Do I have to be married for ten years to get any of his retirement?

For a long time, I thought the ten year myth – the idea that you had to be married for ten years to be entitled to a portion of the military retirement – was limited to military divorces only. Please note, of course, that I called it a MYTH. I didn’t realize that many civilians...

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Does Virginia recognize common law marriage?

I used to get lots of questions about common law marriage.  Lately, well, not so much – until the other day.  A woman asked me what, in my opinion, was a very perceptive question about whether marriage is designed to be a safeguard to protect spouses (and, in particular, lesser earning spouses). Most of the...

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  One of the biggest risk factors for women in divorce is the fact that, statistically speaking, they are the lesser wage earners.  This means that, in many cases, many of the most valuable assets are largely controlled by the husband – including, but not limited to, any real estate, retirement accounts, bank accounts, and...

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Being a Stay at Home Mom isn’t Free

  I hear a lot of chatter, especially online, about how women with children – particularly multiple children – can’t afford to work because of the high cost of childcare.  And while it’s true, at least from a mathematics perspective, that what you earn is quickly and easily outpaced by what you have to pay...

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Is it hard to get Virginia spousal support?

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 –...

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  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 –...

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The military has all sorts of policies which can make separation, divorce, and child custody especially confusing as a military spouse.  On top of the military policies, too, there are many laws at the state level that will impact how your separation, divorce, and/or custody case will proceed, some of which supersede the military policies. ...

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