If you are going through a custody dispute in Virginia and cannot afford a private attorney, you may be able to get a court-appointed attorney. Virginia courts do not automatically assign a lawyer. Instead, a judge evaluates the nature and details of the case before determining if someone is entitled to a court-appointed attorney. We...
Depending on how long you’ve waited – and how soon your trial is – you won’t have all available options if you wait until the last minute. There is no specific legal right to assistance of counsel in family law cases (unlike in criminal cases) so, for the most part, if you can’t afford an...
If you, like everyone else, are reading Belle Burden’s memoir on marriage, Strangers, you probably noticed that prenups feature dramatically in the storyline. I have made no secret of the fact that, over the years, I do not have a strong positive opinion of prenups. In fact, my experience with prenuptial agreements throughout the years...
Not everyone can afford to hire an attorney but, when it comes to a divorce or custody case, almost everyone needs at least some legal advice. There are very few options when it comes to complete and total pro bono representation, too, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities to get your questions asked...
Our former managing partner, Kristen D. Hofheimer, passed away in January of 2019 following a long battle with breast cancer. For many of us – myself included – Kristen was more than just a coworker; she was a mentor and a friend. She was also one of the leading forces that drove much of our...
I don’t want to mislead you, so I’ll tell you from the first sentence: I am not aware of any reputable Hampton Roads, Virginia-based family law attorneys that take payment plans. I know – hiring an attorney is expensive. Generally speaking, family law attorneys work on retainers, which means that you have to pay a...
In the law, we like to use terms that other people don’t understand. “Manifest injustice,” “best interests of the child,” “continued cohabitation in a relationship analogous to marriage,” “material change of circumstances,” on and on, ad nauseum. Oh, right – and the Latin! Pendente lite, habeas corpus, pro bono, a mensa et thoro, ad litem,...