Divorce from bed and board is getting all of the hype this July, but it’s not the only change that Virginia has implemented this year. In case you hadn’t heard, Virginia is no longer recognizing post separation adultery as a cause of action. Let’s discuss. Pre v. Post Separation Adultery What is adultery? Adultery...
Adultery AFTER Separation: July 1, 2016
The murder of Cerina Fairfax – who was in the midst of a divorce in Northern Virginia at the time that her husband, a former Virginia lieutenant governor, killed her and then himself in the family home while the children were home – has made waves over the last few months, sparking renewed attention on...
Every case is unique and presents its own specific challenges. In every case, your family law attorney is looking for those little golden nuggets of information that will make all the difference in your case. The trouble is that, unless you know where to look, we may be just guessing. Oftentimes, of course, our guesses...
Relocation is one of the trickiest areas of child custody litigation in part because there are no hard and fast answers. Whether you and your child’s father were married and are not separated and/or divorcing, or whether you were unmarried but share children in common, you will find that your ability to move wherever you...
Even though Virginia does not assume 50/50 custody – the statute actually just says that the court must consider all forms of custody equally – it is still often the starting point in many custody cases, especially contested ones. I’m not a fan of automatic 50/50 custody; I think it creates a situation focused on...
It is always hard to ascertain, especially ahead of time, exactly how much your family law case – whether divorce or child custody – will ultimately cost. Even though I do this day in and day out, and have for over fourteen years now, it’s hard for even me to help give people the “ballpark”...
Choosing a family lawyer – any lawyer, really – is a difficult proposition, especially when you add to it the fact that, if you’re like most women, you are currently in the middle of one of the most difficult periods of your entire adult life. This relationship you built your life around, this one you...
The good news is that litigated family law cases constitute the vast minority of cases. No matter what the stakes, most cases ultimately settle for a number of reasons but chief among them are these: (1) no one can afford long-term litigation, (2) litigating doesn’t yield better results, and (3) going to court takes longer....