When it comes to divorce, there’s often a lot of fear involved. One of the biggest fears – for husbands and wives – is the threat of litigation. Litigation, though useful in certain circumstances, is complicated. It’s incredibly costly, with parties often spending far, far more than their counterparts pay for negotiated, mediated, or collaborative divorces. Though the costs can vary dramatically, depending on the type of complexity of the issues involved, it’s probably safe to say you’ll … [Read more...]
Will my husband and I have to talk face to face in our Virginia divorce?
Every marriage – and every divorce – is different. Even though there are certain principles that carry over and are equally true from one divorce to the next, there are also lots of ways we can customize the experience for each client, especially when it comes to negotiating separation agreements. (Obviously, when we go to court, there’s a little bit less freedom, because there are parts that we don’t have control over at all.) What’s true for one woman doesn’t have to be the same for another, … [Read more...]
Is separation just a pit stop on the way to divorce? Part Two
Last Friday morning, we started talking about separation. When are you separated? What does it mean to be separated? And, of course… Is separation even really a thing? Or is it just a pit stop on the way to a full fledged divorce? Lots of women say to me that they want to try a separation, but they’re too afraid that it will mean that they’ve given up on their marriages. If their husbands suggest it, they worry that their husbands are ready to totally throw in the towel. It makes them panic, … [Read more...]
Can I get divorced alone?
Though most divorces have some similarities, there are a lot of things that can be different, too. There is no such thing as a “run of the mill” or “typical” divorce, so I’m always a little hesitant to answer questions without knowing more about each individual person and their backstory. I had a woman ask me the other day whether she could get divorced alone. That’s it. The question was just, “Can I get divorced alone?” And I had to stop to think because, the more I turned the question around … [Read more...]
How to get a separation agreement in Virginia
In Virginia these days (and probably almost everywhere), most people get uncontested, no fault divorces. It’s a practical matter as much as anything else; uncontested, no fault divorces are the quickest, easiest, most cost effective divorces. So, how do you get an uncontested, no fault divorce? There’s really just one way: a separation agreement. So, what’s a separation agreement? A separation agreement is a legal contract. It’s unique to the divorce process, and it divides everything from … [Read more...]
Divorce during the holidays: part two
On Monday, we talked about how hard it is to think about divorce during the holidays, and we began to answer some of the more common frequently asked questions we get. We talked about when it was time to leave, if you could make him leave, and whether he’d be responsible for paying for your attorney’s fees. Then, we started in on a discussion of the different types of divorce, including whether or not it’s possible to do it yourself when it comes to divorce. Today, we’re going to begin by … [Read more...]
How DO we reach a settlement?
You probably already know, if you’ve been doing any kind of research on how divorce works in Virginia, that most cases these days are settled with a separation agreement. A separation agreement is, as you’ve probably already discovered, a legal contract that divides the assets and liabilities of the parties between them—somewhat “fairly” or “equitably.” It may not always be 50/50, but it’s usually (if we’re being honest here) somewhere pretty close to that. A separation agreement is one option … [Read more...]
The Cost of Virginia Divorce
It’s hard not to comparison shop for just about anything you’re after. Most sites these days make it so easy, it’s hard not to compare Zappo’s to 6pm.com and Amazon. If you can compare prices for shoes so quickly and easily, it’s hard to imagine not harnessing that power when it comes to paying for bigger items—like your divorce. Telling cost from one attorney to the next isn’t quite as easy as searching for a coupon code or plugging the item and style number of a particular dress or coat into … [Read more...]
