When the law isn’t fair One of the attorneys in our office recently had a consultation with a woman who couldn’t get what she wanted. It wasn’t her fault; it wasn’t our fault. In this case, the law simply didn’t allow for it to happen. What did she want? She wanted child support to extend for her nearly-adult child to allow her to support him while he was in college. It’s a reasonable thing to want, right? I mean, it’s not like children get less expensive as they age! On the contrary, I … [Read more...]
Virginia Divorce Expectations
Divorce Expectations What can you expect from the divorce process? It’s a scary thing, in the beginning, especially if you haven’t been through it before. And even if you have been through it before, each divorce is a little different, each state is different, and the passing of years or months between divorces mean that different laws apply, too, which can make even fairly legally savvy people anxious. It’s scary no matter what, but there’s no question that divorce is especially scary if … [Read more...]
Signed Agreements: Divorce and Custody
My three year old reminded me of an important legal principle the other day. He reminded me why you can’t overturn an agreement once you’ve signed it. How did he do that? Well, it wasn’t that sophisticated, of course; at least, not compared to practicing divorce law. But my husband has a habit of making deals with him, and it’s something my son loves. He’ll say, “Do you want to make a deal?” and they’ll discuss the terms, and shake on it. The other day, I made a deal with my son. If I read … [Read more...]
Divorce Trial by Combat?
I read an article the other day where, believe it or not, there was a divorce case where a husband challenged the wife (or, really, the wife's lawyer) to trial by combat. (If you don't believe me, click that hyperlink for the article on it!) Now, I've seen a lot of things, but trial by combat is a new one. As you can probably imagine, the pleadings he filed with the court (yes, he literally asked a judge to allow this!) didn't sound crazy at all. (In case you don't know me, or am having … [Read more...]
Can he tell me I can’t take the kids?
Can he tell me I can’t take the kids? We’re seeing a LOT of custody disputes right now. I’ve talked about it a bit before, of course; there are very few things that we deal with that are as serious or as terrifying as a dad taking the children and threatening to not allow them to return. We have several cases like this. It’s not a new thing by any stretch of the imagination, but the pandemic has definitely made holding these people accountable a little more difficult. In some ways, I … [Read more...]
What’s happening with the Virginia courts?
What’s happening in the Virginia courts? The courts have started to open up. Slowly. Bit by bit. In a lot of ways, it’s super frustrating, even though we’ve been waiting for this since they started closing in March. The problem, of course, is that the Supreme Court really left it up to the individual courts to decide when and how to reopen, so we’re finding a lot of variation from court to court across the Commonwealth. Of course, things are different here than, say, in the western part of … [Read more...]
When will you have Girl’s Night Out events again?
When will you have Girl’s Night Out events again? Though it was originally our late co-founded Kristen Hofheimer’s idea, I’ve spent the last several years working hard to grow and expand our Girl’s Night Out group. With the recent fears surrounding coronavirus, and Governor Northam’s “stay at home” order, which banned large group gatherings and also closed many restaurants (except for delivery and take out), we’ve had to put those events on hold. Goodness gracious, it breaks my heart, too! I … [Read more...]
Homeschool and Custody Amid COVID-19
Homeschool and Custody amid COVID-19 We’ve written about homeschooling before, because it has always been an option available to parents, and one that can have an impact on a custody and visitation case. Even though homeschooling may not be many parents first choice (myself included), all of the issues related to coronavirus and COVID-19 have made homeschool a daily reality for a lot of families. And it may continue to be a party of everyday life for a really long time. It’s hard to say; … [Read more...]
Step One: Don’t Get Married
Step One: Don’t Get Married Recently, a woman responded to one of our Facebook posts about our free divorce and custody books, saying, simply, “Step One: Don’t get married.” I’m sure she thought she was being cute and clever. Certainly, if you don’t get married, you don’t need to get divorced. And I’m sure that, if you’re looking divorce square in the face, you probably have thought longingly of not having to go through the process. I get it. It’s scary. It’s a big deal. And, in some … [Read more...]
Dealing with Anxiety in Custody and Visitation Situations
Dealing with Anxiety In Custody and Visitation Situations It’s a common refrain: my child’s father just doesn’t do things that I believe are critical to protect my children’s safety when they’re in his care. With coronavirus, it’s even worse. We’re all feeling a little extra anxious; the world feels like such an uncertain place. It’s crazy to think that just, like, two months ago, everything was “normal”, whatever that means. Now, with the governor’s stay at home order and the Supreme … [Read more...]
