I’m married – and I’m a divorce attorney. It’s a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it? Or is it? I don’t even know anymore. I’m also a pretty connected, online person, so I hear all the chatter (I try to make sure I hear all the chatter) about staying single, getting or staying married, and...
Does it ever benefit women to get married?
Even though I am well and truly sick and tired of “groundbreaking” family law legislation being named after kids who were murdered in contested custody cases, the Alec and Lydia Act – recently passed in the state of Arizona – is, I hope, the beginning of a new era. Though I am not licensed in...
This July 1 will mark a big change for Virginia law – and we want you to be among the first to hear about it. Actually, it’s important that you not just hear about it, but you actually understand what the law is trying to do. Virginia has always recognized both a divorce from bed...
Question: My husband and I are separating. He’s verbally and emotionally abusive, and I can’t take it anymore. After I told him it was over, he told me he was going to leave the apartment we’re renting and I’d have to “figure it out.” I’ve been a stay at home mom and he knows I...
Are you separated – and headed towards divorce – or just separated and ultimately hoping to reconcile? Sometimes it’s clear. Other times, though, it’s anything but. In any case, whatever you’re hoping for in the long term, you probably have a lot of questions about what to expect and what you should be doing. That’s...
In general, I feel that the question, “Should I stay or should I go?” is one that is best answered by the specific woman who is questioning whether she should end her marriage. I don’t usually like to weigh in. I may provide some general guidelines or try to give her some food for thought,...
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...