The other day, I got a family law question I had never gotten before. “Can I ask you about my parent’s divorce?” it read. I had commented on a local moms group, identified myself as a lawyer (hopefully not in an obnoxious, know-it-all kind of way), and this was one of the comments. “Yes,” I...
Advice from a Family Lawyer to a Child of Divorce
One of the most difficult forms of abuse – whether it’s an ongoing pattern of abuse or whether it’s post separation abuse – is when dad refuses to allow mom to seek appropriate medical care for the child(ren) in her care. He either says he doesn’t believe the diagnosis, he disagrees with the type of...
For most people, there is a period of time between separation and divorce where the soon-to-be divorcing parties live together under the same roof, often with their children. This is not so much a desirable situation – in fact, I think you could easily argue that it is anything BUT desirable – but it is...
One disservice that I think fault-based divorce does for people who live in states – like Virginia – that allow for fault-based divorce is that it puts them in a frame of mind where proving that someone is to blame for the marriage ending is somehow important. I’ll be clear, right up front: divorce is...
Child and mother sabotage – or CAMS – is a different way to describe a form of coercive control where dads try to alienate children from their mothers. It’s sort of parental alienation adjacent, but it’s important to be careful when you use the words parental alienation. While I recognize that parents can and do...
If you’re asking whether he’s gaslighting you, the answer is almost certainly yes. Right? I mean, when it comes to abusers, nothing is up to chance. It’s intentional and he’s doing it on purpose. It’s designed to impact you in the most cruel way possible. The thing about gaslighting is that it often happens in...
With so much technology nowadays, stalking is just … too easy. We see a lot of devices used to keep track of partners (or former partners), but there’s also good, old-fashioned, boots-on-the-ground stalking, too. So, what can you do? Well, it depends on the behaviors. And, I should also mention, before we get too...
Custody cases are interesting because they can come up in a number of ways, unlike divorce. In a divorce, you have essentially two options: (1) negotiate a signed separation agreement, or (2) litigate in court. Divorce Cases Where Custody is an Issue Divorce is filed in the circuit court. Custody, though, can present differently. Custody...