When you and your husband sit down to try to divide your personal property, it can feel like an epic power struggle. You feel very strongly that you should get to keep some thing or other but, unfortunately, he wants to keep it just as badly—or, at least, he wants to keep you from getting...
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Parental alienation happens when one parent uses his or her influence over the child to make the other parent seem like the “bad guy.” It can happen both intentionally and unintentionally, and we see it a lot in divorce cases. The anger, hurt, and resentment one parent is feeling can sometimes spill over into their...
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,...
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...