Category: Uncategorized

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178d78f9b91f02c40bdd034eede702a4

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Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Virginia is poised to raise the felony theft threshold from $200 to $500 according to Governor Ralph Northam and House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox.  Despite repeated attempts by Democrats, this will be the first increase to the archaic threshold since 1980.

As we previously posted, the Senate had passed legislation reforming the felony theft threshold last month; however, concern remained whether the House would do the same.  Ultimately, a compromise was reached with Governor Northam stating, “Both sides have gotten something we fought for.”  Increasing the felony theft threshold comes with agreement to support Republican-backed victim restitution legislation.

On January 22, 2018, Sheriff Kincaid notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office will no longer hold inmates past their release date unless an ICE administrative request to detain the inmate is accompanied by a criminal detainer issued by a court.  Sheriff Kincaid conveyed her decision to terminate the County-ICE Intergovernmental Service Agreement effective May 23, 2018.

Sheriff’s Offices throughout the Commonwealth are statutorily required to determine the residency status of individuals who are brought to jail.  Fingerprints, which are taken during the booking process, are transmitted to a state database that can be accessed by all local, state and national law enforcement agencies.

The press release can be found at:  https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/sheriff/sheriff-terminates-intergovernmental-service-agreement-ice

The GOP tax plan has been passed by Congress and presented to the President for signature. Certainly, if the tax bill becomes law, the impact will be felt by nearly all Americans.  One change impacting divorcing couples is the elimination of the 75-year old provision allowing for the deduction of spousal support (alimony).

Currently, spousal support is deductible to the payor spouse and is included as income to the recipient spouse (payee). Under the GOP tax plan, spousal support will no longer deductible by the payor spouse. Further, the payments will not be included in the payee spouse’s gross income; rather, the money used for spousal support will be taxed at the payor spouse’s tax rates.

If this plan becomes law, the provision eliminating the deduction for spousal support payments will be effective for divorce and separation agreements signed after Dec. 31, 2018.

Section 18.2-251 of the Code of Virginia was revised as it pertained to the mandatory suspension of driving privileges for an adult convicted of a first offense possession of marijuana. Previously, the law required a six-month loss of driving privileges for a person placed on deferred disposition for an offense of simple possession of marijuana. The law has been revised to provide that the court has the discretion to suspend or revoke the driver’s license of a person placed on deferred disposition for simple possession of marijuana but must suspend or revoke for six months the driver’s license of such person who was operating a motor vehicle at the time of the offense. Juveniles, however, remain subject to license suspension.