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Talking With Your Kids About Divorce

There’s not a roadmap that comes along with any part of having kids.  From the time you leave the hospital until, well, I’m not sure when it ends, there’s really nothing out there that provides any kind of authoritative advice for what to do when difficult things happen. Likewise, there’s no manual for helping your…

Child Abuse Cases in Virginia

  I’ve said it before and, though it pains me, I’ll say it again. Where domestic violence and child abuse are concerned, the court is very, very jaded. It’s not just the courts, either. Attorneys, too, can become jaded. We hear terrible stories, day in and day out, and, sometimes, they’re not true, or they’re…

Recording Custody Exchanges

Coparenting is hard. It’s probably especially hard when it’s new and when everyone is still reeling from the shock of the break up, separation, or divorce. It’s hard, too, when holidays are coming up, when a new significant other is introduced, or when big changes (like a move or a new job) are on the…

Who can I bring to my initial consultation for divorce?

Going through a divorce is an isolating experience. Once you’ve made the decision to divorce and it’s time to schedule an initial consultation, it can start to feel really real. You’re emotional, maybe you’re also going through some unresolved trauma, and you’re worried for the future – financially, emotionally, logistically. You’re worried you’re not in…

Will my child have to testify in Virginia?

In almost every case where child custody is a component – which can be either a petition or a modification of child custody, visitation, and/or child support at the juvenile court level, or a divorce where there are minor children involved – the mothers tell me that their main concern is their children. On some…

Do I want to hire your family law firm?

  There are very few things that go right to the heart of all the intimate things in your life like family law. I mean, I’m biased, but I like to think that lawyers everywhere are doing good work, but family lawyers are – in my opinion – one of the categories of lawyers that…

The problem with dads

As you already know, if you’ve found me and the Hofheimer Family Law website itself, I represent women only in family law cases in Virginia. I don’t – nor have I ever – represented husbands or dads, though I have a husband and a dad and I know that they are not all terrible. At…

What day to day details do I have to share with my child’s father? Part 2

  On Friday, we talked about the day to day details of your child’s life as it relates to school – pictures, report cards, parent teacher conferences, and more. One of the big questions we always get in these cases, especially as newly separated or divorced parents struggle to establish a coparenting relationship, is whether…

What is parental alienation?

  There are lots of ways that our all-too-human reactions to all-too-human situations can land us in hot water. Where custody and visitation is concerned, leaning in too heavily to our feelings and reactions to difficult situations can be a warning sign that there is significant danger ahead, especially if your case is litigated. Whether…

“No one takes marriage seriously anymore!”

I’m always surprised when people say to me that no one takes marriage seriously anymore. It’s usually either from someone really old or someone who is (generally) happily married. The old people, it seems to me, have a different view of marriage. Basically, that it’s to be endured, no matter what. Because you said vows,…