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Five Divorce Trends for Virginians in 2025

It doesn't surprise me that one of my most popular Stylebook articles is: "Is It Time To Separate? 5 Signs It Might Be." And I wrote it almost two years ago. Whenever its traffic spikes, phone calls seem to follow. The beginning of the year is a time when we onboard a lot of new clients who don't want to relive the same fights all over again. So here’s an update on the Virginia family law trends for 2025:

1. Rise in Prenuptial Agreements

Aww guys, I am so flattered, you all are listening to me! Joking, not joking! People are getting married later in life, with more assets they want to protect. There is also a rise in second and third marriages for people. 

Millennials are leading the way in prenuptial agreements. They lived through their parents' messy divorces and have worked hard to have the assets they have and want to protect those. But prenuptial agreements are also changing with the times to cover confidentiality and privacy, especially social media, pets and smarter provisions to allow for better estate planning. Prenups are a practical step these days and not one of mistrust or greed.

2. Rise in Domestic Partnerships

 Along with the trend in prenuptial agreements, the trend to carefully and very thoughtfully choose who we are partnering with and in what ways continues in 2025. But the rise of domestic partnership is really rising! This is a huge trend that isn’t very easily trackable statistically as few states offer formal domestic partnerships. I am seeing this rise from the estate planning I am doing for domestic partners in the form of powers of attorney and HIPPA releases, and the domestic partnership agreements (similar to a prenup for unmarried persons who want joint ownership rights to property in spelled out ways). 

Legislation around domestic partnerships is something I anticipate will grow and change in the legal world over the next decade. More states are acknowledging and making laws to allow domestic partners to have more rights in things like: decision making in emergency situations, tax benefits, and rights to be dependents for insurance. 

3. Lessening in Alimony Duration

Other states are seeing caps on long term alimony. Virginia hasn’t taken this approach, but alimony continues to decrease in overall length of time as it is seen to be mostly rehabilitative to give the receiving spouse time to get themselves to financial independence. Courts now must think harder about retirement and how it will play into alimony awards. We are also seeing a decreased trend in alimony awards as more partners tend to both be employed, and women’s salaries are slowly, very slowly, getting close to their male counterparts. In the D.C. area wives often earn more than their husbands. 

4. Gray Divorce

Divorces among persons 50 years and older (I didn’t put that age on the term) continue to be on the rise. Gray divorce rates have doubled since the 1990s (you see why us Millennials are getting those prenups). People are living much longer, and have increased health at older ages. People can grow apart after years of marriage, especially once kids have left home and interests diverge. The idea of finding new love and a meaningful and fulfilling life without marriage isn’t as scary as it was before. Additionally, we are seeing some of the first generations of women with more financial freedom reach old age. 

5. Rise of Social Media in Divorce

The courts are getting more used to seeing evidence in family law cases from Facebook and other social media platforms. And they are paying attention to what people are putting out into the world. Especially someone going on and on about what a good partner they have, what a good parent they are to their children on social media – and then trying to come into court and say they’re not. There is often also more evidence of affairs than previous, as everything tends to be digitally tracked these days. This will continue to rise. People need to be thoughtful about their social media use for themselves and their families as it can have impacts in court to custody, visitation, property division and alimony. 

If you have questions or need help completing the paperwork for a divorce in Virginia, Family First Law is happy to consult with you and assist you with the process.


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