Spousal support is one of the more contentious topics in family law, as I’m sure you’re already aware. In Virginia, the law on spousal support is not at all like child support, which is established by a formula and applied across the board. No, spousal support is a lot more flexible on three points –...
Is it hard to get Virginia spousal support?
Some things are easier to determine than others when it comes to resolving your divorce case and, unfortunately, spousal support is one of the trickier areas. Not only has the landscape changed dramatically in recent years – even in just the thirteen years I’ve been practicing, as of the date of this writing –...
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...
Custody cases can be complicated, in some ways, because they can take different shapes depending on the issues involved – and because different types of rules apply to different types of cases. What can a Virginia custody case look like? Custody Case as Part of a Divorce Action Custody and visitation cases often come up...
The whole point of a legal contract – any contract – is to establish specific terms governing a certain situation. When we’re talking about divorce, we use a separation agreement. When it comes to custody and visitation, we’re either talking about an initial determination or a modification, but the same goal exists: to agree, rather...
Discovery – whether as part of a divorce or a child custody case – is essentially the same. It’s the legal process we use to determine and gain access to the information that we don’t have. In a divorce case, much of the information we’re looking for is financial, especially if our client has stayed...
If you don’t want to have a trial in your court case, you have to settle your case first. In a divorce or custody context, settlement is achieved when there is a signed agreement negotiated between the parties. In a divorce case, you would sign and negotiate a separation agreement – a legal contract that...
Custody cases are interesting because they can come up in a number of ways, unlike divorce. In a divorce, you have essentially two options: (1) negotiate a signed separation agreement, or (2) litigate in court. Divorce Cases Where Custody is an Issue Divorce is filed in the circuit court. Custody, though, can present differently. Custody...