I rarely have an opportunity to see a husband abuse his wife – my client – first hand. Obviously, most of these abusers lawyer up pretty quickly, and they’re often pretty good at putting on a good face in public. After all, isn’t that characteristic abusive spouse behavior? Awhile back, though, I witnessed – first...
Dealing with an abusive husband during Virginia divorce
When it comes to facing a custody case, you probably feel like a fish out of water. And, honestly, if you don’t feel that way, you probably should. I don’t say that to scare you – I don’t ever want to just scare anybody – but only to make you aware that things that you...
Spousal support is one of those areas where tensions tend to run high. No one – husbands and wives included – want to have to pay it. But for the lesser earning spouse (and I can tell you, I’ve represented the lesser earning spouse many, many times), spousal support is sometimes the only real lifeline...
Real estate is easy. Either one or the other of you keeps it, in which case you refinance the mortgage to remove your spouse from liability, or you sell it and split the proceeds. There’s not a lot of options, so we can often cut to the chase pretty quickly. I want to keep the...
It’s scary, when you’re thinking of divorcing and splitting up all the things you’ve acquired jointly during the course of your marriage, to think also about the money you may have to pay to have an attorney represent you. It’s confusing, too, because different attorneys handle fees differently. You’ve heard, I’m sure, of the contingent...
I get it. Things don’t always work out exactly like we planned. Sometimes, unplanned things can pop up, and can complicate things in ways that we never anticipated. When it comes to babies and divorce, well, it sometimes happens. I don’t need to tell you it’s probably not ideal timing. But it’s a baby, and...
I get asked all the time whether the court will make my client or prospective client do something lifestyle-based, like go back to work, put their kids in daycare, quit working, stop breastfeeding, stay in the same city as their ex husband, etc. In general, the answer is pretty clear. There’s not much that the...
If things aren’t working out between you and your child’s father and you’ve got a newborn in the house, you’re not alone. But you’re probably feeling pretty alone, and overwhelmed, and, if you’re like every other mom in that dreaded 4th trimester, more than a little hormonal. Besides that, you’re exhausted, and that just doesn’t...