Blog

Categories

Should I file for custody proactively?

It’s scary to break up with your child’s father.  Not only does the breakup itself generally carry some challenges – like moving, separating finances, the possibility of dating again, and more – but knowing that, at some point, you’ll have to work out custody and visitation is also pretty daunting. Not every situation is highly…

I’m lonely. Will dating impact my child support?

We talked the other day about how dating might impact an award of spousal support.  I had originally intended to write about both child and spousal support in the same article, but it just ended up being too complicated, so I split into the two articles.  You can check out the spousal support article here….

What happens to child custody if something happens to me?

Breaking up with your child’s father makes a difference to your life in a million different ways.  Ultimately, your estate plan is one of those ways that – though it may not immediately be apparent to you, if you’re young-ish and in relatively good health – can sneak up on you later.  Regardless of your…

What happens after I file for VA custody and visitation?

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…

I really need an aggressive family law attorney

  Everyone wants an aggressive attorney.  A pit bull.  A shark.  Those are the terms I hear the most often.  “Someone who’ll fight for me,” they say. I get it!  Obviously, when you hire an attorney, you want to feel like that person is cool and confident, and will have your back in any situation. …

Custody and Visitation of Grown Children

As you’re probably more or less already aware, custody and visitation of children – whether as a standalone custody case or part of an underlying divorce action – really only deals with minor children.  In Virginia, child support ends when a child turns 19 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs first, and you lose…

Virginia Divorce After 20 Years of Marriage

You’ve been married a really long time.  At this point, probably almost every asset (or liability) you can think of is one that was earned, purchased, or acquired during the marriage.  While it doesn’t have to be harder to end a longer marriage as opposed to a shorter one, there are often a lot more…

Virginia Divorce After Less Than 1 Year of Marriage

Hey, it’s okay!  If you only recently got married, and you’ve started to think that maybe it was a mistake, I can tell you that you’re definitely not alone.  In fact, I think you’re one of the luckier ones.  After a year or less, there’s often very little to divide, and no one is so…

What is parental kidnapping?

It might not seem possible, but, under the law, a parent can kidnap his or her own child.  It’s not common – in fact, it’s actually quite rare – but its something that can and does happen, and that you should be aware of.   Parental kidnapping happens when a parent takes a child in…

Shared Custody When Dad Doesn’t Exercise His Parenting Time

It’s a tale as old as time – or, at least, a tale as old as shared custody. What happens when a dad fights for a parenting plan that reflects shared custody (meaning that he gets 90 or more days of parenting time over the course of a calendar year), but then doesn’t exercise his…