7.11 Agreements

• Library: Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach (Virginia CLE) (2018 Ed.)

7.11 AGREEMENTS

7.1101 In General. The court must consider marital and premarital agreements between the parties before making a monetary award, before dividing or transferring property, and before making a pension-based award.

7.1102 Marital Agreements. The court may affirm, ratify, and incorporate an agreement between the parties in a decree pursuant to sections 20-109 and 20-109.1 of the Virginia Code. In the absence of a showing that a contract of the parties pursuant to sections 20-109 is invalid, the court must consider the provisions of the contract when arriving at a final award of equitable distribution. ¹³¹

Most separation agreements are formal written documents. But parties sometimes reach an agreement that is not memorialized by a formal written contract, such as an agreement reached in the course of litigation. An agreement...