You’ve probably heard that, in Virginia, the way property is divided is through “equitable distribution.” This means that, when a judge makes a determination about who deserves to receive what, he is supposed to consider what is fair based on the negative and positive monetary and nonmonetary contributions each person made to the marriage. Normally,...
Articles
I see cases more and more frequently where the wives are earning more than their husbands. It makes sense, after all, because they say that more women graduate college and apply to law school than men. However, despite our creativity and general brilliance, we have significant biological disadvantages that make it more difficult for us...
Some property disputes are just plain more complicated than others. In Virginia, property division after divorce is handled by a statute. The way we do it is called “equitable distribution,” which means, basically, that property is divided mostly 50/50, but that the judge has the freedom to listen to the evidence presented by the parties...
When you and your husband decide to separate (or before, if you’re a planner), it’s a good idea to take an inventory of all your personal property. If you’re worried about whether your husband might lose, sell, or destroy something valuable or precious of yours, it’s an even better idea to move these items to...
It’s very shocking to some clients when they find out that, in the eyes of the law, pets are treated as personal property rather than as family members. Trust me, I get it. I’m an animal lover (but specifically a lover of Labrador retrievers), and it does seem strange to me to talk about who...
The law breaks down property into essentially two kinds: real property, and personal property. Real property is real estate, so any land, property, or other homes that you may own would fall under this category. Personal property, on the other hand, is pretty much everything else, including cars, money, investments, jewelry, clothing, household appliances, sporting...
How do you know whether you’ll qualify to receive alimony? Actually, these days, alimony is more commonly referred to as spousal support. Why? Well, mostly, because spousal support is considered a more “gender neutral” term. It used to be that it was always the women who received alimony from their ex-husbands; these days, a husband...
So, who keeps the house? In most divorces, this is a loaded question. Usually, there’s some sort of problem. Either both parties want it, neither wants it, or one wants it for far, far less than the other is willing to give it up for. I get it: the house is an important piece of...