In a divorce, a lot comes down to the decisions that you make at the beginning of the process. I feel like I say this a lot, but I say it because it’s true. There is almost always a tense, emotional, complicated time between when you decide to formally separate and end your marriage,...
Avoiding a Messy Virginia Divorce
I got this question for the first time the other day – how do I prepare for an initial consultation – and I realized it’s something that I hadn’t specifically written on before. I’ve written about whether you can bring someone with you, what documents you should bring, what to expect, and so on, but...
OCTOBER 26, 2020 BY KATIE CARTER Contested cases are hard on everyone involved. I work with women, so my perspective is often that of the wife and mother. I actually rarely see children. It’s really not appropriate; for me to do my job, I have to have conversations with my client that could be harmful for...
Recently, on Facebook, as I mindlessly scrolled (come on, you know you do it, too) I saw a video that showed a child fighting a visitation exchange. The video alleged that the child was resisting going to spend time with her mother, because her mother’s boyfriend abused her. The end of it – the moral,...
Bringing a baby into the world is, simultaneously, one of the most wonderful and most terrifying things that can happen to a woman. Having done it twice now myself – both c-sections, the first one an emergency – I can attest to that, for sure. I don’t think I fully appreciated the changes that motherhood...
I actually got into family law as a result of two abusive relationships, so I understand the ways it can shape you, affect your thinking, and alter the future. The first was a run-of-the-mill abusive boyfriend. I didn’t think about his behavior in those terms at the time, of course; it actually took me several...
Sometimes, women come to me and ask me my opinion – not on a legal issue or point of law, but my personal opinion about their personal situation. I get it; I’ve been there, too. I often ask professionals, “What would you do, in my position?” so I can understand why this question would come...
Addiction is a big buzzword these days, and people can suffer from addictions to all sorts of things. The typical addictions that tend to spring to mind are generally drug or alcohol related – and there’s no doubt we see our fair share of those. But there are other, more modern, addictions that we’re seeing...