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...
Can I handle my family law case without a lawyer?
Few things in the world are scarier than facing a custody and visitation case. Few things, too, are more difficult to gather up-to-date, state-specific information about – at least, if the information you’re looking for is also credible. There are a lot of non-attorneys out there offering advice and opinions, much of which – though...
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...
I used to love the “Can This Marriage Be Saved” section of my mom’s Ladies Home Journal. Spoiler alert: the marriages almost always could be saved. I loved reading the stories from each person’s perspective and I loved even more the idea that, with hard work and a good therapist, even people on the brink...
Is it time to separate? That may be a strategic question and not just an emotional one. In Virginia, we classify separate property as anything that was earned, purchased, or acquired before the marriage or after the date of separation. (We also include anything you inherited in your sole name, anything that was a gift...
There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to separation and divorce. While many decisions that you make are going to be up to you, I would always point out that, in general, the time after a woman makes the decision to separate from her husband is potentially particularly dangerous. I don’t...
When a marriage starts to fall apart, it’s definitely not the most comfortable experience – especially if you and your soon-to-be ex are still living under the same roof. In most family law cases, the facts really, really matter, so its hard to make generalized, one-size-fits-all type statements. If you’re living in the same home,...
It’s October again, which means that it’s domestic violence awareness month. Before I started working in family law, I’m not sure I realized how prevalent domestic violence actually is. It’s not all dramatic cases where there are protective orders, either. I can’t get over – even now, after over 12 years in practice –...