In all too many child custody cases, the allegations made by the other side are complete and total lies. Or, maybe they’re not COMPLETE lies, but they’re based on one tiny little nugget of information that is conflated to mean something that it doesn’t. What’s the worst thing they could say about you? You...
What’s the worst they could say about me in my child custody case?
There are very few things as anxiety-inducing as having to go to court, but this is especially true in the case of an emergency motion. In Virginia, one party can file and ask for a hearing to be held on an emergency basis; it is up to the court to either grant or dismiss that...
One of the most misunderstood elements of a custody case is the role of the Guardian ad litem. A Guardian ad litem is an attorney – not a child welfare expert, a therapist, or a developmental specialist – appointed to represent the interests of the child to the court. Though, in many cases, the parents...
In July of 2024, the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court quietly issued an order stating that parents whose children are involved in a custody and visitation case would no longer be entitled to receive copies of the Guardian ad litem reports issued in their cases. Full disclosure: As practicing family law attorneys,...
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...
Question: I admit – I sometimes ‘bop’ my children on the bottom when they aren’t listening. My child’s father, who has been largely uninvolved, has told my children that this is child abuse, and says he will call CPS if he hears that it ever happens again. Because of this, my children are being...
One very common provision in custody agreements (or separation agreements, if your custody case is part of a larger divorce action) is that neither party will make disparaging comments about the child’s other parent in the presence or hearing of the child. Sounds easy, right? Don’t talk badly about each other. Full stop. It’s...
Custody cases are some of the most dramatic, contentious, and stressful cases. I’ve written on this before, and I’ll say it again: Virginia is NOT one of the states in this country that mandates 50/50 custody as a starting point. In Virginia, we use the ‘best interests of the child’ factors, established by statute, as...