Can I get him to pay for my Virginia divorce attorney’s fees? Literally no one ever wants to pay attorney’s fees. It’s a reoccurring theme, and one I’m more or less used to at this point. We get questions every single day about pro bono work, free consults, and whether we work with legal service insurance provided through employers. When women find out that we really don’t do any of those things (or, at least, not in the way they want us to do it), they jump to the next best thing – how to … [Read more...]
I believe in my marriage, and I don’t want a divorce.
I believe in my marriage, and I don’t want a divorce In many cases, couples both agree that the marriage isn’t working and that they want out. I’ve had several, though, where one party or the other doesn’t agree, and consistently insists that he or she wants to stay married. The reality is that you really can’t FORCE someone to stay married; whether you like it or not, one party deciding that they want a divorce is enough to move the case forward. You can slow down the process; you can make … [Read more...]
Handling Divorce and Custody
I often find that, when reaching a separation agreement isn’t as easy as previously thought, many people (especially those who had hoped to navigate their divorce without the assistance of attorneys) find themselves filing for custody. Though I can certainly understand the appeal of this (after all, custody is THE biggest issue in cases where there are minor children), sometimes it’s not the best course of action. After all, you can go through the court process (with or without attorneys) but … [Read more...]
Does adultery matter?
For most women, finding out that their husbands have committed adultery is devastating. For him to throw away your life together, after however many years, is a terrible and overwhelming feeling. I get it, and yet, at the same time, my goal is always to make sure that my clients have up to date, reliable, specific information about how the law in Virginia actually works, so that they can make informed decisions about their future. In my experience, I’ve noticed that lots of people have … [Read more...]
Virginia Separation Agreement
In Virginia, you can get divorced in one of two ways. You can either go to court (and let a judge decide), or you can negotiate a signed separation agreement. Most people ultimately end up with a separation agreement, because it’s cheaper, easier, and more time efficient than going to court. But if you’re preparing for an upcoming divorce, you probably have a lot of questions about what that really looks like. What’s a separation agreement? How does it work? What are the advantages and … [Read more...]
Virginia Divorce with Young Children
Under the best of circumstances, divorce is a difficult proposition. When you’ve got young children, though, divorce is doubly difficult. Even though all the research suggests that many young children bounce back quickly after divorce, there’s no question that moving forward with the divorce in a way that is productive and beneficial for both parents and children is critically necessary. How do you make sure your divorce is productive? How do you divorce your husband, your child’s father, and … [Read more...]
How do I know if my divorce will go to court?
I spend a lot of time talking about how to get the best divorce. Most of the time, I have to say that the way to get the best divorce is to negotiate a signed separation agreement. There are a lot of reasons why you might like to do things this way. For one thing, it saves a ton of money (which you can use to get that fresh start you’ve imagined, put in your kid’s college fund, invest, or safely save away in your retirement accounts). For another, it takes the kids and the families into account. … [Read more...]
What if one of us doesn’t want a Virginia divorce?
Divorce is hard, no matter what the circumstances. However, when one of you doesn’t want to get divorced, it can be even more difficult. Before I go too far, let me tell you, at the outset, that, whether you want it or not, there’s not a whole lot you can do to stop a divorce. You don’t both have to consent; if one party wants to get divorced, that’s enough. That being said, though—just because you can’t STOP the divorce from happening doesn’t mean that you can’t slow it way down, cause a … [Read more...]
