I’m separating – can I move back in with my parents?

  Not everyone has parents to go home to, but for the lucky few the siren call can be strong.  When things start to go badly in your marriage, it’s tempting to want to go back to a place of safety and security.  But can you just … leave?  Is it that simple? Well, hold...

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What if he’s stalking me?

  It’s scary how common post-separation abuse is – but it’s something that we see over and over, even in cases where before separation there had never been any overt domestic violence. I don’t want to be a fearmonger – gosh, nothing of the sort! – but I do want to encourage you to stay...

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What counts as separate property in Virginia?

  It can be confusing understanding how property is divided in Virginia divorce – or even what, exactly, is divided. In Virginia, there are three classifications for property – hybrid, marital, and separate – and only the marital portions are subject to division.  Hybrid is, as its name suggests, part marital and part separate property. ...

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  Most of the time, even when their parents are going through a divorce, kids are wonderfully resilient.  Sometimes, though, the issues exacerbated by the divorce – especially if their dad is a high conflict, mentally ill, abusive, obnoxious, or otherwise unstable – can create a perfect storm for a child. In some cases, kids...

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Child Support for Unborn Babies in Virginia

The expenses related to a child don’t start accruing once the baby has been born; no, as you are no doubt already aware, they start piling up from the moment you find out that you’re expecting. If you and your child’s father are heading towards a separation or divorce, or you aren’t together and are...

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  Virginia is restrictive when it comes to divorce, just because of the waiting period required before you can even file for a no fault divorce.  Here in the Commonwealth, you have to be separated for ONE year before you can finalize a divorce using the fault based grounds of cruelty, apprehension of bodily hurt,...

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Preparing to Coparent with Your Child’s Father

  There are all sorts of issues to work through when you’re navigating a new coparenting relationship – and not all of them are your issues specifically.  If you have tiny humans depending on you, you’re going to have to help them navigate their new normal, all while it’s completely foreign to you, too.  Not...

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Not all Narcissists Make Divorce Awful

I know, I know.  If you’re married to a narcissist – whether diagnosed or undiagnosed – you KNOW how miserable they can make life.  And, if left to their own devices, they’d probably love to make divorce difficult, too. After all, if there’s one thing a narcissist (or a high conflict person or an abusive...

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