Under Virginia law, you are free to elect to handle your own family law case in the Virginia courts. Depending on the complexity of your case and the issues involved, though, it may be more or less possible to do so. Family law cases cover several varieties – juvenile court cases (custody, visitation, child support,...
Can I handle my Virginia family law case myself?
No way around it, dividing up parenting time with your child’s father is a scary task. For most moms, the thought that you won’t be able to be with your child any time you like is overwhelming. It’s especially overwhelming since July 1, since new legislation came down. I wrote a post awhile back updating...
Custody cases are about as common as…well, something that’s very common. We see them literally all the time, and they can come about in a bunch of different ways. Obviously, you don’t have to be married to have a custody case; you just have to share a child in common with your former partner. So,...
Strategically, in a divorce, there are a lot of different decisions that you can make, depending on a number of factors. Since money is often the biggest issue in divorce (second only to custody, if there are minor children involved), spousal support can take center stage fairly early on, especially if your husband has cut...
To cut to the chase and state the obvious as simply as possible: if there’s no custody order in place (as in, you and your child’s father have never (1) been to court to let a judge determine custody, and (2) you’ve never signed an agreement related to custody and visitation), both you and your...
If you’ve found your way to this page, you probably already know that, in most jurisdictions, it can take several months to get a hearing schedule on custody and visitation petitions with a juvenile court. In Chesapeake, for example, it takes 90 days for the court to review the petitions, and usually another 90 to...
I hear the same objection all the time: “But my husband says he won’t sign an agreement unless I waive child support.” They’re upset. They’re scared. They don’t know what to do. Most are loathe to accept any kind of financial assistance from their child’s father anyway, but they’re still not quite sure how they’ll...
I often find that, when reaching a separation agreement isn’t as easy as previously thought, many people (especially those who had hoped to navigate their divorce without the assistance of attorneys) find themselves filing for custody. Though I can certainly understand the appeal of this (after all, custody is THE biggest issue in cases where...
