I’ll be the first to admit: I have a bit of an unfair sampling. As a family law attorney, the cases with which I am familiar are the ones where the individuals involved – or at least one of them – sought the advice of an attorney. I know that not everyone does. I’m...
If my divorce seems amicable, do I even need a lawyer?
I had a consult the other day where something happened that had never happened to me before. I spent a very pleasant (for me) hour talking to a prospective client about her upcoming divorce. (I say it was pleasant for me because I liked her; I assume much less pleasant for her, though, because although...
Once you have an appointment – like an initial consultation – with a lawyer, that lawyer cannot meet with, give advice to, or represent the opposing party. In a divorce or custody case, if a wife meets with five of the top local divorce attorneys, none of those five will be able to represent her...
I don’t want to mislead you, so I’ll tell you from the first sentence: I am not aware of any reputable Hampton Roads, Virginia-based family law attorneys that take payment plans. I know – hiring an attorney is expensive. Generally speaking, family law attorneys work on retainers, which means that you have to pay a...
Few things in the world are scarier than facing a custody and visitation case. Few things, too, are more difficult to gather up-to-date, state-specific information about – at least, if the information you’re looking for is also credible. There are a lot of non-attorneys out there offering advice and opinions, much of which – though...
Divorce is, historically speaking, one of the busiest months of the year for divorce. For the most part, November and December are generally the slowest; after all, who wants to get divorced during the holidays? It’s not so much that I think divorce is somehow tied to a new year’s resolution – though it certainly...
Is settlement a dirty word? I definitely think there’s a contingent of people who think that this is the case. Settlement, after all, means compromise – and, in many cases, when you’re head to head with someone in a dispute as deeply personal to you as the terms of your divorce, it can feel a...
In case you haven’t heard, we just re-launched our super popular custody seminar, Custody Bootcamp for Moms, back in July – after a several year break because of the pandemic. Custody Bootcamp for Moms is an intense, all day seminar – taught by attorney Caitlin Walters, who has practiced family law in Virginia for...