How expensive is a divorce in Virginia? “Divorce is expensive.” I know that was certainly my impression, before I started practicing family law, though I can’t tell you now where I heard it first. I can’t tell you, even, what “expensive” means, exactly, because I think it’s probably safe to say that it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. How much it actually costs is so difficult to say because there are so many different variables that ultimately affect it. Is … [Read more...]
Avvo, FindLaw, SuperLawyers: What does it mean?
Virginia legal directories: Avvo, Findlaw, Superlawyers It’s hard to pick an attorney. How do you know who is any good? How do you know whether they’ve handled cases like yours? How do you know whether they’re as comfortable in a courtroom as behind a desk? How do you know…anything at all? Law firm websites are full of glossy headshots of attorneys featuring winning smiles and a variety of different colored (but still conservative) suit jackets. I mean, there’s a place for that; we have … [Read more...]
How do I file for legal separation in Virginia?
How do I file for legal separation in Virginia? In Virginia, you have to be separated to get a divorce. In fact, you have to be separated for a year for most types of divorce. (The notable exception to this rule is divorce when you’re using adultery as your grounds, but you should read up on this, and its specific limitations, HERE if that’s something you’re considering.) But what’s a legal separation? How do you prove that you’ve been legally separated? What forms do you need to fill out? … [Read more...]
Inheritance and Virginia Divorce
Inheritance and Divorce Lots of people are, at some point or another, the beneficiary of some kind of inheritance. For many of us, it’s not significant monetarily, but, for others, it is. In fact, for some people, it’s a tremendous amount. An inheritance can be life changing. I’ve had clients who live in a home that they inherited, that live off of shockingly large trust funds, or who are looking forward to an inheritance at some point in the future. I’ve also had clients whose husbands … [Read more...]
Preparing for Virginia Divorce
Sun Tzu wrote, "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting," and I think it’s a quote that applies really well to family law in general. To be fair, almost all of my cases come in with both parties feeling pretty agitated. Many clients tell me that they think their case will be a fight. It’s always a little hard for me to tell, since they all say the same thing, but, then again, probably 90% or more of our cases ultimately end up settling, so… Some do end up as knock-down, … [Read more...]
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 the vast majority of cases, and it can have other useful components, too. It’s technically on the criminal side, so it can have implications for a person’s security clearance, and their ability to … [Read more...]
When the law isn’t fair
When the law isn’t fair One of the attorneys in our office recently had a consultation with a woman who couldn’t get what she wanted. It wasn’t her fault; it wasn’t our fault. In this case, the law simply didn’t allow for it to happen. What did she want? She wanted child support to extend for her nearly-adult child to allow her to support him while he was in college. It’s a reasonable thing to want, right? I mean, it’s not like children get less expensive as they age! On the contrary, I … [Read more...]
Virginia Divorce Expectations
Divorce Expectations What can you expect from the divorce process? It’s a scary thing, in the beginning, especially if you haven’t been through it before. And even if you have been through it before, each divorce is a little different, each state is different, and the passing of years or months between divorces mean that different laws apply, too, which can make even fairly legally savvy people anxious. It’s scary no matter what, but there’s no question that divorce is especially scary if … [Read more...]
Signed Agreements: Divorce and Custody
My three year old reminded me of an important legal principle the other day. He reminded me why you can’t overturn an agreement once you’ve signed it. How did he do that? Well, it wasn’t that sophisticated, of course; at least, not compared to practicing divorce law. But my husband has a habit of making deals with him, and it’s something my son loves. He’ll say, “Do you want to make a deal?” and they’ll discuss the terms, and shake on it. The other day, I made a deal with my son. If I read … [Read more...]
Divorce Trial by Combat?
I read an article the other day where, believe it or not, there was a divorce case where a husband challenged the wife (or, really, the wife's lawyer) to trial by combat. (If you don't believe me, click that hyperlink for the article on it!) Now, I've seen a lot of things, but trial by combat is a new one. As you can probably imagine, the pleadings he filed with the court (yes, he literally asked a judge to allow this!) didn't sound crazy at all. (In case you don't know me, or am having … [Read more...]
