I want sole legal and physical custody of our child In a divorce and/or custody case, you can get whatever you and your soon-to-be ex/child’s father can agree to or whatever the judge is willing to award. In many cases, we’re really limited by what the judge will do. When the other side knows that, for example, the military retirement will be divided so that each spouse receives his or her marital share (50% of what was earned during the marriage) – there’s not much room to negotiate anything … [Read more...]
How do I get sole custody?
How do I get sole custody? All moms want sole custody. Hey, I get it – I’m a mom, too. And let’s just say that I share your belief that no one can do it – that is, mom my child – better than I can. And, in your case, there may very well be other issues, too. There’s often domestic violence, or differences in temperament and parenting style. Maybe he has mental health issues, or problems with drug, alcohol, or other substance abuse. There can be lots of reasons -- good, bad, and otherwise – … [Read more...]
Determining Custody and Visitation
Determining Custody and Visitation If you’re like me, you hate the idea of living with uncertainty. Even worse than uncertainty generally is uncertainty where your children are concerned. If you don’t have anything official regarding custody and visitation – no agreement or court order – then both you and your child’s father have custody. That sounds unpalatable to you? You want to do something about it to ensure that you have the type of custody that you feel you should have given the level … [Read more...]
Amber Alerts, Parental Kidnapping, and Emma Grace Kennedy
When Emma Grace Kennedy was kidnapped last week by her sex offender father at a gas station, it seems like EVERYBODY knew about it right away. There were Amber Alert billboards, text messages, and stories on the news. It’s every mom’s worst nightmare, especially for moms who are separated from their children’s fathers, but especially in cases where there’s something wrong with dad – whether he’s a sex offender, a substance abuser, a physically violent person, or something else, it adds an … [Read more...]
We’ve been ordered to try mediation in our custody case. Is that okay?
Judges don’t love to decide cases, especially in family law. It’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that they know that they don’t really have the full scope of the situation (how can they?), and prefer, instead, for people to do all that they can to settle their disputes BEFORE coming to court. That way, they reserve their time for the cases that absolutely, positively cannot be settled without their involvement, and people are generally happier with the resolution of their cases. A judge … [Read more...]
What does shared custody even mean?
Custody cases are the worst, especially in terms of the levels of anxiety that moms feel as they begin to prepare for one. There’s a lot of fear there (and understandably so), and often that fear makes it difficult for moms to separate the horror stories from the actual, factual truth about what could happen in the courtroom. We’ve all heard a horror story or twelve, and it doesn’t help that we’ve all watched TV and seen these types of scenarios unfold dramatically (or maybe “cinematically” … [Read more...]
Hofheimer Family Law Mother’s Day Promo
If you’re a mom, you’ve made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of your kids. It started from the moment you found out you were pregnant, and started eating insane amounts of broccoli and discussing the benefits of folic acid to anyone who would listen. It carried through your pregnancy, to every single glass of wine, cigarette, or sugar laden dessert you turned down in order to keep your body as healthy as possible for your growing baby. You thought you worked hard then, but then the baby came. … [Read more...]
