How long do we have to be married to get half the house? There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about divorce and the divorce process in Virginia. When it comes to property division, there’s a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. I like to think that a big part of my job is just providing education, so that women know what to expect and at least how the law works. I saw a question the other day, “How long do we have to be married to get half the house?” and I knew I had to address it, … [Read more...]
Relocation in Virginia Military Custody Cases: Part 2
Relocation in Virginia Military Custody Cases: Part 2 On Friday, we talked about relocation when you’re a military spouse. (Spoiler alert: it’s tough!) Today, we’re going to talk about the other side of the coin – what happens in a Virginia custody case when HE relocates because of a permanent change of duty station? For the active duty military parent, relocation is a bit different. We talked about it from a military spouse perspective the other day, but, in general, that’s regarded a … [Read more...]
Relocation in Virginia Military Custody Cases: Part 1
Relocation in Virginia Military Custody Cases: Part 1 We’ve talked about relocation cases in Virginia generally, and how difficult it is to “win” a relocation case in Virginia. It comes up all the time, as you can probably imagine, but it comes up especially often in military divorce cases. When it comes to relocation, the stakes are always particularly high because suddenly custody DOES become a win or lose proposition. Whereas in a normal custody case, where mom and dad live relatively … [Read more...]
Special Issues in Custody: Adoption
Special Issues in Child Custody: Adoption Most of the time, adoption isn’t a big part of what we do. In some cases, though, it can come up in certain ways. Most of the time, the question is whether a new stepparent can adopt a child from a previous relationship. There are all sorts of interrelated issues: termination of parental rights, stepparent adoptions, name changes, etc., on and on. While typically we don’t handle regular adoptions, from time to time it does happen as part of a larger … [Read more...]
Help! I was served with a divorce complaint and a notice of hearing!
Help! I was served with a complaint and a notice of hearing I talk a lot about separation agreements – those legal contracts negotiated between husbands and wives that divide up the marital assets and liabilities between the parties so that they can get an uncontested divorce without even going to court. But not every divorce follows this familiar path. Sometimes, for one reason or another, one party files first – and, in some of those cases, the complaint comes to the other (often … [Read more...]
Celebrating Holidays When You’re Separated
Celebrating Holidays When You’re Separated Well, it’s officially November, which means that the holidays are literally right around the corner. For most people, it’s a pretty joyful, exciting time – looking forward to some extra time off of work, watching the Thanksgiving Day parade in your pajamas, enjoying Christmas breakfast with the extended fam, avoiding that annual family drama or too-long hugs from your weird uncle. If you’re newly separated, though, the holidays can be a really … [Read more...]
Grandparent and Non Parent Rights in Custody Cases Part 2
On Friday, we talked about custody and visitation cases where a grandparent – or other non parent – petitions the court for custody and/or visitation. The cases I described on Friday are otherwise normal custody cases, where mom and dad share custody and visitation of the minor children in question. In those cases, grandparents (or other nonparents petitioning for custody and/or visitation) have to meet a standard beyond the typical “best interests of the child” standard. They have to show … [Read more...]
Grandparent and Non Parent Rights in Custody Cases Part 1
Grandparent and Non Parents Rights in Custody Cases It’s a truth universally acknowledged that children are wonderful. Well, unless they’re terrible, because sometimes that happens, too. But, regardless of how terrible they might be on any particular day, they’re certainly loveable, and they wiggle their way into our hearts – and the hearts of lots of other people that they come into contact with -- in about a million different ways. When grandparents and other non parents (like aunts, … [Read more...]
Common mistakes in homemade separation agreements
Common mistakes in homemade separation agreements Lots of people choose – for many different reasons – to try to draft and negotiate their own separation agreements. In some ways, I understand, especially in cases where the parties share very few assets, if any, in common, and didn’t have children together. Sometimes, though, it happens in even more complicated cases. In fact, recently, a woman brought to me an agreement that she had prepared herself. After twenty years of marriage, a … [Read more...]
Special Issues in Custody: Breastfeeding
Special Issues in custody: Breastfeeding Breastfeeding can become an issue in custody and visitation cases, as you can probably imagine. Breastfeeding in general is fairly controversial, but it may be safe to say that it’s at its most controversial when it comes to custody and visitation. Sure, some people get pretty bent out of shape when breasts are used for their intended purpose in public locations, but Virginia law on that point is pretty clear (specifically, you may lawfully breastfeed … [Read more...]
