When, exactly, to file for custody and visitation is going to depend a lot on what your goals are. Are you looking to deal with school enrollment, trying to secure a relocation before the new school year starts, trying to resolve something related to holiday visitation, or something totally different? There are a lot of...
When should I file for custody and visitation?
Child custody is complicated, especially because it’s really never absolutely final. Under Virginia law, anything related to the children, including child custody, visitation, and child support, are always modifiable based on a material change in circumstances, up until the time the child turns 18 and is no longer legally considered a child. School enrollment...
Relationships are complicated. I’m sure you already know that. But it does bear mentioning, in any case, because it gets to the root of what we do here. Sometimes, it seems as though it doesn’t make any sense, least of all to us, who know one party only a little and the other not at...
Pregnancy can be wonderful, but it can also be really challenging – especially if you’re also starting to think that your marriage may not last past (or even up until) the birth. Expecting women are particularly vulnerable, especially if you’re currently unemployed, because childbirth is both personally and professionally complicated. Not only that, but caring...
Domestic violence is everywhere. It’s a lot more prevalent than most people think, which is pretty alarming. When I started here, over a decade ago now, as a brand new baby lawyer, I was definitely surprised at how often it really happens. When I speak to women who have suffered from domestic abuse, they often...
Toddlers – like most children, really – are creatures of habit. Or, at least, they operate best when their routines are protected. As a parent, even under the best circumstances, the routine can be difficult. When you’re coparenting, maintaining a consistent routine is even more challenging, if not impossible, depending on your other coparent. Even...
You can’t get very far down the road in a custody and visitation case without coming up against “best interests of the child”. There’s a version of the best interests factors in almost every state (at least, as far as I’m aware), and these factors make up the basis of how custody and visitation cases...
If you and your child’s father are no longer together, it makes sense that, sooner or later, one or both of you will find someone else. And it probably goes without saying that your someone else comes with his own baggage as well. Blending families – and making it work – is a complicated contention...