If you have been in an unhappy marriage and made the decision to go ahead with divorce there are a number of things you should know.

You don’t need a divorce lawyer

It’s easy to file and progress with divorce when you have a divorce lawyer, but you don’t need him/her in order to get the divorce. There are plenty of options you can go with that will allow you to complete the process without requiring the services of an attorney. One of the things you should do is to avoid making the process difficult and making it seem like a battle. When you are negotiating issues such as child custody, child support, the division of property and other issues, you should find a mediator in your local area.

Just as you don’t need a lawyer to get the divorce, you also don’t need to step into a divorce court to get the divorce. When you reach an agreement with your spouse in the presence of a mediator or divorce attorney, the judge will sign the final divorce decree without requiring your presence in court. Court appearances are necessary when you can’t reach an agreement with your spouse.

You won’t get a lot of money because he cheated on you

The court will grant you the divorce on grounds of infidelity but this doesn’t mean that it will order your partner to pay you a lot of money for it. In Virginia, there is the no-fault divorce law. The law assumes that no one is at fault and no one should pay for bad behavior.

In addition to this, there is also child custody, spousal and child support laws that the judges follow in order to make a ruling. Unless your spouse agrees to something different, the judge makes his/her decision based on these laws. If the judge has made the decision and you feel that you are unsatisfied with the settlement, you should work with your family lawyer and see whether you can get a favorable settlement.

You won’t get child custody because you are the mother

The decision on who gets custody of the children is determined by the judge. If the judge feels that the father is a better parent, the judge will go ahead and give custody to the father. If the decision is made and you are unsatisfied with it, you should hire a child custody attorney and contest it.