Going to court is – by almost any metric – the nuclear option in a family law case. Literally everyone is scared of it and almost anyone would try to avoid it if there was any way at all. Usually, though not always, it’s possible to negotiate outside of court. In fact, most family law...
Court Order v. Negotiated Agreement – What’s Best?
A major misconception about annulments is that they’re easily granted when the marriage has only lasted a short period of time. A marriage of a few hours – or even a few weeks or months – doesn’t necessarily qualify for an annulment. By contrast, even, a longer term marriage could, potentially, qualify for an annulment...
Attorneys everywhere are governed by strict rules of ethics. Though it varies a bit from state to state, one thing is pretty constant: if we have a consultation with one party to a divorce action, we can’t then meet with (or be retained by) the other party. So, if you wanted to be aggressive about...
There are only two ways to resolve a divorce or custody case: either the parties negotiate an agreement, or they go to court and litigate. This is true no matter what the issues are, but there is a sort of third, hybrid option, which includes the possibility of a “reservation” with respect to a certain...
Question: My marriage has been over for years and I’m ready to end it. The problem is, my kids – now teenagers – are refusing to come with me. They want to be near their school and their friends. What happens if they don’t come? I need to start this separation so I can move...
Family law cases – often involving divorce, child custody, child support and spousal support – are often very invasive. In discovery, the legal process that we use to determine what the issues are in an ongoing case that has been filed with the court, we often ask for all sorts of documents. In a divorce...
If your soon-to-be ex husband (or your already ex-husband) has been verbally, emotionally, sexually, or physically abusive, it’s only natural to want to cut those ties at some point. From a therapeutic standpoint, it can make a lot of sense to go no contact. For most people, this includes blocking that person from contacting you...
You don’t have to end your marriage because of infidelity, but many women ultimately choose to end it. I’m not here to judge you for your choice, either way, but instead to help give you guidance on the Virginia divorce process so that you have an idea of what to expect if divorce is the...