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Things can be especially tricky in that gray area between separation and the time that you and your soon-to-be ex are able to get a signed agreement or court order in place.  Until that time – when you either negotiate and sign an agreement or go to court and the judge puts an order in...

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  Not everyone has parents to go home to, but for the lucky few the siren call can be strong.  When things start to go badly in your marriage, it’s tempting to want to go back to a place of safety and security.  But can you just … leave?  Is it that simple? Well, hold...

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Being a Stay at Home Mom isn’t Free

  I hear a lot of chatter, especially online, about how women with children – particularly multiple children – can’t afford to work because of the high cost of childcare.  And while it’s true, at least from a mathematics perspective, that what you earn is quickly and easily outpaced by what you have to pay...

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In all too many child custody cases, the allegations made by the other side are complete and total lies.  Or, maybe they’re not COMPLETE lies, but they’re based on one tiny little nugget of information that is conflated to mean something that it doesn’t. What’s the worst thing they could say about you?  You definitely...

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There are very few things as anxiety-inducing as having to go to court, but this is especially true in the case of an emergency motion.  In Virginia, one party can file and ask for a hearing to be held on an emergency basis; it is up to the court to either grant or dismiss that...

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  There has been so much – sooo much – discussion, especially online, about parental alienation that it’s easy to get confused.  Some camps maintain that parental alienation isn’t a thing, while others hammer the point home; and, in any case, you may have seen stories about children in other states who have been sent...

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All About the Guardian ad litem

One of the most misunderstood elements of a custody case is the role of the Guardian ad litem.  A Guardian ad litem is an attorney – not a child welfare expert, a therapist, or a developmental specialist – appointed to represent the interests of the child to the court.  Though, in many cases, the parents...

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