Spousal Support Rules in Virginia

Spousal Support Is Not Automatic

Under Virginia law, no spouse has an automatic right to spousal support. It must be requested, and the court decides whether to award it based on the specific facts of the marriage. The governing statute is Virginia Code § 20-107.1, which lays out both eligibility rules and the factors judges use to determine the amount and duration of any award.

The 13 Statutory Factors

When a court considers permanent (post-divorce) spousal support, it must evaluate thirteen factors. In contested cases, the judge is required to issue written findings tying the support order directly to these factors:

1. The obligations, needs, and financial resources of the parties, including income from all sources
2. The standard of living established during the marriage
3. The duration of the marriage
4. The ages, physical and mental conditions of the parties, and any special circumstances of the family
5. Whether the age, physical or mental condition, or special circumstances of any minor child make it appropriate for a parent not to seek outside employment
6. The monetary and non-monetary contributions of each party to the well-being of the family
7. The property interests of each party, both real and personal, tangible and intangible
8. The provisions made with regard to marital property under § 20-107.3
9. The earning capacity of each party, including skills, education, training, and current employment opportunities
10. The opportunity for, ability of, and time and costs involved for a party to acquire education, training, and employment to enhance earning ability
11. Decisions made during the marriage about employment, career, economics, education, and parenting, and their effect on present and future earning power
12. The extent to which either party contributed to the other's education, training, career position, or profession
13. Any other factor needed to consider the equities, including tax consequences and the circumstances and factors that contributed to the dissolution, specifically including any ground for divorce

No single factor automatically controls the outcome. In practice, the duration of the marriage, the disparity in earning capacity, and the extent of career sacrifices carry heavy weight — especially in long marriages where one spouse left the workforce to raise children.

The Adultery Bar

Virginia Code § 20-107.1(B) creates a hard bar: a spouse who committed adultery is not eligible for permanent spousal support unless denying support would constitute a "manifest injustice."

The accusing spouse must prove the adultery by clear and convincing evidence — a higher standard than the normal preponderance of the evidence used in civil cases. This means the evidence must be strong enough to produce a firm belief that the adultery occurred. Circumstantial evidence (suspicious texts, hotel receipts, overnight absences) can meet this standard, but vague suspicion or accusations alone will not.

The Manifest Injustice Exception

Even when adultery is proven, the court can still award support if denying it would be manifestly unjust. To evaluate this, the court considers the relative degrees of fault of both parties during the marriage and their relative economic circumstances.

In practice, the exception applies when the economic disparity is extreme — for example, a spouse who committed a single instance of adultery but was also the victim of years of financial control, was denied access to education or employment by the other spouse, and would face destitution without support.

HB 303 and the Timing of Adultery

Virginia House Bill 303, effective July 1, 2026, clarified an important timing issue: adultery must have occurred before the final separation of the parties to serve as a ground for divorce or to bar spousal support. Post-separation relationships do not trigger the adultery bar.

This resolves a question that had created conflicting court interpretations. Under the old framework, a spouse who began dating after separation could theoretically face an adultery claim. Under HB 303, only pre-separation conduct counts.

Temporary vs. Permanent Support

Virginia maintains two separate frameworks:

Temporary (pendente lite) support is ordered while the case is pending, using a presumptive formula for couples with combined gross monthly income at or below $10,000. Above that threshold, temporary support is determined by factor analysis, not a formula.

Permanent support is incorporated into the final divorce decree and has no formula at any income level. The court has broad discretion to award periodic payments (for a defined or undefined period), lump-sum payments, or a combination.

The pendente lite award does not determine or predict the permanent award. A spouse receiving $1,200 per month in temporary support could receive more, less, or nothing in the final order.

Termination and Cohabitation

All spousal support terminates automatically upon:

• Death of either party
• Remarriage of the recipient
• Proof that the recipient has cohabited with another person in a marriage-like relationship continuously for one year or more

The cohabitation standard requires demonstrating a domestic partnership — shared living space, shared finances, mutual assumption of household responsibilities, and holding out as a couple. Occasional overnight visits or casual dating do not meet this threshold.

Making Support Non-Modifiable

By default, Virginia spousal support is modifiable upon a material change of circumstances under Code § 20-109. However, spouses can agree in their PSA that support is non-modifiable — locking in the amount and duration regardless of future changes in income, employment, or health.

This is a high-stakes clause. A payor who agrees to non-modifiable support and later loses their job has no legal recourse to reduce the payments. A recipient who agrees to a low, non-modifiable amount and later discovers their spouse's income tripled cannot petition for an increase.

How Support Fits Into the Financial Picture

Spousal support does not exist in isolation. The amount and duration of support directly affect property division negotiations — a spouse who receives a larger share of the marital assets may receive less or no spousal support, and vice versa.

The Virginia Divorce Financial Split & Asset Division Guide helps you model spousal support alongside asset division, home equity decisions, and retirement account splits, so you can evaluate trade-offs before signing a PSA or heading to court.

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