At this point, you’ll become familiar with your local divorce commissioner. The state of Virginia requires that parties to contested divorces present their case to a commissioner before a judge will be appointed, but beware: this process is not automatic. To get the ball rolling, both parties are required to file a request in the circuit court, where it will be transferred to a commissioner. This person hears testimony and evidence from both spouses before making a written determination regarding all the facts in the dispute. You should really note here that once your case has been referred to the divorce commissioner, it will remain there, even if you end up going through with an uncontested divorce. It’s kind of a point-of-no-return. Next, the commissioner’s written determination will include specifics like how property is to be valued and whether the parties have met separation period requirements for Virginia. The determination will be forwarded to the trial judge for reference. To set your trial date, you’ll need to file a request with the court, indicating to the judge that you’re ready to proceed with the case. At this point, the court will provide you and your spouse with a time and date to meet with the judge, in order to schedule a trial date based on the availability of everyone involved. Let your calendar be as flexible as possible here, to keep things moving. Also, please note that if the issues listed in the case are likely to take a lot of trial time, the court will require both parties to attend a pretrial settlement conference. If children and attendant issues of support and custody are contested, both parties must also attend a parent education seminar.