dimanche 26 janvier 2014

Virginia Free Divorce Records

By Ben Kingsley


When the Freedom of Information Act was in place in the state of Virginia, the residents have the right to access their personal documents. One of the documents that are made available to the public is the divorce records in Virginia.

Virginia divorce records are one of the most accessed documents in the state. It is used in a number of reasons. It is one of the important documents required when a divorcee has some transaction that needs to be done in any government office. Examples of these transactions are insurance related transactions, updating the dependents and beneficiary list and any other financial related requests. In genealogy research, divorce records are also one of the sources of information used by the researchers but such document is usually last document they check. If the divorce of a couple is not updated in a timely manner, future generations may have difficulties in tracing their ancestors.

AS the name suggest, a divorce certificate would contain information about the separation of a couple who resides in the state of Virginia. One would know their names along with the date and the place where the separation was made legal. Unfortunately, not all details about the separation are made public. Information such as the reason why the couple separated is disclosed from the public as well as any agreement that the couple has made. This includes the custody of the children and the division of the couple's properties and assets. These are made confidential to respect the privacy of the involved individuals.

Virginia divorce records are only made available after 50 years since the couple got separated. Records from January 1853 are the only available files in the state of Virginia. A processing fee of $12 has to be paid in order to have the request granted. Aside from the fee, one has to provide the basic information of the record being requested. It has to be indicated on the application form when requesting for a copy of the document. In addition to that, the personal details of the requesting individual have to be indicated on the request form. The state only releases the document if the one who requested the file is the divorcees themselves or their immediate family.

All of the public documents of Virginia, including the divorce certificates of the residents, are being archived at the Vital Records Section of the Department of Health. In times where the requested divorce file is not available at the state office, it can be requested at the county clerk office where the divorce was filed and legalized. One can also send the request via mail but the results of the search can be delivered only after a few days since it was filed or even longer if there are problems encountered during the search because of missing information or requirement.

Retrieval of a divorce record in the state of Virginia can take a while especially if you have no idea on what to do or where to look first. The development of the Internet has helped made the retrieval process faster and convenient for many. A free divorce records search can even be done through some websites but many would go for the paid option because of the quality they get from it.




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