What are your retainer fees? If that’s not a generic question, I don’t know what is! I know there’s a lot of confusion out there about how attorneys bill and what we charge for. I also know that there’s often a general feeling that we’re not all that willing to give straight answers. In law school, the joke was always that the answer to every single question is “It depends.” Today, I’m going to explain to you what goes in to setting retainer fees, and the different types of cases that we … [Read more...]
Will a Guardian ad litem be involved in my custody case?
Will a Guardian ad litem be involved in my custody case? In a case where custody is litigated in court, there are at least two attorneys. Your attorney, who represents you – and has a duty to represent your cause zealously; and his attorney, who, of course, has the same obligations to your husband that your attorney does to you. It doesn’t matter whether your dad or your great uncle or your ex husband is footing the bill for your attorney, your attorney represents you and only you. So, … [Read more...]
Custody Bootcamp for Moms: Seminar for Virginia Moms
Custody Bootcamp for Moms: Seminar for Virginia Moms On Wednesday, I wrote about our divorce seminar for Virginia women. Today, I wanted to tell you a little bit more about our custody seminar. Our custody seminar in particular is really intense. It’s an intense, all day seminar, designed to teach Virginia moms what they need to know to represent themselves at the juvenile court level in a custody, visitation, and/or child support case. As someone who attended law school, I can tell you that … [Read more...]
Why do you represent women only?
Why do you represent women only? So, if you’ve found your way here, you probably already know that we’re different from every single other family law firm in the Commonwealth of Virginia. That’s right – there’s no other law firm in the Commonwealth that represents women only in divorce and custody cases. There are, however, two other firms dedicated to representing men only in Virginia. Why are there other firms that represent men only, and only one that represents women only? The answer is … [Read more...]
Know Your Judge: Virginia Custody Cases
Know Your Judge: Virginia Custody Cases Judges – like all of us normal, regular people – are different. They bring to their job different opinions, and different interpretations of the law. They are subject to different moods, based on what is happening in their own personal lives. This probably isn’t shocking information. But it is pretty scary, to think that you could wait months and months to meet with someone who could be making decisions about you and your family on a day where he or … [Read more...]
Kristen D. Hofheimer Memorial Scholarship for Divorced Virginia Women
In honor of our former managing partner, Kristen D. Hofheimer, who passed away on January 19, 2019, after a long battle with breast cancer, we’ve decided to shake things up a bit. We’ve always been the first, largest family law firm in Virginia dedicated to representing women exclusively. Kristen was, of course, a very large part of that – she literally wrote the book on Virginia custody cases for moms (The Woman’s Custody Survival Guide), created our Custody Bootcamp for Moms seminar to help … [Read more...]
I can’t afford a Virginia divorce lawyer
I can’t afford a Virginia divorce lawyer. Legal representation is expensive. I get it. And it’s often especially scary because, at the beginning of a case, it is difficult to know how far and how long it’ll go. Family law attorneys take cases on retainers, and work is done on an hourly basis. We don’t know how long a case will last, or what it will take, before all is said and done. And with some cases – like custody, appeals, or enforcement of an agreement – things can pop up later on down … [Read more...]
Calculating Days in Virginia Child Custody
Calculating Days in Virginia Child Custody Child support is complicated. On the one hand, in many cases it isn’t an issue, because it’s based on a formula, and the formula is binding on our courts. On the other hand, it is an issue, because when you get into shared physical custody, for example, the level of support a paying parent would have to pay is less than under a primary physical custody arrangement. So, even if it IS straightforward on its face, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a … [Read more...]
What to Expect at a Virginia Custody Seminar
Custody cases are scary, and, whether you’ve hired an attorney or are hoping to handle your case yourself, you probably have a lot of questions about what to expect. Obviously, you’ve also heard that there’s a seminar for Virginia moms facing custody cases, so now you’re probably wondering whether a Virginia custody seminar is going to have the answers for your questions and, ultimately, help with your case. Am I right? Well, you’re right to wonder, and it’s also normal to wonder what to … [Read more...]
Virginia Custody Seminar for Moms
Custody Bootcamp for Moms is an intense, all day custody seminar designed to prepare Virginia moms for what they might face in a custody case at the juvenile court level. A custody case is a scary thing, and it’s especially scary when you can’t afford to hire an attorney to represent you. All of that “if you can’t afford one an attorney will be appointed for you” jazz, as you’ll quickly learn, doesn’t apply to custody cases. Court appointed attorneys are something we see in criminal cases, … [Read more...]
