Emotionally, going through a divorce or custody case (or, worse, a divorce AND custody case) is easily one of the most difficult things that you will face in your adult life. Many therapists even liken the experience of going through divorce to a death – it’s just that traumatic. Even a good divorce –...
Parentification in Virginia Divorce and Custody Cases
I don’t want to be accused of being dramatic, at least not where divorce and safety is concerned. I totally get that this probably isn’t a topic that you want to discuss, but if yours has been a difficult marriage, it’s a good idea to move forward keeping your safety in mind. You absolutely should...
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 –...
There are not many things scarier than finding yourself in an abusive situation – except, of course, if you have minor children who are surrounded by it, too. Once you decide that it’s not getting better and it’s time to do something about it, you probably started researching protective orders. In Virginia, there are...
Everyone wants an aggressive attorney. A pit bull. A shark. Those are the terms I hear the most often. “Someone who’ll fight for me,” they say. I get it! Obviously, when you hire an attorney, you want to feel like that person is cool and confident, and will have your back in any situation. ...
Even if you’ve been unhappy for a really long time, it’s sometimes hard to put a label on your relationship, especially if that label is “abusive.” Its kind of like rape. We all understand what it is, but, at the end of the day, often have a hard time describing our own experiences in these...
I’ve said it before and, though it pains me, I’ll say it again. Where domestic violence and child abuse are concerned, the court is very, very jaded. It’s not just the courts, either. Attorneys, too, can become jaded. We hear terrible stories, day in and day out, and, sometimes, they’re not true, or they’re...
Being in an abusive relationship can cause you to question your own sense of reality. You live under an altered version of reality – your abuser’s reality – for so long that it causes you to lose touch of the real world, and how other people behave within it. Coming out from a long...