An old and venerated idea in psychology is summed up in Maslow’s Hierarchy. For any person to thrive, needs must be met in an ordered progression from basic survival to psychological needs to self-actualization. A parent plays a crucial role in any child’s upbringing, so most of the burden for fulfilling a helpless son’s or daughter’s needs falls to Mom ...
Whereas Virginia law allows divorce, it does so under two basic constructs: “fault grounds,” and “no fault grounds,” as established by Code of Virginia Title 20 Chapter 6 Subsection 20-911. Notice how we started with that fancy whereas, which the state of Virginia buys wholesale, by the pound, because it sprinkles the word profusely throughout its various documents and decrees. If ...
Custody cases stemming from divorce in Virginia fall into two categories: legal custody and physical custody. Within each of these areas, custody can be joint or sole, so a Virginia parent can have legal custody for a child but share physical custody, for example. If the whole process of child custody seems confusing, you are no dummy. The services of ...
Numbers are funny things. Take felonies and misdemeanors in Virginia, for example. If you do not know the difference between felony and misdemeanor, the worst possible way to learn this is by kidnapping your own child. Not only can you be accused of kidnapping your own child, you can be found guilty of it, too. A Virginia Class 4 felony1 can ...
Everybody says only two things in life are certain; the ol’ D and T. But for some Virginia men, these are not Death and Taxes, but Divorce and … Taxes. Spoiler alert: it’s always taxes. Surprisingly, these two life events can be intertwined, and savvy divorced men can benefit from a few smart tax tips. Dollars for Divorce You should ...
In recent months we’ve heard a lot about living in a “post-fact” America. False news, internet rumor and urban legends have run through our conversations and tainted our understanding of real events. This is also true with Virginia divorces. These six “facts” about divorce in Virginia are often confused with the truth; they are anything but. 1. Children Strengthen a ...
Some surprises are wonderful. Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on the HBO series Game of Thrones, surprised a fan’s viewing party by showing up, snacks in hand. Great surprise; lots of fun; a good time was had by all. Other surprises are not so fun, like the folks who woke up to find a tractor-trailer that slid off an ...
What is an emergency to one person is not important to another. Consider the 11-year-old, who feels that a forgotten school lunch box is a life-altering emergency requiring calls to Dad and interrupted work schedules. Emergency child custody, similarly, is a matter of interpretation. What could your ex-wife do that would possibly constitute an emergency? 1. Illegal Drugs Virginia, like ...
As the American Chemical Society (ACS) reminds us, “the dose makes the poison.”1 For example, says the ACS, the average American would have to eat 5.4 pounds of sugar in a single sitting to have a 50 percent chance of dying from too much candy. That translates into 1,627 pieces of candy corn. Delicious as candy is, too much of ...