In Virginia, there are two different types of custody: legal custody, and physical custody. Most of the time, parents fight over physical custody, because that has to do with where a child spends the majority of his or her time. Legal custody, on the other hand, refers only to the right to make three types...
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Custody cases are messy, and sometimes it really starts to feel like anything goes. Allegations fly back and forth, and it quickly becomes a battle of he said/she said. Parents understand, usually, that it’ll be difficult for a judge or a guardian ad litem to really get to the meat of the case because there...
Just a week or so ago, a really large group of us gathered together on the top deck at the Ocean View Fishing Pier in Ocean View, Norfolk. It’s such a cool venue (if you haven’t been there, you really should go!) and we always have a really good turnout. Maybe it’s the time of...
It happens semi regularly that we end up with a client who has moved with her child (or children) to another state over dad’s objection. If dad doesn’t care, it’s not a really big deal. If he does, though, and he files an emergency petition for custody, you could find yourself up the proverbial creek...
In many ways, contested or uncontested, your divorce is a negotiation. In most cases, regardless of whether you initially file on fault, your divorce will ultimately be settled. That’s not a dig; in fact, it’s an ideal situation. Rather than leaving it up to a judge, you and your husband can reach an agreement about...
Custody cases are some of the hardest. Even in cases that – to me, at least – seem more or less routine, there’s still the fact that parents who otherwise would have had (and probably did have, up until recently) complete autonomy over how their children were going to be raised are going to suddenly...
In many marriages, the house is the biggest asset. In others, it can be the biggest liability. Either way—asset or liability—the way the house is handled in divorce is a really big deal. Whether you want it, he wants it, or you just want it gone, the marital residence is a biggie. Whether you want...
Separation agreements are great, because they allow parties to reach an agreement about how their divorce will be handled, rather than litigating things and ultimately leaving it up to a judge to decide. Judges are super smart and all that, but (1) they don’t know your case as well as you do, and (2) don’t...