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...
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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...
We’ve all heard horror stories about terrible divorces that end up as full-fledged wars. In an effort to avoid those kinds of situations, more and more women come into my office asking about mediated and collaborative divorces. Collaborative divorce, especially, is really popular these days. What’s collaborative divorce? Collaborative divorce is an alternative to traditional...
A separation agreement is a legal contract between you and your husband that specifically sets forth the obligations of both parties after the dissolution of the marriage. It handles things like spousal support, child support, custody, and how the marital assets will be divided. I like to encourage my clients to think of these as...