Depending on how long you’ve waited – and how soon your trial is – you won’t have all available options if you wait until the last minute. There is no specific legal right to assistance of counsel in family law cases (unlike in criminal cases) so, for the most part, if you can’t afford an...
Help! My trial is coming up and I want to hire an attorney now!
Same old, same old, am I right? I know there are arguments here on both sides – moms only want custody because they want the child support and dads only want more parenting time because they want to pay less child support. But, the truth is, it’s really easy to tell who is most motivated...
One of the most difficult parts of child custody litigation is that it can be virtually never ending. Since custody, visitation, and child support are modifiable based on a material change in circumstances, you can – theoretically, at least – find yourself in court again and again, at least until you children turn 18 and...
In some ways, a divorce is a divorce. Certainly, if we’re looking at things procedurally, one divorce doesn’t differ all that much from another, though there’s also no question that a military divorce involves considerations that civilian divorces don’t. Mostly, military divorces mean that there are categories of assets – BAH, SBP, TSP, the...
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...
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...
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...