Our newest attorney, Lori Michaud, may be new to us, but she’s not at all new to the practice of law. Licensed in Virginia, New York, and New Jersey, Lori has been practicing since the mid 1980s, and, in that time, has built an impressive reputation for herself.
This year, Lori was asked to teach a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) class on Military Divorce: Pension Division and Survivor Annuity by the National Business Institute. Continuing education classes are one of the main ways attorneys stay up to date on trends and updates on the law, particularly in a specific niche, like military divorce law. To be asked to help educate a group of attorneys on any area of law, but particularly military divorce, is an honor, and it sets Lori apart from the rest.
Lori is very familiar with the ins and outs of military divorce law, and the seminar is full of information that Virginia practitioners should be (and often aren’t) aware of. The seminar covers a wide range of military divorce specific topics, including:
• Statutes and Regulations
• Service Members Civil Relief Act (SMCRA)
• “Must Have” Documents
• Active Duty vs. Reserve/Guard Retirement – “Points” vs. “Time”
• Landmines
• Jurisdiction
• VA Disability Compensation
• Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP)
• Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
• Uniformed Services Former Spousal Protection Act (USFSPA) Division
• Child Support Calculations
• Benefits
• Benefit Plan (SBP) and the Dangers of Flying Blind
• Dividing the Accrued Leave
If you’re a female military service member or a military spouse and you’re facing a divorce, being sure that you have the right attorney on your side is incredibly important. Though the divorce process is the same, military divorces involve a lot of other interrelated issues that you’ll want your attorney to know about – or risk giving away more than you should!
Divorce is not the time to just assume that one attorney is the same as the next; it’s important to have an experienced attorney on your side, to help navigate some of the complexities that are specific to military divorce.
Lori is an awesome asset to our team at Hofheimer Family Law (not to toot our own horn or anything), and we’re so grateful to have her. We call ourselves the #BestTeamEver, and it’s so true – Lori brings something new and unique to the table, and any Virginia woman would be fortunate to have such a compassionate and experienced attorney in her corner.
For more information about Lori, visit her bio page by clicking here. To see all of our attorneys, and learn why we’re the #BestTeamEver, click here and here for a list of our full library of free resources for Virginia women. To schedule an appointment with one of our licensed and experienced Virginia attorneys now, give our office a call at (757) 425-5200.