What if a shelter in place order is issued? What about visitation? I keep hearing a lot of “what ifs” lately, and it makes sense. There hasn’t been another pandemic like this in living memory, and these are exceptional times. Every morning these days, I get up and check the news, terrified of what I might see. I keep seeing news articles and hearing rumors that suggest that total lock down is on the way. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t – but, either way, as a mama, it’s scary. And you’ve … [Read more...]
Getting Supervised Visitation in Virginia Custody Cases
Getting Supervised Visitation in Virginia Custody If I had a quarter for every time a client asked me about supervised visitation, I’d have an awful lot more quarters than the number of cases where I’ve seen supervised visitation actually get awarded. It’s not like an annulment, which is essentially a unicorn, but it’s not very common, either. In fact, it’s pretty uncommon. Whether you’ll be successful in getting supervised visitation is really going to depend entirely on your facts and the … [Read more...]
Coparenting for Beginners, Part 2
Coparenting for Beginners: Part 2 On Monday, I talked about an issue in coparenting that I see come up with some frequency: “how much information do I give my child’s father?” It’s often an issue when it comes to things like medical appointments; if dad doesn’t come, is mom obligated to share the details? What does it say if she does or doesn’t, and will it ultimately impact a custody case? Today, I want to change tacks a little and talk about another related issue that I see come up in … [Read more...]
Coparenting for Beginners
Coparenting for Beginners I was talking to a woman the other day who was asking me all sorts of things about her upcoming custody case and the decisions she should be making. The (first time) mother of a very young son, she had never navigated this kind of territory before. Though she hoped to be able to reach an agreement for custody and visitation out of court, she also wanted to be sure she was as prepared as possible in the event that her case did wind up in a courtroom. We were talking … [Read more...]
Do i have custody of my child?
Do I have custody of my child? People care for children every single day and haven’t been to court to have custody and visitation determined. In most cases, those people don’t really worry about custody; they just have their kid, and they take care of him (or her). Things only really start to become a problem when there’s turmoil in the relationship between the parents. When the parties break up, for example, or when some formerly uninvolved parent resurfaces and suddenly wants time. I also … [Read more...]
Fee Waivers and Scholarships for Hofheimer Family Law Seminars and Events
Fee Waivers and Scholarships for Hofheimer Family Law Seminars and Events If you’ve been following us for any period of time, you know that education for Virginia women facing custody and divorce cases is kind of our schtick. There’s no one else out there with divorce and custody related information specific to the Commonwealth of Virginia and targeted exclusively to women. The goal, of course, is to give women the information they need to make the best decisions possible for themselves and … [Read more...]
Is my separation agreement modifiable?
Is my separation agreement modifiable? We talked on Monday about two of the big problems associated with finding a form separation agreement on the internet. There are all sorts of issues you can run into in family law cases, and, in an ideal world, you’d be informed about exactly what they are and what you can expect. A good way to do that, at least at the outset, is by attending one of our monthly divorce seminars or requesting a copy of our free divorce and custody books. After all, … [Read more...]
Do I have to let my former in laws see the kids?
Do I have to let my former in laws see the kids? Ugh, in laws! I totally get it, especially where custody and visitation is concerned. I’m a mom, too, and I used to feel like before I had kids, it was really not such a big deal. You’d see each other at holidays and keep in touch, but it wasn’t an overwhelming interference in your day to day life. You start thinking that’s how it’s going to be all the time. And then, BOOM! You have kids, and suddenly they want to see you three times a week and … [Read more...]
In Your Virginia Child Custody Case, Forget Fair
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s a truth that you should accept, and the earlier the better. Custody cases are not about fairness. There are lots of things about custody cases that are “unfair”. It’s not fair that he can petition, over and over again, for a modification based on a material change in circumstances. It’s not fair that, if you win at the juvenile court, he can appeal to the circuit court. It’s not fair that he can ask for a GAL or a custody evaluator to be involved, who … [Read more...]
Virginia Same Sex Custody and Visitation Cases: Part Two
On Monday, we talked about issues that gay parents face in custody and visitation cases, with specific emphasis on couples who have always been gay. I don’t say “always” to ignite any kind of nature or nurture debate, but merely to illustrate that there are some differences between gay partners who had children together and divorced, heterosexual couples where one parent engages in a subsequent same sex relationship. Though these people, too, have likely “always” been gay (and I certainly mean … [Read more...]
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