When do I give up divorce negotiation and go to court?

It’s the million dollar question: “When do I give up negotiation and go to court?” At some point in many cases, there’s a time where it seems like further negotiations are pointless. When you’re at an impasse, and you just want your divorce finalized already, it’s easy to wonder whether going to court wouldn’t just...

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Virginia Custody Retainer

We get lots of frantic inquiries from women about pro bono divorce and custody services – something we really don’t offer (and, frankly, that no other law firm that I’m aware of really does offer, either). Pro bono is a hard thing, for a lot of reasons. Cases are expensive and time consuming; we really...

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Do I have to let my former in laws see the kids?

Ugh, in laws! I totally get it, especially where custody and visitation is concerned. I’m a mom, too, and I used to feel like before I had kids, it was really not such a big deal. You’d see each other at holidays and keep in touch, but it wasn’t an overwhelming interference in your day...

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What’s an appeal de novo?

  Considering it’s a dead language, there’s an awful lot of Latin in the law. Since so many of us are not Latin speaking, it can make reading the law, cases, and even general information about the law difficult – or, worse, nearly completely incomprehensible. Understanding the direct translation of a phrase doesn’t necessarily enhance...

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In Your Virginia Child Custody Case, Forget Fair

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s a truth that you should accept, and the earlier the better. Custody cases are not about fairness. There are lots of things about custody cases that are “unfair”. It’s not fair that he can petition, over and over again, for a modification based on a material change...

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Do I Want a Guardian ad Litem Appointed?

A Guardian ad litem is an attorney appointed on behalf of a child in a custody case. We really don’t bring kids to court to testify; there won’t be a moment where the child has to tell the court whether he’d prefer to live with mom or dad. That just doesn’t happen. But, of course,...

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What is a parenting plan?

In terms of vocabulary, there are all sorts of things that we say when it comes to custody and visitation that may seem new to you. I’ve written extensively on legal and physical custody, the different types (primary, shared, and split), coparenting, parenting education seminars, and many other topics related to custody and visitation that...

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  I talk about adultery a lot. To be fair, it comes up a lot. As far as fault based grounds for divorce go, adultery is probably the single most common. There’s no one, single, specific path that “every” divorcing woman takes. A divorce is a journey, and it’s one that can take a LOT...

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