We can all put divorce right up there on the tippy top of the list of things we don’t want to pay for, right? Even if you want the divorce itself, you don’t really want to pay the costs associated with it. A joke I hear all the time – especially when I tell random people what I do for a living – is, “You know why divorce is expensive?” And then they chuckle and say, “Because it’s worth it!” While you may agree, at least in part, it’s a little discomfiting to have very little idea of the total … [Read more...]
Divorce help when you can’t afford an attorney
Family law is hard. I know you know, if you're facing a family law case. And you can bet your boots I know, because it's what I do day in and day out. I understand the love a parent has for a child, having two of my own. I understand the degree to which a loss (like a divorce) affects the financial future of a family. In fact, most therapists find divorce to be akin to a death in terms of the trauma inflicted on the people involved. Because of the nature of my work, it is very stressful. I … [Read more...]
Getting Supervised Visitation in Virginia Custody Cases
Getting Supervised Visitation in Virginia Custody If I had a quarter for every time a client asked me about supervised visitation, I’d have an awful lot more quarters than the number of cases where I’ve seen supervised visitation actually get awarded. It’s not like an annulment, which is essentially a unicorn, but it’s not very common, either. In fact, it’s pretty uncommon. Whether you’ll be successful in getting supervised visitation is really going to depend entirely on your facts and the … [Read more...]
Coparenting for Beginners
Coparenting for Beginners I was talking to a woman the other day who was asking me all sorts of things about her upcoming custody case and the decisions she should be making. The (first time) mother of a very young son, she had never navigated this kind of territory before. Though she hoped to be able to reach an agreement for custody and visitation out of court, she also wanted to be sure she was as prepared as possible in the event that her case did wind up in a courtroom. We were talking … [Read more...]
Do i have custody of my child?
Do I have custody of my child? People care for children every single day and haven’t been to court to have custody and visitation determined. In most cases, those people don’t really worry about custody; they just have their kid, and they take care of him (or her). Things only really start to become a problem when there’s turmoil in the relationship between the parents. When the parties break up, for example, or when some formerly uninvolved parent resurfaces and suddenly wants time. I also … [Read more...]
Fee Waivers and Scholarships for Hofheimer Family Law Seminars and Events
Fee Waivers and Scholarships for Hofheimer Family Law Seminars and Events If you’ve been following us for any period of time, you know that education for Virginia women facing custody and divorce cases is kind of our schtick. There’s no one else out there with divorce and custody related information specific to the Commonwealth of Virginia and targeted exclusively to women. The goal, of course, is to give women the information they need to make the best decisions possible for themselves and … [Read more...]
In Your Virginia Child Custody Case, Forget Fair
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s a truth that you should accept, and the earlier the better. Custody cases are not about fairness. There are lots of things about custody cases that are “unfair”. It’s not fair that he can petition, over and over again, for a modification based on a material change in circumstances. It’s not fair that, if you win at the juvenile court, he can appeal to the circuit court. It’s not fair that he can ask for a GAL or a custody evaluator to be involved, who … [Read more...]
Girl’s Night Out Valentine’s Day at the Banque
Valentine’s Day: February 13th at the Banque Already dreading Valentine’s Day? Or just thinking about alternatives to the traditional red rose dinner with your, well, whoever? We’ve got a solution for you! Complaints about Valentine’s Day were common enough that something like five or six years ago we decided to start hosting a Valentine’s Day Girl’s Night Out event. We’ve hosted these events now for a long time, so we know how much it means to women (especially women who are going through a … [Read more...]
How do I choose a family law attorney?
How do I choose a family law attorney? It’s a million dollar question (or, at least, a $2,500-10,000 question). If you’re headed towards a divorce or custody case, how do you know whom to hire to represent you? You probably already know that you’re way better served having an attorney than not (or else you wouldn’t be here, reading this article), but how do you pick just one? Besides that, of course, lawyers don’t have the best reputations as a demographic. So, probably, it feels like an … [Read more...]
When your faith doesn’t allow divorce
When your faith doesn’t allow divorce Believe me, I am far from a spiritual adviser. What I am, though, is someone who has seen a lot of divorce. I’ve seen women in my office make arguments for divorce, and arguments against divorce. Though my general feeling is that most people who say that they don’t believe in divorce haven’t been unhappily married themselves, I do also hear from people who object to divorce on religious grounds. Though I don’t argue for or against divorce in any case … [Read more...]
