The night before you go to court for the first time, you’re probably a wreck. You toss and turn and have trouble sleeping. A glass of milk doesn’t help. You’re worried about all the unknowns, and, no matter what you do, you can’t seem to get your brain to just shut off already. Will I...
Articles
On Wednesday, May 28th from 6-8pm, the Hofheimer Family Law Firm will be hosting another Girl's Night Out event at Fin restaurant in the upscale Port Warwick area of Newport News. This event is open to all Virginia women aged 21 and up, and we'd love to see you there! Up until now, we've only...
In my blog on Monday, we talked about the alternatives to hiring an attorney in your custody and visitation case, but I left one key part out of my discussion. What if you want to handle your custody case yourself, without hiring an attorney, without going to mediation, and without considering collaboration? You’re definitely not...
If you’re hoping not to hire an attorney in your upcoming custody case, there are other options you may want to consider. Keep in mind that every possibility comes with its own advantages, disadvantages, and strategic considerations, so you’ll want to go into it having done as much research as possible so that you don’t...
Abuse is probably the most difficult child custody issue. Unfortunately, abusive relationships tend to cause the highest rate of custody and visitation litigation. If you have been a victim of domestic violence, or if you are a parent trying to protect your child from abuse, you must tread very carefully. Do not ever assume that...
Custody cases can present special issues that have to be addressed at trial. Usually, we use expert witnesses, people who have expertise in a particular area through education and/or training, to help educate the court about an issue and provide an expert opinion. If your case presents a special issue, it is important that you’re...
Custody cases can be determined in either the juvenile and domestic relations district court or the circuit court. Whether you’re in juvenile or circuit court, the court can make an temporary, or pendente lite (that’s a Latin phrase that means “while the litigation is pending”), determination of custody. All that “pendente lite” means is that...
Most states, including Virginia, make decisions regarding custody and visitation based on the “best interests of the child.” The court looks at the factors and, ultimately, has to make a determination based on those factors that serves the best interests of the child (or children) in question. In Virginia, we have 10 factors that take...