I talked about relocation the other day, but I focused on relocation from mom’s perspective – as in, she is the one who wants to move. But what happens when it’s dad who wants to relocate, and it’s mom who is opposing it? It’s a good question; let’s talk about it. He wants to move...
Relocation in Virginia Family Law Cases: Part 2
Relocation is a really tough nut to crack – at least, when mom and dad don’t agree about the relocation at the outset. I would say, personally, that I find relocation cases to be among the most difficult of any type of case because of the fact that it’s a winning or losing proposition. So...
In Virginia, joint legal custody means that coparents have to work together to reach decisions on three main issues: non emergency medical care, education, and religious upbringing. In many cases, we don’t have any issues in any of these three areas though there are some notable exceptions. Sometimes, the issue of vaccinations comes up; in...
The worst days are the days when we lose. And, look, the truth is that, sometimes, we all lose. In fact, I’d say that, in most cases, we feel like we almost always lose at least a little bit; that’s just the nature of divorce and custody. Few cases are ones where the outcome is...
Let’s start with the maybe not-quite-so-obvious. In family law, it doesn’t really matter what “studies” suggests or what the “data” says. We are not making arguments about what is best for many children, or most children, or some randomized, average, but ultimately representative group of children. We are talking only about your children. The children...
Online, you’ll find any number of so-called (self-proclaimed) experts in family law. From divorce coaches to mediators to regular parents who’ve just been through a (usually high conflict) divorce or custody case themselves. This is often great. Divorce coaches can do things – and give advice – that I can’t in the sense that it...
A GAL is a Guardian ad litem. A Guardian ad litem is an attorney appointed by the court to represent a person who, legally at least, is considered unable to represent themselves. In Virginia, we see GALs appointed in a couple of different scenarios – in cases where a party is incarcerated or where they...
I love easy questions but, in family law, I get so few of them that when I do see a truly easy question with a truly easy answer, I almost can’t believe my luck. The short answer is no, you do not have to be flexible with your child’s father when he asks for changes...