If you’re a woman in the military and you’re getting a divorce, you’re not alone. Though the reverse dynamic – a man as the active duty military service member and a woman as the dependent spouse – is more common, that doesn’t mean that the reverse doesn’t also occur. Plenty of women are active duty...
Divorcing Virginia Women in the Military
As much as I’ve written about child support over the years, I think there are still a lot of things that people don’t understand about how it works. Custodial arrangements – or parenting plans – vary dramatically these days, and though it’s true to say that more parents share custody than have primary physical...
Marriages of more than 30 years are sort of in their own category. Once you get to the point that you’ve spent three decades together, there’s no question that you’ve accumulated some joint assets. There are some things that are, generally speaking, easier. It’s unlikely, at this point, that you have minor children together –...
Mom is a special word. For months, I couldn’t wait until my babies said it back to me – though, to be honest, at this point, I wish they’d use it a little less often over the course of the day. Still, there’s no question that it’s a special thing to be called. It’s a...
Up until the court formally decides custody and visitation – or, alternatively, the parties enter into a signed custody agreement – there’s no formal child custody, visitation, or child support. For many couples, especially the ones that stay together (regardless of whether they’re married), that’s enough and it doesn’t go further than that. Even for...
Even if you’ve been unhappy for a really long time, it’s sometimes hard to put a label on your relationship, especially if that label is “abusive.” Its kind of like rape. We all understand what it is, but, at the end of the day, often have a hard time describing our own experiences in these...
You’ve been married a long time – at least 20 years – and your partner is in the military. How do you know if you qualify as one of the elusive 20/20/20 spouses? Goodness knows you can’t ask your husband, a JAG attorney, or really anyone associated with the military! What is a 20/20/20 spouse?...
Sometimes I think that the military loves mystery. That has to be the reason for all those annoying acronyms, right? TSP, BAH, PCS, LES – is it just fun for them? And then, rather than trying to explain to someone who might not know what they’re talking about, they just mix in the acronyms to...