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Claire N. Jacobi v. Peter H. Jacobi
CIRCUIT COURT OF ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA
56 Va. Cir. 164
May 10, 2001

Plaintiff wife filed for divorce from defendant husband on February 28, 2000.  As grounds for the divorce, the wife stated that the parties had lived separate and apart from each other without any cohabitation and without interruption, although remaining within the same house. During such time, it was the intention of at least one of the parties that the separation be permanent; and, there was no possibility of reconciliation between the parties.

Whether the continuance to reside in the marital home together is sufficient for grounds of living separate and apart for one year?

There are no comparable circumstances in this case to eliminate the risk of collusion. Here, we have only the limited testimony of two witnesses who claim that Mr. and Mrs. Jacobi have separate bedrooms in the marital home; however, neither witness ever stayed as an overnight guest to witness whether they slept in separate rooms at all times. While common sense cannot be abandoned and the presence of two bedrooms is some evidence of separation, it should be noted that many couples choose to sleep in separate rooms as the years go by for any number of reasons while not intending to end the marriage. The admittedly limited corroboration by the witnesses at the February 20, 2001, hearing, coupled with the lack of any explanation legitimizing why the parties continued to reside together in the marital home, is not sufficient corroboration.  In this Court’s opinion, the degree of corroboration was insufficient and the complainant was invited to provide authority for the Court to grant a divorce under these circumstances. After careful consideration, it is this Court’s ruling that a divorce cannot be granted on the ground of living separate and apart for one year because the parties continue to reside in the marital home together and because of the insufficiency of the corroboration.

Based on the forgoing, the Court declines to enter the final decree of divorce based on one year separation.

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.

About the Author

The SRIS Law Group is a law firm with offices in Virginia, Maryland & Massachusetts.  The law firm assists clients with criminal/traffic defense, family law, immigration, civil litigation, bankruptcy & military law.  The law firm has Virginia offices in Fairfax County, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Lynchburg City, Loudoun County, Prince William County & Fredericksburg, Virginia.  The Maryland offices are in Montgomery County & Baltimore.  The Massachusetts offices are in Boston & Cambridge.

Mr. Sriskandarajah is a Virginia lawyer who primarily focuses his practice on defending complex criminal cases in federal and state courts, handling complex divorce cases & immigration cases before the federal courts.  He is the owner and CEO of the SRIS Law Group.  The law firm has more than 11 offices to serve the clients of the SRIS Law Group.  If you wish to contact the SRIS Law Group, please contact us at 888-437-7747.  We look forward to helping you.

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