If there’s anything that’s lagging behind the times in divorce and custody, it’s child support guidelines. (Just kidding. This is Virginia. We’re lagging behind in a lot of places, I’m just choosing to talk about one area that, in my opinion, is particularly behind the times.) It’s kind of like no one has any idea...
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Every divorce is a little bit different, and the assets (and, it must be said, the liabilities) are different, too. Usually, it’s some kind of version of the same; a divorce set of “usual suspects”, as it were, but in some cases, it’s more complicated. My least favorite cases are the ones where my client...
Custody cases are tricky. It’s not like divorce which, although difficult, is more or less a financial transaction where both parties walk away with some of the assets and some of the liabilities in the marriage. It’s pretty much understood that you won’t walk away with it all, because your spouse legally deserves a portion...
For moms facing a custody case, nothing strikes fear into their hearts quite like the possibility of working with a Guardian ad litem. As a mom myself, I can understand the fear. A lawyer (yes—a lawyer!) will have the opportunity to talk to you and your child’s father and even your child (without you present!)...
Custody cases are tricky. Like divorce, custody is one of those areas of law that varies pretty dramatically from state to state. There’s not a lot of standardization from place to place. Though almost all states have some iteration of the “best interests of the child” factors (here are Virginia’s ten best interests of the...
In a divorce, or for women facing a divorce, the potential cost is one of the scariest parts. People tell me literally every single day that they’re afraid they can’t afford to get a divorce. I won’t lie to you and tell you that divorce is inexpensive. I won’t tell you that I haven’t seen...
It can be hard, in many cases, for women to know what sort of decisions they ought to be making at the beginning of the divorce process. It can all seem so shrouded in mystery that it’s hard to know which way is up. It’s often compounded by the fact that many husbands seem all...
I got a good question at one of my Second Saturday seminars the other day. A woman asked, “What’s a reconciliation clause? Do I even want one? I don’t plan on reconciling!” She went on to say that a reconciliation clause wasn’t included when she and her husband met with a mediator, but then that the...