Even though we’ve all heard tons of horror stories about divorce, I find that a lot of people don’t really have any actual idea about what’s involved in a divorce. All too often these days, most of what we “know” (or think we know) comes from TV rather than from actual experience. If you’re facing...
What happens AFTER I file for divorce?
Some marriages have been over for years before the Mrs. sets foot in our office. Others—well, let’s just say they’re a little more up in the air. Some women come in just wanting a little more information about what might happen if things start heading towards divorce. Others try marriage counseling first, and only come...
If you have never been through a divorce or custody case before (and, for your sake, I hope you haven’t), you probably have a lot of questions about family law. When we take on a new case, it seems like every client asks the same question: how long is this going to take? I understand!...
For most women, finding out that their husbands have committed adultery is devastating. For him to throw away your life together, after however many years, is a terrible and overwhelming feeling. I get it, and yet, at the same time, my goal is always to make sure that my clients have up to date, reliable,...
There’s no such thing as “one size fits all” when it comes to marriage and divorce. That’s why there are so many different solutions to whatever might be going wrong in your particular case—and it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re headed for divorce. I know. You’re probably thinking, “WHAT?! Why would a divorce attorney tell...
In Virginia (and, I’m pretty sure, just about everywhere else) the divorce process formally begins with the court when a complaint is filed. That doesn’t mean, though, that the first thing you need to do is march down to the courthouse and file a divorce. In fact, in many cases, you don’t file anything until...
I hear all the time, from both sides, that one party or another paid for something with “their” money during the marriage—usually as a justification for why a particular asset shouldn’t be subject to division in the divorce but should, instead, revert back to the one who paid for it. “Well, it’s my money anyway,”...
When a husband and a wife legally separate from one another, they separate with the intention to end the marriage. Then, they stop cohabitating. Cohabitation is a fancy legal word that describes the way two people live together as a married couple. When you are cohabitating, you’re behaving a certain way both inside and outside...