Women ask me all the time, “What’s the difference between a divorce and an annulment, and which do I ask for?” An annulment erases a marriage that wasn’t valid to begin with. A divorce ends an otherwise valid marriage, and divides the legal rights and responsibilities between the parties. If your marriage is annulled, it...
Articles
Moms ask me all the time, “You think I’ll get custody, don’t you?” That’s a very tricky question to answer and, the way I see it, it’s really asking two different things: (1) do you deserve to have custody, and (2) will the judge ultimately determine that you deserve custody. It’s question 2 that I...
When adultery causes the breakdown of a marriage, there are a lot of competing emotions. Adultery is such a major violation of trust that it seems like the consequences should be severe. In fact, in Virginia, adultery is still a crime and, even though it is rarely ever prosecuted, it is still true that the...
Adolescence in America is a long period that spans at least a decade, from about the age of 12 until graduation from college at the age of about 21 or 22. Though we’re legally adults at the age of 18, most parents still view their kids as kids during that time. They pay for them...
Whenever someone brings in a contract for me to review, they always ask me if it does what they think it does. “Will this work?” they ask me, nervously. The truth is that a contract does whatever it says it does, and nothing more. That may sound obvious, but most people seem to think that...
If you’re considering weight loss surgery, you’re probably thinking about the possible side effects. They’re plastered all over the internet—everything from occasional indigestion to bruising and muscle soreness to hair loss. There are worse side effects, too, but, let’s face it, all surgery carries significant risk. In the case of weight loss surgery, though, there...
It is a truth universally acknowledged among divorcing people that she who files first has the psychological upper hand. After all, the person who files first becomes labeled the “plaintiff,” rather than the “defendant,” and, subconsciously at least, that feels good. To aggrieved women whose marriages are failing, despite all their best efforts, the need...
If you’re negotiating a separation agreement with your husband, the two of you are no longer on the same team. You need to accept that your goals are no longer aligned, and you can’t fall into the trap of thinking of him as a confidante. A great deal of the art of negotiating a separation...