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Should I file for custody proactively?

It’s scary to break up with your child’s father.  Not only does the breakup itself generally carry some challenges – like moving, separating finances, the possibility of dating again, and more – but knowing that, at some point, you’ll have to work out custody and visitation is also pretty daunting. Not every situation is highly…

Virginia Custody and Visitation: The Long Haul

  At some point in the past, a judge reached a decision about what custody and visitation arrangement was in the best interests of your child(ren) and, since that time, you and your ex have had to live with it. Either that, or the two of you reached an agreement about custody and visitation, and,…

50/50 Custody in Virginia

  We get a lot of questions about custody and visitation in Virginia. Does the court assume 50/50 here? Does the court prefer mom? No, the court definitely prefers dad, right? Is there a standard custody arrangement that the court orders? Like, what happens in these cases, anyway? I hear you. It’s like most moms…

How to talk to your child about parental abuse

Cases where we know – or suspect – that there’s abuse happening are some of the worst for about a million different reasons. If you just take them at face value, there’s the obvious issue that we’re concerned that a child is suffering physical, emotional, or sexual abuse at the hands of their other parent….

How much parenting time to a non custodial parent?

  Custody litigation presents a million different ways for mothers to be caught in a potentially devastating catch-22, especially in cases where the non-custodial parent seems to be at something of a disadvantage. Lately, I’ve seen several different cases where, for example, a mother was granted sole legal and primary physical custody, with very narrow…

Virginia Material Change of Circumstances

In a divorce, a lot of things are set in stone – regardless of whether the case is finalized by a signed separation agreement negotiated by the parties, or whether the case goes all the way to trial and the judge issues a final order. Things in equitable distribution, like the division of the retirement…

Child Support and Shared Custody

Today, I’ve been practicing family law, representing women exclusively, for a little over 9 years. I’m inching ever closer towards a decade of dedicated, women only, divorce and custody practice. There are still new, novel issues that present themselves – I am told, from veterans like Lori Michaud and Sheera Herrell, that it is always this way, even…

Increased childcare expenses during the pandemic

For many Americans, the pandemic has changed day to day life in ways that still feel surreal. One of the most important ways that the world has changed is the way that we work; for many of us, virtual work has become the norm, as we’ve transitioned away from traditional office work spaces. Still others…