Will he ever agree to sign a separation agreement?

There’s a point in every divorce negotiation where we – sometimes me, sometimes my client, sometimes both of us together – wonder whether it’ll ever be possible to reach an agreement.  It’s a hard thing to do and every single point can be contentious. This is especially true when one party *really* doesn’t want the...

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Virginia Grounds for Divorce

From the outset, let me be clear: you don’t need a reason to end your marriage.  If you want a divorce, you can get one.  No fault on either party’s part is required. That’s not to say, of course, that no fault exists.  I don’t think anyone ends their marriage for no reason.  But I...

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Not all Narcissists Make Divorce Awful

I know, I know.  If you’re married to a narcissist – whether diagnosed or undiagnosed – you KNOW how miserable they can make life.  And, if left to their own devices, they’d probably love to make divorce difficult, too. After all, if there’s one thing a narcissist (or a high conflict person or an abusive...

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I’m biased.  I’m a lawyer.  I earn my living handling family law cases on behalf of the women who become my clients. Also, because I am a lawyer I also (1) see the people who can’t resolve things on their own (and very few of the people who can), and (2) deal, essentially, in worst-case...

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New Year, New Divorce Filing

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...

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When Non Lawyers Give Legal Advice

Getting your divorce information from a person who is not a lawyer is pretty risky behavior. I’m a member of a Facebook group for moms in a prominent local city, and I’ve noticed that there are a lot of requests for legal advice. It’s not a group for family lawyers, so, as you can probably...

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Does it matter who files first in Virginia divorce or custody? I was recently reading a book, “The Respondent”, about a dad who faced a divorce and ongoing custody battle in California, allegedly as a result of the lies his wife told about his relationship with his two young boys. I have a lot of...

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Separate, Reconcile, or Divorce?

Relationships are complicated. I’m sure you already know that. But it does bear mentioning, in any case, because it gets to the root of what we do here. Sometimes, it seems as though it doesn’t make any sense, least of all to us, who know one party only a little and the other not at...

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