk City County, Portsmouth City County, and throughout Virginia.  We handle divorce cases, family law, custody, visitation, support, separation, personal injury, accidents and injury law.