Grandparent visitation is often a hot button issue – especially when parents separate and/or divorce. In general, grandparents don’t have a lot of rights to custody and visitation of minor children which, in my opinion, is as it should be. The parents are the ones who are tasked with making the day to day decisions...
Grandparent Visitation When Your Coparent is Dead or Incapacitated
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...
Few things in the world are scarier than facing a custody and visitation case. Few things, too, are more difficult to gather up-to-date, state-specific information about – at least, if the information you’re looking for is also credible. There are a lot of non-attorneys out there offering advice and opinions, much of which – though...
I used to love the “Can This Marriage Be Saved” section of my mom’s Ladies Home Journal. Spoiler alert: the marriages almost always could be saved. I loved reading the stories from each person’s perspective and I loved even more the idea that, with hard work and a good therapist, even people on the brink...
It’s October again, which means that it’s domestic violence awareness month. Before I started working in family law, I’m not sure I realized how prevalent domestic violence actually is. It’s not all dramatic cases where there are protective orders, either. I can’t get over – even now, after over 12 years in practice –...
In case you haven’t heard, we just re-launched our super popular custody seminar, Custody Bootcamp for Moms, back in July – after a several year break because of the pandemic. Custody Bootcamp for Moms is an intense, all day seminar – taught by attorney Caitlin Walters, who has practiced family law in Virginia for...
I was talking to a woman the other day who was asking me all sorts of things about her upcoming custody case and the decisions she should be making. The (first time) mother of a very young son, she had never navigated this kind of territory before. Though she hoped to be able to reach...
People care for children every single day and haven’t been to court to have custody and visitation determined. In most cases, those people don’t really worry about custody; they just have their kid, and they take care of him (or her). Things only really start to become a problem when there’s turmoil in the relationship...