Should I sign this prenup? Prenuptial agreements are pretty commonly misunderstood. I often hear that someone should may consider a prenup if they had substantial assets before the marriage that they wanted to protect. Under Virginia law, though, property that you earned or owned prior to marriage is already separate – it’s already yours, it stays yours, and it doesn’t become marital property unless you commingle it with marital funds. By “commingle,” I don’t mean that you used it to buy a … [Read more...]
Virginia Relocation Cases
Virginia Relocation Cases Virginia relocation cases are always among the hardest. Though I understand why they come up so frequently (especially in an area that has such a high concentration of military families), I can also understand why the courts are so hesitant to allow one parent to relocate with the child. Like most other things, there are standards that apply when a parent wants to relocate. The standards come from case law (other cases Virginia courts have decided related to … [Read more...]
A Guide to Child Support for Virginia Moms: Part One
A guide to child support for Virginia moms Part One Under Virginia law (well, under the law in every state, as far as I’m aware), both parents have an obligation to support their children. For many people, it’s a non issue – parents who are together tend to share expenses and mutually care for the children. For parents who are separated, divorced, or just plain old broken up, child support becomes a different issue entirely. In Virginia, child support is calculated by using guideline … [Read more...]
Lump Sum Spousal Support: Part Two
On Monday, we talked about lump sum spousal support as a way to avoid the restriction on cohabitation in spousal support cases. As you’re already aware (or you wouldn’t be here, reading this blog!), when you receive spousal support over a period of time, whether you receive it for a fixed time or permanently, your right to receive spousal support can terminate when either you or your spouse dies, the recipient spouse (I’m guessing that’s you, and I’ll write the rest of this blog as if that were … [Read more...]
Lump Sum Spousal Support
Spousal support is one of those things that is just not guaranteed. In fact, it’s pretty complicated. When people ask me whether they’ll receive spousal support (and, then, inevitably, if so, how much?), I want to give them as clear of an answer as possible. But the truth is anything but clear. I’ve talked about spousal support before, including how you can tell whether it will be awarded (spoiler alert: it’s difficult to determine!) and, if so, how much you can expect to receive. All sorts of … [Read more...]
