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...
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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...
In Virginia, when we talk about child custody, there are two different categories of custody that we discuss: physical custody and legal custody. Legal custody refers to the right of a parent to make decisions on behalf of the child. Physical custody, on the other hand, has to do with where the child spends the...
A divorce is uncontested when all the outstanding issues in the divorce have been resolved. The issues are resolved when the parties negotiate and sign a separation agreement. Does that sound simple? Well, that’s because, in most cases, it really is! In an uncontested divorce, for the most part, you stay out of court. There...
If your daughter is going through a divorce, you’re probably wondering what you should tell her. You can easily provide emotional support, but you probably know that the most important thing you can do for her is actually get informed about the process, so that you can give her advice that helps her case down...