Domestic Violence and Virginia Protective Orders
Whenever there is domestic violence involved in a case, we advise our clients about protective orders. It’s really one of the only tools in our arsenal available to help protect clients who are at risk from their former partners. On the one hand, it’s just a piece of paper. On the other, it works in…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: court | custody | divorce | domestic violence | emergency | judge | protective order | separation | virginia
What if a shelter in place order is issued? What about visitation?
I keep hearing a lot of “what ifs” lately, and it makes sense. There hasn’t been another pandemic like this in living memory, and these are exceptional times. Every morning these days, I get up and check the news, terrified of what I might see. I keep seeing news articles and hearing rumors that suggest…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: court order | COVID-19 | custody | divorce | emergency hearing | judge | pandemic | separation | shelter in place | virginia court | visitation
When do I give up divorce negotiation and go to court?
It’s the million dollar question: “When do I give up negotiation and go to court?” At some point in many cases, there’s a time where it seems like further negotiations are pointless. When you’re at an impasse, and you just want your divorce finalized already, it’s easy to wonder whether going to court wouldn’t just…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: custody | discovery | divorce | filing for divorce | judge | judicial settlement conference | negotiation | separation
I drafted a Separation Agreement, but he won’t sign. What next?
You’ve agonized over the decision for months – sometimes, even years. After reflection and prayer and therapy and everything else you could think of to try, you’re ready to move forward with your divorce. I’ve seen it so many times! The initial consultation is often filled with tears, but, by the end, the woman walks…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: alimony | child custody | divorce | fault divorce | filing for divorce | grounds for divorce | judge | negotiation | no fault divorce | retirement | separation | separation agreement | spousal support | support | trial | visitation
When coparents are petty
I heard a new one the other day. It doesn’t happen all that often, at this stage in the game, but yesterday it did. I was talking to a woman who told me that her child’s father, after their divorce, tried to one-up her in every single way imaginable – even with the tooth fairy!…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: attorney | child support | coparenting seminar | court | custody | custody and visitation | judge | juvenile court | petty | unclean hands | virginia | visitation
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…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: child custody | circuit court | how to dress | judge | juvenile court | virginia
Does my family law judge hate me? Will he remember me?
In family law cases, it seems to happen fairly often that, in litigated cases, you come before the same judge several times. Most courts, of course, do this on purpose – in order to minimize the amount of time needed at each hearing that the judge needs to familiarize himself with the facts of the…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tag with: custody | divorce | family law | first impressions | how to act | judge | same judge | what to wear